Textile care

[dj-gabriele]

Hi guys, I need your advice here!

I bought a sweater, there were the sales and this was the only thing not on sale (shame on me for being fashion-olic!) A very light sweater actually, and to my big disappontment (I tought it was some kind of syntetic stuff, yay for easy care!) it is made of 55% silk, 30% cotton and 15% cachemire wool.
For the first wash I brought it to my trusty dry cleaner (I won't wear new stuff before it gets washed) but at 4€ each wash it's a little bit pricey.
My father (he's got a dry cleaner too) advised me to only have this professionally done as even if the ginetex symbols say it is washable in water the texture will get ruined (now it is the softest thing I'm wearing lol).
My machine has a "hand wash" programme at 30 or 40°C with a reduced spin speed, should I give it a try or better to keep have it dry cleaned? Of course I'll use a delicates detergent!

 

[lavamat_jon]

Hi Gabriele,

I have washed my lambswool and my cashmere jumpers all the time in our washer on the 30*C handwash setting, with Woolite or even just standard colour liquid, and my jumpers always come out lovely and soft. Though I always double dose woollens with fabric softener - especailly lambswool - to get rid of that scratchy feel they sometimes get.

However - if still in serious doubt, go to the cleaners but I would imagine the solvents would probably do more damage than water and a light duty detergent alone.

Jon

 

[ronhic]

I have an 'Ansett' Australian made (bloody rare these days) lambswool pullover that I have been machine washing for 10 years. It does shrink slightly, as does most wool, but it is easily pulled back into shape...

Wool Cycle
Cold wash
'Wool' or 'silk' suitable detergent at minimum dose
no conditioner (but that's my preference)

I reshape when it comes out of the machine and dry on a similar colour towel on the floor....

 

[mrboilwash]

I would wash it inside out and alone on the 30° wool-handwash cycle with a LIQUID detergent specifically designed for wool and silk. Powders tend to be alkaline, even Perwoll for instance.
If you paid way more than 50€, it`s probably wiser to bring it to the drycleaner for the first couple of times.

 

[toggleswitch2]

I always believed woolens required a warm-ish was AND a warm-ish rinse. The article in the linkie discusses water temperatures.

I'm thinking the cotton content may help this item survive the washer.

http://www.kswpa.com/careofwool.htm

 

[jeffg]

Don't use fabric softener on woolens, especially silk blends. It coats clothing fibers with waxes and other substances that accumulate dirt and cause the fabric to lose its body.

 

[mrboilwash]

Isn`t fabric softener supposed to be good for wool to make up for the loss of lanolin? Guess it is all right to use it if you like to use softeners anyway.

 

[jeffg]

You can find wool washes with added lanolin, or you can relanolize it (it's a tricky process that uses very hot water). Fabric softener isn't a substitute, and eventually turns wool and silk into gummy messes.

 

[dj-gabriele]

HEY, THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVICE!

I think that as long as the thing will look brand new, dry cleaning it is going to be a must, after all I could go a whole year of weekly wash to make up for the cost of the sweater :S hehe
Later I'll try the washing machine with a delicates detergent (and a little softnerer too maybe, just to make up for the hardness of the water)

PS: Does this www.coccolino.it have wax in it? Tallow alcool maybe?

http://www.coccolino.it

 

[pturo]

All of the fibers of the sweater are hydrophyllic and natural, and slovents are not good, as they will absorb into the core of the fiber, shrink at different temperatures and smell like solvent.

Hand wash the thing in Woolite(over here in the states, a very mild detergent) and rinse and block the sweater on two towels across the bed for the day, turning once.

Sweaters, especially natural fiber blends, are not good candidates for machine washing and drying,and chemicals in dry cleaning just add smell and solvents and are not good for what is left of our green planet, when evaporated in the air, or drained into the sewer.

The price of looking good just got cheaper! It's not just money you are saving, it's the planet.