Here's how I handled my wool: (I'm done with diapers now, but we did use a lot of wool when the LOs were still in diapers.)
1. When the cover is new, you want to lanolize it really well. Turn it inside out. Run a sink of cool water. Pour some boiling water in a coffee mug, and add a BIG squirt of Lansinoh, the lanolin they sell for breastfeeding mamas. Use about an inch for each cover you're lanolizing. Stir the lanolin in the hot water, and then pour it into the cool sink of water. (Use a big pot or a bowl if you don't want to use your sink.) Plunge the covers in the water and swish them around gently. Let them soak about ten minutes, then take them out. Squeeze the excess water out gently-- don't wring them, because that can mat and felt the wool. Roll it between towels, and then lay it flat to dry. If you want it to dry faster, you can also drape it over a fan.
The cover is now ready to use.
2. When the cover is damp, it'll smell a little funky, like a wet dog. That's normal for wool. Hang it to dry, and it'll freshen up. When the cover still smells when it's dry, it's time to wash. Hand wash in cold water with a bit of dish soap like Dawn, or some baby shampoo. Rinse, roll in towels, and lay out to dry.
3. Every few washes you may need to relanolize. You'll know it's time when the cover starts to be less effective at holding in wetness from a wet diaper. Just follow step 1 again. In my experience, this winds up being every six weeks or so.
4. Some people use a product that washes and lanolizes all in one. This probably works well for normal maintenance of the cover, but you may still need to lanolize with Lansinoh when the cover is new. I've never tried any of these products.
5. If the cover gets poo on it, you can spot-clean if it's just a tiny bit, or follow step 2 to completely rewash if you need to.
Hope that helps. It took me almost an hour to find the time to type it, so probably other posts have come through in that time, but maybe it will help a bit.
