Washing, Lanolizing Wool (A Picture Tutorial)

Finally, I need to wash and lanolize some wool. I figured I'd take you along for the short, but fun ride.

First, the kit!

Above you see the picture of my "wool kit." It sits on my kitchen counter at all times and only gets used sparingly as wool does not need to be washed or lanolized often.

I have the following:

• One bottle of Unscented Eucalan Wool Wash
• One mason jar (complete with lid)
• One hug a dub dub Wool Wash Soap bar (used only for spot cleaning)
  
• One tube of PureLan 100 Lanolin (though any lanolin will work)
  

Now, let us commence the washing of the wool.

First!

Fill your sink with enough tepid (think baby bath temperature) water to cover your wool item.

Second!

Squeeze out about a pea-sized amount of lanolin and put it in your mason jar.

Third!

Add the wool wash of your choice. I like Eucalan because it is a no-rinse wash. You can use baby soap for this part if you would like as the baby soap, or wool wash, serves only to break up the lanolin and help it distribute in the water better. It's only my preference to use Eucalan. The choice is yours.

I use about 1/2 tsp (sometimes less). If it's a serious wash I will use more. The recommended amount is 1 tsp per gallon (for Eucalan).

Fourth!

Fill the jar about half-way with HOT water. It doesn't have to be super hot, like boiling or anything, just hot enough to melt the lanolin. Your hottest tap water should suffice.

Fifth!

Shake until all of the lanolin is dissolved and the water is cloudy.

Sixth!

Pour the lanolin mixture into the tepid water in the sink. Don't worry, there shouldn't be enough hot water in your jar to seriously screw with the temperature of your waiting water.

Seventh!

Stir the water until it, too, is cloudy and a bit sudsy.

Eighth!

Add the wool item (in this case, a wool changing pad). Keep in mind that wool is naturally water resistant so it may seem to "float" and not absorb the water very well. This is normal.

Ninth!

Gently squeeze the item to encourage the fibers to absorb the wash and lanolin. If spots are needed to be removed, gently work the area. Vigorous scrubbing is usually unnecessary and can cause felting or damage to the wool. Gentle is best and usually all that is required.

Tenth!

Allow the item to soak for 15-30 minutes. Just enough time to nurse a hungry baby!

Eleventh!

Pull the plug and allow the item to act as a drain filter. This way it forces all of the wash and lanolin to pass through its fibers before escaping down the drain.

Twelfth!

Press out (do NOT wring) any excess water to the best of your ability.

Thirteenth!

Roll the item in a towel, pressing (not wringing) as you go.

Fourteen!

Lay flat to dry on a drying rack and allow 24-hours to dry before using.

And You're Done!

Washing Wool or Baby?

With the purchase of my red-edge prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers, I decided to try their wool wash soap for spot cleaning my wool covers.

I had read about this soap and liked that its natural ingredients included lanolin, coconut and soybean oils along with other gentle oils to make for a soft soap that wouldn't require relanolizing my covers for every spot wash.

The description on their website said it was also a favorite hand soap or even as baby soap for children with dry skin issues.

There are a total of three things I will use on my son if he gets any kind of rash (be it on the diaper area or else-where). First, if it is a particularly dry-looking rash and is going to go on just before bedtime, I will apply a generous amount of coconut oil. I've never woken him up to find the rash still persisting. My husband has also used coconut oil on persistant and painful rashes and found them to be greatly soothed and cleared quickly with its use. Second, if it's just a tiny spot of redness or dry skin during the day I will apply a dab of Weleda Baby Cream which contains lanolin. Third, if it's a bad rash I will use Weleda Diaper Care Cream which is basically the Weleda Baby Cream with Zinc Oxide in it.

Lanolin is very popular with nursing mothers to sooth sore nipples and it provides superb water-proofing to wool diaper covers.

Two of my favorite, rash-fighting, soothing, moisturizing ingredients, combined in one bar of soap? It seemed too good to be true.

I received my wool wash and waited for my wool to need it.

In the mean time I decided to try it for myself, on myself (because if you are a mother who changes diapers as much as I do it means you wash your hands as much as I do which means you have dry, flaky, cracked hands that you would try to repair with lotion if there was time so you just live with the dry, flaky hands).

I'll admit. It did leave my hands feeling silky smooth and a lot less dry with every wash. I have found my new post-diaper-change hand soap.

My husband, who has problems with his hands on a regular basis, tried it as well and experienced no burning.

Bath time rolled around and still no wool needed to be washed so I threw the bar into the bath and slathered up my babies' butt. I think we both appreciate how smooth and moist it left his tush at the end of his bath.

So, here we have a wool wash bar that has YET to be used to actually wash wool. I fully intend to use it for its designated purpose but I might just have to purchase another bar just for family use.