Useful tips about wool

Below some information about washing natural wool and preventing holes from clothes moths.

Dirt-resistant

Wool is naturally dirt-resistant. Wool garments therefore do not need to be washed often, only airing is often sufficient.

Washing the garment: preferably by hand with a little bit of wool detergent. A washing machine with a good wool program is also possible, but this always entails a risk that the wool will felt. Once you've hand-washed a wool garment, you know it's actually really easy. You don't have to soap or scrub and the garment dries quickly.

Lower the garment into, for example, a tub of lukewarm water, not too hot, until all air bubbles have been removed, then move the garment slightly in the water to loosen the dirt and dissolve any grease. Don't rub and soak too much! This can lead to felting of the wool.

If you wash with wool detergent, rinse 2 or 3 times, no detergent should be left behind because it attracts dirt again. If you use Eucalan, a special wool detergent with lanolin, you only need to rinse once. Squeeze it out vigorously, or spin briefly and then let it dry flat in the model. You can also roll the garment in a large towel and then press for a while, then the garment is already a lot drier. The wool should not be soaked in water for too long, because then the colors may run. I hold up to a maximum of fifteen minutes myself, then you are well within the safe margin

moths

Clothes moths are attracted to dirt, such as oiliness and dander. So if you put the garment away for a longer period of time, make sure it is clean/washed.

You can use cedar wood to deter moths, just put a piece in the wardrobe. Or lavender in a bag.

This is also useful to know: Moths lay eggs on clothing, those eggs hatch after a while and then a larva comes out and that is the culprit that makes holes in the wool. The eggs laid by the moth are loose on the wool. So if you shake out your garment outside, you have already lost the eggs. Moths cannot tolerate UV light, so they like to sit in dark closets and it is therefore good to air out clothes. Preferably monthly, especially in the summer months.

I do not pack the garments in special bags. I know moths can get in almost anything, so plastic bags, plastic boxes, don't ask me how, but they do get in. Only if the garment is vacuum packed, then no moths can get in (there must not have been any eggs on it already).