Your source for exquisite Fiber Arts and Crafts created by Ashley Martineau.
You will need the following: Kitchen Sink, Small tub that fits into your kitchen sink, Squishy, Dish Soap, HOT HOT HOT water, Safe place to let your wool drip-dry, and a bowl (for transporting your steaming clean wool to the safe place). A tolerance for the smell of wet wool is recommended, but not required.
This little doohickie is my best friend. I call it my wet wool squisher or "squishy". It helps me wash & dye wool and yarn without burning my hands in the hot water. It's actually a potato masher that I bought for under $5.00. You can find them at any Kitchen supply store. They come in a variety of styles. Look for something with a comfortable handle and a flat bottom with small holes. So if you are planning on washing or dyeing wool or yarn, please go invest in a squishy. Everyone loves a squishy.
You can wash any protein fiber using this process: wool, llama, alpaca, angora, etc.
First, get a little container that fits in your sink. This will help you save water. I recommend turning your hot water heater up as high as it will go, because the hotter the water - the cleaner the wool. The hot water helps the wool fiber release the grease. Fill up the container over half way.
I have used many different types of soaps when washing wool. I've used dish soap, woolite, shampoo, face soap, body wash, and even laundry detergent. After all my experimenting, I really like this brand and smell of soap. It makes the wool smell really good (clean, not fruity) after it's dry. It also blends with the wet wool smell. Some of the fruity/citrus soaps I used smelled skanky with the wet wool smell. So get a clean smelling soap. Don't get too fancy. You don't want your citrus body spray or candle to remind you of gross wet wool. Add enough soap to make the water feel "slimy". ALWAYS add the soap AFTER the water, or else you will get lots of suds which makes rinsing the wool difficult.
Grab a handful of wool. It can be a pretty large handful. Once you get used to washing wool you'll get the wool-to-water ratio right. If you're washing wool for the first time, start with a small handful and add more wool until you feel your soapy water is "full". It's like doing laundry. You just need to practice before you can get the load size right. :)
Press the wool down into the hot soapy water. You can use your squishy to do this. Some people put their wool into a mesh bag before washing it. You can find small mesh bags at most Dollar Stores.
You can continue gently pressing the wool into the soapy water for 1-2 minutes. Let it sit for another 5-10 minutes. Don't let the water get cold or else the grease will stick to the fibers again.
This is what dirty water looks like. I can't even see my hand 2 inches below the surface of the water. Surprisingly, this isn't the dirtiest water I've gotten after my first wash. One time I had water that was like thick chocolate milk after the first wash. If your wool is still filthy after this point (like my chocolate milk wool), wash it again in very hot slimy soapy water. If your wool is considerably cleaner at this point (like mine is) you can begin the rinsing process.
Remove the soapy wool from the hot soapy water mixture and set it aside. Dump out the gross dirty water.
Rinse out the soap and grit at the bottom of your bowl. By the way, I prefer a plastic bowl because metal bowls get really hot when you put hot water in them and it burns your hands. Refill your container with hot water to begin the rinsing process.
Place the wool gently into the hot water. There are some suds because the wool still has soap in it. You can gently press down on the fibers for 1-2 minutes to help the rinsing process along. Let the wool sit for 5-10 minutes. After 10 minutes, it looks like the water is still dirty brown. I'll need to rinse again until the water turns clear.
Pour out the dirty water. It's much less brown than after our first wash - we are making process! Rinse out the soap and grit in the container.
Refill your container with hot clean water.
Place the wool into the hot water and press it down for 1-2 minutes with your squishy (or hands, if you're insane like me). After 5 minutes the water is clear (I can see my hand under the water) so the wool is officially clean. You may need to rinse a couple more times before your wool is clean. Make sure there are no suds, or else your fiber will feel scummy when it's dry and you'll need to wash it all over again. If you are planning on dyeing the fiber, this is the perfect time to do it. Switch over to my wool dyeing tutorial if you need help with that process.
After dyeing the wool a pretty rainbow color, I let it dry on a hammock that my husband draped and secured over a sink in our laundry room. It may take up to 5 days for your wool to dry. Fluff it up every day check on it's progress. The wool that I washed has a lot of Vegetable Matter (VM) in it. VM is like bits of grass, hay, etc.
Once the wool is dry (doesn't feel cool or damp to the touch) I will put it in my dryer on AIR (cool air, not hot air) and tumble it for 15-20 minutes to help remove most of the VM. The VM will tumble out of the wool and end up trapped in the lint vent. Any other VM will be removed when I pick or card the wool. If there is still VM in the fibers, they will be removed when the wool is spun into yarn.
I'm going to be published in VENUS Magazine! More Info Coming Soon.
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