Can I wash my wool in the washing machine?

[Rikki Jean]

I'm going to x-post this in MHM, but since it's a diaper issue, I thought I'd ask here too.

Can I wash wool (knits, felted, and the stretchy kind) in the washer on the handwash cycle? Common sense tells me yes, but then I wonder if the water temp might be an issue. I have a "cool" option that differs from both the "cold" and the "warm" options. I guess I should stick my hand in there the next time I use "cool" to see what it feels like...

If the water temp feels okay, should I be safe to wash them in the washer?

Do I also need to be concerned about my spin cycle? I *think* I only have one spin cycle (this is a new washer for me, and actually the first one that I have ever owned [yay, after doing laundry at Grandma's for six years, I finally get to do it at home! ], so I'm not totally familiar with it yet), so I'm wondering if that might be too intense for the wool...

[Michigan Mama]

Depends on the wool, I think.

I do most of my wool in the washer on delicate, but you have to be really, really careful with anything that is not already felted/shrunk. Now, when I make interlock soakers, or recycled wool soakers (or longies or whatever), I felt them before sewing, I wash and dry on hot hot hot - so I know that later I can wash them in the machine with no risk of trouble.

My handknit stuff, on the other hand, I have done in teh machine, and I carefully felted them some. One or two of them I shrunk a little more than what I wanted. Both cold or hot water or agitation can cause felting, so that's the danger of the wash machine, even on delicate.

hth!

[Gabes Mommy]

It does depend on the wool. Some you can wash in the washer, others need to be handwashed. If there are care instructions on them, I would stick with that. Or check with the website/store where you purchased it.

[junipervt]

I wash DD's interlock & recycled wool in the washer on the hand wash cycle. I set it to warm (my warm is pretty warm) add wool wash & let it fill 1/2 way. Then I switch it to cold add the wool & close the lid. It gets my wool so much cleaner than hand washing. Which is great b/c DD loves to play in the dirt.

We have very little knit (found it's not great for a kid who likes to roll in the mulch & dirt), but what we do have I handwash.

[Woolly Meredith]

I would check with the maker of the wool to see if it has already been tested in a machine. Chances are, they have.