Garment care

How to wash your woollens - top tips from JAM London

by JAM Team April 05, 2016

Here at JAM we love natural yarns and luxurious fibres. If you have invested into a beautiful woollen garment – be it kids’ or adults’, you may want to do your best to keep them looking great.

So here are JAM’s top tips for cleaning your woollen knits.

Use a detergent formulated for wool. Most standard detergents will result in an alkaline wash, which can damage the wool fibres and make the dyes lose their stability. A detergent formulated for wool will ensure a neutral PH balance and a softer jumper after the wash.
Wash inside out to prolong the ‘AS NEW’ look.
Hand wash if possible and be gentle. Wool is great as it does not stain as easily as cottons do, so a lazy 10-20 minute soak in lukewarm water with an appropriate detergent should be sufficient. If the item is stripy or has contrasting colours reduce the soaking time to prevent colours leaking into each other. Do not over-handle woollen garments by agitating, wringing, twisting, or squeezing. This can lead to felting and loss of the garment’s original shape. After rinsing, gently squeeze the water out, place the jumper on a dry towel and roll it up to get the excess water out.
When machine washing use the WOOL CYCLE and do not make the mistake of assuming that the Delicates cycle is the same thing – the latter may shrink some wools. Most of the woollen garments and all of JAM’s products can be washed in a washing machine on a wool wash setting at 30c. You may not realise this, but your new jumpers and cardigans have already been washed and steamed at least once by the factory which manufactured them and they certainly didn’t do it by hand!
Avoid using a fabric softener – as this may lubricate and loosen the wool fibres, leading to pilling after future washes. Try vinegar – add half a cup of white vinegar when your machine reaches the rinse cycle – this will remove the odours and any leftover detergent residue from the fibres, making them softer.
Dry flat away from heat and sunlight! When wet, a woollen garment will weight many times its dry weight and may stretch if dried on a hanger. So drying flat on a light coloured towel or on a clean tiled floor may be the best option. Avoid drying woollens on radiators and in direct sunlight.
Use steam iron if necessary or don’t iron at all! Another great thing about woollens is that they look great even without ironing and you will see most creases disappear on their own simply by hanging a dry jumper for a while. If you do choose to iron, use medium heat and a steam setting, still keeping the garment inside out. Do not press too hard to avoid glossy marks and loss of colour. Let the moisture from steaming escape completely before folding your jumper to prevent new creasing.
Fold to store instead of hanging, with any buttons, zips or closures fastened.