For those of you who have never experienced this arduous process, let me enlighten you. If you have tons of sweaters or even just several sweaters, the process of washing and drying all of them can (and will) take several weeks, or at least several days and a full weekend devoted wholly to the cause. The only philosophical outlook one should co-opt when undertaking the washing and drying of all their sweaters is that of an assembly line system with the timing and fluidity necessary to keep the process moving. Follow these instructions as closely or loosely you like, just make sure you adopt your own groove:
Step One: Gently comb the nubs off the sweater with a De-Fuzz-It. Be careful to only comb the nubbie parts; don’t take off too much fuzz. If you really want to take this step to the next level, flip the sweater inside out and comb.
Step Two: You have to start with the right detergent; you can use Ivory liquid (or flakes), Dreft or whatever green “delicate detergent” your local Whole Foods has in stock.
Note: Mrs. Meyers does not have a delicate detergent, but if you are a big fan of their products you can always use their baby line. NEVER, ever use Woolight. Don’t let the name fool you; Woolight will leave your sweaters with lingering “wet wool” odors.
Step Three: There will always be recommended measurements and water ratios from your detergent of choice. Once you have cleaned several sweaters you will be able to gauge what amounts you like to use; some sweaters will require more detergent/washing than others. Add the detergent directly to the faucet water and whip the water around with your hand to make it bubbly and sudsy. Once there is an inch or three of water collected at the bottom of the tub, put your sweater in and move and shake it around with the palm of your hand in order to get it thoroughly wet and work the detergent into the fibers. Flip the sweater over to get both sides saturated with soapy water.
Note: If a lot of dirt/dye out of the sweater, you may want to drain the water and refill the tub before this next step.
Step Four: Situate the sweater across the length of the tub and soak it for a few minutes (also be sure to check your detergent instructions on this step) and then rinse with cold water Feel free to do the washing process twice if you notice that the rinsing water on a light sweater is very dirty. When draining the water, push the sweater up the side of the tub and rinse the tub down; the dirt and dye will stain the bottom of the tub if you let them stand. Rinsing is easier with a handheld shower head, but it you are not equipped with one, just run the cold tap or shower. Hold the sweater under the water, without stretching it. Open and close the drain alternatively, so you can let the sweater soak in clean water and then rinse it thoroughly with the faucet water.
Step Five: Once rinsed, do not wring the sweater out; lay it flat on the bottom of the tub. Gently push the water out of the fibers with your fist or the palm of your hand. Bring the sweater up the side of the tub, keeping the sweater as flat as you can, and press the water gently out. Flip the sweater over and repeat. It is okay to bunch the fabric a little, smooshing, rather than wringing, the water out. Don't get hung up on getting all the water out. No matter what, your sweater is going to be really wet and will require a day or so to dry.
Step Six: Spread out a towel. If you have just washed a particularly large sweater like a men’s or an irish wool sweater, or if it was particularly dirty and really soaked through, you will need two towels in this step, one on top and one on the bottom.
Note: If you notice some lingering suds on your sweater dip the small area in some clear water in the sink or with a soaked wash cloth.
Place the sweater on the towel and flatten out as many wrinkles as possible. This is probably one of the most important steps. The flatter the sweater is the more water gets wrung out; the sweater is also prevented from drying with deep wrinkles. Flip the excess towel edges over the top and bottom of the sweater and then begin to roll the sweater up in the towel(s), squeezing along the roll tightly. Let the roll sit for several minutes.
Step Seven: Unroll the sweater and place it on a new towel to dry, the wet these fibers are very malleable so be sure to stage the sweater properly so it does not dry pulled and misshapen. Now, the hardest part about cleaning sweaters is the drying process (some sweaters can take up to three days to be completely dry) and you should not become complacent as this is where the real assembly line “dance” gets choreographed. Monitor the sweater; flip it over so both sides get equal time on the towel and change the towel once it becomes damp, also if you have carpet move your drying station frequently so the carpet doesn’t get too damp. You will want to rotate/move/change the towel three or more times or your space will begin to smell like wet wool, which is a defeating then when you are knee deep in sweater washing. You will be semi-constantly, drying soaking wet and slightly damp towels and rotating, washing and rinsing sweaters
Note: It is a good idea to use the slightly damp towels for rolling water out of sweaters, takes out a drying step.
They should only take about twenty-four hours to dry… if you tend to them and keep the area they are laying on as dry as possible. If a sweater is particularly large and/or thick, I like to let it relax on a towel in the living room for a bit and then move it to the laundry room (not recommended for a basement laundry room). The constant drying of towels that occurs during the process gets the room nice and warm for the sweater to dry.
Step Eight: Once dry; give the sweater a touch with an iron, on a dry setting not a wool setting, to get out any wrinkles.
Cleaning your wools and cashmere is a humbling, exhausting and lengthy process. It is disgusting, seeing all the dirt muddy up the bottom of your tub. As it washes away you think of all the place you wore that particular sweater to, meetings, cocktails and dates; you feel like a terrible person who is lazy and spoiled, who am I to treat my beautiful clothes with such neglect?! But do not fear this disgust will quickly give way to intense feelings of contentment, satisfaction and superiority. The ideal would to be to be on a sweater- washing rotation throughout the entire winter, taking them to the dry cleaner only when necessary. Also, you need to adopt a suitable spring/summer storage strategy, but that will be discussed in other ‘Laundry List.’ Moreover, seeing all that dirt that’s hiding in your sweaters, leads to the question, where else is the dirt hiding, what else needs to be cleaned?
hmmmm, I have to go wash my sweaters now.
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