need the rundown on wool

[AprilGlynn]

I have some wool covers, and in theory I really love everything I know about it as a fabric but I don't now how to maintain and use them? Like how often do I wash them? How often do I use lanolin? What does felted mean and why do people do it? Thank ahead of time!

[ShannonBFCDAP]

I only wash my wool when it either gets poop on it or it smells of urine when dry. I wash with tepid water meaning neither warm or cold. I use a travel shampoo bottle with a squirt of baby shampoo and a dime size ball of lanolin and then I pour hot water into the bottle. I shake until the lanolin is melted. Then I hand wash the soaker in the sink with just soap. I try not to scrub or rub too harshly because it'll stress the fabric. Then I empty the sink of the dirty water and refill with same temp water to cover the soaker. Then I drip the lanolin mixture all over the water and let soak for at least 20 minutes. Then drain the sink and gently fold and press some of the water out. I don't do it a lot because that will squeeze all the lanolin out. Then I roll the soakers in a towel and then open the towel and lay it flat on a rack to dry. The soakers should feel a little tacky that is how you know they have been properly lanolinized.

Felting is when the wool fibers are stressed and shrink up. They do this in the prepping process to increase absorbency. You do not need to felt your soakers. Think if you accidentally put a wool sweater through the wash and it is now only fit for a doll.

If you need more help you can private message me, I'm a Diaper Party Consultant and love to talk about diapers.

[alyadri]

I'm also new to using wool.   My only question is how often do you need to lanolize?? Do I need to do it every time they need a wash or only when they start to leak??

[lishoprah]

I've been using wool exclusively for a year and a half.  For us, usually the wool starts to have a urine smell to it, and that's when the lanolin is used up.  If I just wash it and don't lanolize at that point it will work for a few days and smell again.  So, I end up lanolizing any time the covers need to be washed.  Most of mine are machine washable on delicate (Wild Child Woolies and felted Imse Vimse), and if I wash them in the machine it seems to totally strip the lanolin.

We have 6 covers that get used every day plus 5 occasional longies, Kissaluvs, and SBish knits that don't fit under all clothes.  I have to lanolize the 6 workhorse covers about every 3 weeks.