Hand wash/cold water

Handwashing is for the birds and there is very little I'll handle that way these days. If we're talking woolen goods (sweaters, etc), here's my method, which assumes a top-loading washer.

1. Fill the tub with HOT water. When the tub is full add a squirt of cheap shampoo (scented or not, your choice). Agitate for a minute to dissolve the shampoo and then

1. TURN OFF THE MACHINE. If you have "helpful" housemates then you should UNPLUG the machine and put TAPE over the dials/buttons to prevent "helpful" household members from "finishing" the load you apparently "forgot".

2. Stuff in your woolens and poke down with a stick/dowel/wooden spoon to immerse. Walk away for half an hour.

1. Without turning the machine ON, crank the selector dial over to SPIN ONLY. Most machines have a SPIN option that will not spew water into the drum during the spin cycle - this is the spin cycle that you want.

2. When you are certain that you have a no-water-spewing SPIN ONLY cycle selected, plug the machine in if necessary and turn the machine on. This will spin out the dirty water and suds.

1. When the SPIN cycle is finished REMOVE the woolens from the machine.

2. Rinse out the tub with fresh water (short fill, sloosh it around with a rag, spin out, wipe).

1. If the water from the first detergent soak was just disgusting by all means give the woolens a second detergent soak, following steps

1. When you're satisfied with the cleanliness of your woolens you may rinse, following steps 1-7 but OMIT the detergent/shampoo. For woolens that may be scratchy when dry put them through a second rinse with a dollop of cheap hair conditioner added to the rinsewater. [Ed: IMO adding conditioner merely encourages dirt to accumulate faster on the wool.]

2. Roll each item in a towel and stomp it well to remove excess water. Shake out onto a drying screen, reshape, and allow to dry. I generally turn my sweaters/socks/whatevers inside-out occasionally as they dry; this helps speed drying and reduces creases and other odd lumps and bumps once the [item] is dry.

1. When each sweater is bone-dry stuff it in its own cotton pillowslip. Tie the opening securely and store the bags in your closet or cedar chest until next fall.

One final note: You can even wash "delicate" wool lace shawls in this manner if you put them in a lingerie bag.

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 13:04:17 GMT, "Janise" spewed forth :

Thanks, Wooly. Actually what I'm washing is a sweater that DD#2 bought. It is 70% Viscose, 30% Nylon...but, it has sequins sewn on it.

That being said, do you use Hot water for all of your woolens, even those that say wash in cold water?

Janise

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 14:33:13 GMT, "Janise" spewed forth :

Hrm, I'd turn it inside out, stuff it in a lingerie bag and treat as I described.

Yep. As long as you don't 1) agitate or 2) effect sudden change in temp from hot to cold your woolens will be fine. The recommendation to "handwash cold, dry flat" is for those who don't know that wool can be washed in hot water.

Besides, you don't wash your dirty dishes in cold water - why should you expect it to get your clothes clean, especially those you only launder a few times a year?

Personally, I don't think it is ever necessary to use really cold water. I think it is just as good to use water that is close to room temperature. I let the item soak for about 10 minutes and don't rub unless there are stains that seem to need rubbing and then do it carefully. Many items that are labeled hand-wash only can be washed in a machine but you have to make your own judgment about doing it as you are taking a chance when you do.

It sounds like it would be easier to hand wash.

Baby shampoos work best, IMO, and you can get them in a variety of different scents. My favorite for the wash and block process is the "Grins and Giggles" line in lavendar. Since I have a baby here at home (and a four year old with sensitive skin) I've had a lot of opportunity to test different once and the G&G ones just smell nicer and seem to be very gentle on the fibers. There are some good kid conditioners on the market too, one of them being from the Suave line that, again, is very gentle and good for softening scratchy items without leaving heavy residue.

With apologies to Mother Goose:

Rub-a-dub-dub, three FOs in a tub And who do you think they be? The baby, the big girl, the Tunisian that won't curl Turn them out, clean all three.

Crochet is hardly hobby enough, apparently. I branch into awful parody now and then.

--Threnody whee! i need more coffee

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 19:06:27 +0200, B Vaughan spewed forth :

Sure, if you don't mind immersing your hands in cold water, being unable to squeeze out the washed garments, and don't really care if you get the stuff clean or not.

What's so difficult about filling the washer, turning it off, stuffing in the woolens and walking away for a while? There's certainly a lot less hands-on than there is with "handwashing" and IME the end product is a lot cleaner for the effort.

I just squeeze the water, and it takes about three minutes. Then I rinse with running cool water.

HTH Katherine

LOL Thanks for the chuckle!

Katherine

Depending on your washing machine, you may just be able to run it through a wash cycle with the lid up -- some of them have a safety feature that allows no agitation as long as the lid is up, but you still get the soak and the rinse and spin. I wash all my woolens and delicates this way.

I use Woolite in luke warm water. Just squeeze lightly and move them around. I like the hands-on approach, and watching all that dirt come out. Rinse a few times again in luke warm water. Then, depending on the delicacy of the item, I either put them in the washing machine and spin out most of the water, or I put them in a large towel and gently squeeze out the extra water. In both cases then I just block them nicely on a fresh dry towel and let them dry in shape. Kira

I never use really cold water, more skin temperature. I remove the excess water with towels.

Well, it looked like an awful lot of steps.

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 16:30:55 +0200, B Vaughan spewed forth :

Maybe, but when you actually do it there's not much to it. Some people need it broken out, some don't.