cleaning wool

[rich mc]

i was given a whole lot of sheep wool that was sheared  i cut off the very tangled and dirty stuff which  left me with 12 one gallon ziplock bags  
what is the best way to clean it?   thanks rich

 

[duffy]

Use Woolite!   While I've not personally done it I've seen some of the steps on How its Made. On one part they showed them pulling it across a coarse comb more like a board with small nails through it to remove most of the dirt, sticks, crap ect. I would think a curry comb or similar would work too. Then they pretty much washed it I'm guessing in cold/cool water. If you have a front loader you could even rinse and spin it out if you first put it in a pillow case. Just make sure to pin the zipper shut! Would work in the dryer at low heat too. I've washed the corncob for my brass tumbler and dried it like that with good results.

 

[Kdog]

This one came from the boss, I was given some Llama wool a while back and she told me tto clean it or pitch it. It did not smell that bad! I stuffed it into an old panty hose leg, sprayed it heavily with spray - n - wash, put it in a plastic bag and left it to set overnight. tossed it in the washer the next day and ran it thru a full cycle. worked like a champ, no odor, nice and clean, did not even need to dry it, spread it out on a cookie sheet and used a slicker brush to get the strands oriented

 

[rich mc]

my wife actually googled some ideas. the amish clean it in three rinse buckets with just water. i did one bag that way and it seems to work. i was worried about removing the lanolin that would give it buoyancy. rich

 

[Fin and Fur]

I just pick out hay and crap and the rinse in the sink with warm water, dyed with food coloring and you usually get two shades of the color you're after. Probably two shades due to different lanolin concentrations. Personally I like the two tone outcome.

 

[toadfrog]

I use Aljo dye . Mainly because that is what the old timers used . If you go to the website there are odles of die colors .