12 Tips to Take Care of Woollen Clothes

Sentimental about your favourite sweater?

Worried about your prized pashmina?

Ensuring that your woollens last long, don’t lose their shape or colours, and stay as good as new is a task that is made tough due to the delicate nature of the fabric. So how do you go about doing it?

Here are some tips to take care of your woollen clothes:

1. Use a Cashmere Brush

The Cashmere Brush is a great tool to get rid of lint, hair and fuzz from your woollens before washing. Brushing also helps revive the yarns by releasing their natural oil.

2. Wash using Delicate/Woollen Washing Machine Programs

Woollen fabrics require gentle handling during a wash. Only Delicate/Woollens program should be selected to wash in a washing machine.

3. Use Mild Detergent for Washing Woollens

Avoid using powder detergents which are usually harsh on fabrics. Use only mild liquid detergent specifically available for woollen fabrics.

4. Never Bleach Woollen Garments

Chlorine or oxygen bleach should never be used on woollens as it makes the fibres weak and reduces the life of the garment. They should be dry-cleaned or washed as per the instruction label.

5. Read Wash Care Instructions

 A wool blanket should be washed only if it is too soiled or smelling foul, that too after reading its wash care instructions.

6. Avoid Frequently Washing Hand-Knit Garments

Hand-knit garments last long if they aren’t frequently washed. To prevent body odours, oils and dirt from passing on to them, wear an undershirt before putting on the knits. This way, you can avoid frequent washing and launder the knits only once or twice in a season.

7. Cleaning Knitted Caps

Knitted caps are often shared at schools or day care. To prevent spread of lice:

(a) Clean machine-washable caps at the maximum water temperature setting.

(b) Since woollen caps cannot be hot-washed, put them in a plastic bag and keep sealed for a week. Then vacuum them or shake vigorously to remove dead lice and wash in normal water.

8. Use a towel for faster drying

To hasten the drying of your sweater or cardigan, wrap a towel around it and squeeze. Water from the woollen clothing will be absorbed by the towel and it’ll dry faster.

9. Don’t Dry Sweater or Cardigans on Hanger

To maintain the shape of sweaters, cardigans and knitwear, which have a tendency to stretch post-wash, spread them flat on a surface instead of drying on a hanger.

10. Always Wash Woollens before Storing

Always clean/wash all your woollen wear before packing them away for the next season. If they are kept aside even mildly soiled, chances of mould and mildew forming over the year is high. After cleaning, gently fold/roll and preferably keep them in covered boxes or cases to avoid exposure to air.

11. Unshrinking a Sweater

Shrunk sweater? Not a worry! Take lukewarm water and put fabric conditioner/softener or hair conditioner and soak the garment in it. The fibres will relax and you can then stretch the sweater back to its original size.

12. Remove Odours in Mild Sunlight

Moderate odours in woollen fabrics can be removed by simply spreading them outdoors in mild sunlight for some time.

For pristine care of your woollens, use IFB essentials Liquid Detergent for Woollens & Silks. Its special Silk Proteins prevent shrinkage and stretching and preserve the texture, colour and shine of the fabric.