Beginnerland
Skill Builder: Wash with Care
In my recent mending class for MDK, I talked a lot about prevention: after all, it’s better if you don’t have to mend anything!
I specifically talked about how we wash our fabrics, and there were enough questions about it that we thought it was worth a column.
General Washing Strategy: KISS (Keep it simple and sudsy?)
The general rule for washing any handmades is simple: as gentle as possible. It doesn’t mean “don’t wash,” it just means “treat things with care.”
A handwash is always best—yes, even for machine-washable yarns.
After all, our items are stretchy and often heavy when wet, and the less flopping and flapping around the better. If you are going to machine wash—and sometimes the item demands it, for example, kids’ wear, socks and dog sweaters—go with as gentle a cycle as possible. Put your items in a mesh washbag to minimize flapping.
Modern machines often have wool or handwash cycles, use that if you have it. Warm water is better than icy cold; and never use hot. (Cotton fibers in general are ok with hot water, but I avoid it anyway: heat can hasten color loss and fading.)
There’s one exception to the “gentle” rule, though: when it comes to a spin, you want to use as high a speed as possible.
It’s all about centrifugal force: if the machine is spinning very quickly, your items will be held motionless against the side of the drum while the water spins out; a slower speed spin risks the item moving around.
(Just read your washing machine manual carefully: you don’t want a “rinse and spin” cycle; spin only. My machine has it labelled as “drain and spin.”)
If you’re handwashing small items, a salad spinner can be very helpful for the same reason. Or just roll your items in a towel, and squeeze very hard.
“As gentle as possible” also applies to laundry detergents.
You want your laundry products to be as mild as you can find—think products designed for sensitive skin. Never EVER use fabric softeners or detergents that have softeners included because those coat your fibers and can damage them.
And stay very far away from any stain fighters. In particular watch out for those color-safe bleaches, the “enzymatic” products like OxiClean. Those products include proteases (pronounced pro-tea-aze-s), enzymes that break down proteins.
Proteases are useful if you’ve spilled gravy on a cotton t-shirt, but they’re damaging your woolies: wool and silk are protein fibers, after all. A stain fighter can be breaking down your yarn.
I love purpose-made wool-washes like Soak and Eucalan. These are absolutely safe for all kinds of fibers. One of their major benefits is that they don’t have to be rinsed out—really! Their chemical composition ensures that any dirt molecules adhere to the water, so that they drain away. And there’s less lifting and moving around of heavy wet sweaters.
But if you’re doing larger loads of machine washable woolies, using these wool-washes can get expensive. The mildest grocery store product will get the job done, although avoid the one with “wool” in the name; that’s an older formulation and a little harsher than necessary.
A Helpful Addition
If you’re nervous about colors running, you can get “color catcher” sheets; these are clever little things, about the size of a dryer sheet, that absorb any excess dye that might leach out of your yarns when wet, stopping it from staining other items in the same load.
That having been said, if you are working a project with multiple colors, it’s a good idea to test color-fastness in advance: snip a few inches of each color yarn off the ball, and soak them in cool water for a few minutes. Then wrap them around a piece of paper towel and let them dry; watch for any color leaching off.
This doesn’t mean that the yarn has been dyed badly, by the way: it can just mean there’s a bit of excess dye, and colors can run a little bit in the first couple of washes. Reds are notoriously difficult to fully fix.
How to Dry
Yes, the dog’s crate makes an excellent drying surface. It’s a strong wire mesh, and it’s positioned near a heating vent. Not when she’s in it, though, of course!
No matter how you wash and what you wash with, always air-dry your handmades. The heat of the dryer can hasten fading of colors, and the tumbling will cause pilling. Unless it’s a lace shawl made of wool, silk, or other animal fibers, don’t stretch your wet knitting. Just lay it flat to dry!
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Dog crate! Great idea.
I do not have a dog, so no crate either, but an Ikea, folding rack for drying clothes is perfect and can accommodate more than one item too.
In a pinch a glass top table with a towel on it works pretty well too.
The key is. a high RPM spinner in your washing machine. Ideally it should be 1400 RPMs. Your wash then takes little time to dry. I actually stopped using a dryer long ago.
Thanks for the drain and spin tip! That cycle has been puzzling me ever since we bought our new machine three years ago. (Why not consult the manual? Don’t ask.)
Great tip about enzymes in laundry detergents! I’ve never thought about that. It seems like all liquid detergents today contain proteases & other enzymes. Hope I can find one without. Thanks, Kate!
Eucalan and Soak are sold at many grocery stores (I live in VT where the more off-brand things aren’t usually sold, and my local Hannaford’s (local chain) does have Eucalan. You can also use Downy soap or Dreft–these are meant for baby clothes.
Funny about the dog crate. But with cats I’ve had to find a place I can keep them away from. One of my cats loved wool so much he would sit on a wet wool item pinned out in a blocking board, carefully avoiding the pins.
Although I use them, I’ve never firmly trusted the “no rinse” products. Thanks for putting my mind at ease.
The dog create for drying!!!! What an idea. Thank you!!! I had never thought of this but I will be using this one for sure!
Gift knitting requires an education and a delicates bag to go along in the wrapping!
“The mildest grocery store product” — what do you mean? A wool wash, or a laundry detergent? Thanks.
A laundry detergent – the wool washes (at least where I live!) aren’t in the grocery stores.
Kate
I would advise against letting the sleeves flop to the sides as shown in photo. They may stretch! Lay them out to the sides if your surface is large enough or just lay them on top of sweater. Yes, this slows the drying process but the sleeves will be right sized when you wear it again.
Ivory liquid dish soap is your friend. Works for all your knits. Final rinse should include a splash of white vinegar. These both work for hand washing or machine.
High speed spin! Warm rather than icy cold water (tap water in winter)! Thank you Kate.
I’m decades from Beginnerland but there is always so much more to learn, remember and apply.
Thanks so.much! Great tips even for us “old hands”!
Thanks for the clear guidance!!
Roll in towel, put on floor and dance frantically across the towel like a parrot on a perch! Turn the towel a bit while tromping, and save your hands the dreaded squeeze.
I use the towel dance method and it is really a lot of fun in addition to getting water out of your item. I can’t sing a lick so I do my dance and sing in the locked bathroom and if questioned abut the noise, I lie through my teeth and say I was trying to kill a bug while I was singing. Works every time.
What a fabulous mental image, thank you! Agree 100%!
Kate
You suggest not to use washing products with “wool” in the name…
That makes me think of Woolite. Another reader suggests Ivory liquid.
I use sometimes baby shampoo.
Soak is best – I get it, but it is rather expensive, if one needs to be budget-wise, what is the next best thing?
I believe that’s the product she means. I used it way back for a short while and it left my sweaters very unhappy. Never again.
I use shampoo in a pinch! But even with all my handknits it takes me a year to go through a small bottle of Soak.
Why did I not ensure my washer had the appropriate cycles when I purchased it a few years ago? Rinse and spin is not the one to use. (Ask me how I know.) About 20 years ago I purchased a spin dryer from Dharma Trading Company and it works perfectly for me. Great if you have room for one and no drain and spin on your machine.
Do you still have the manual, or can you find one online? I had a washing machine that only displayed a rinse and spin option on the dial, BUT I found that there was a way to get spin only – for my machine, I just needed to hold down the spin-speed button. It might just be hidden!
Kate
Genius! Thank you for this! I don’t have a drain and spin cycle and it never occurred to me there was a work around.
Success:)
Vents and fans are the perfect “air dry” gadgets, aren’t they?
A while back, I bought SOAK’s Freshen, and in reading the fine print, it sounds like a starch. I don’t have it in front of me, but the labels says something about restoring crispness or structure, neither of which I want (or at least I don’t think I want) in a shawl. Can anyone tell me if/how to use it for knitted items? Mr. Google hasn’t been helpful, and the vendor said it freshened the smell of stored items, which is why I got it. But the “crisp” comment is concerning me!
I’m not familiar with Freshen, and I can’t find reference to it on the website. What you’re describing sounds like their “Flatter” product, which is indeed a light starch. As I understand, it was designed for use in sewing, quilting in particular. Perhaps check to see which one you have?
Kate
Yes! I was able to look and it is indeed Flatten!! I wonder if the vendor or I pulled the wrong one by mistake! It smells great…would I dare to use it as a refresher…like the out-storage-smell? I’m thinking no? If it wouldn’t damage the fiber, it might at least not waste it. But, I could donate to our LYS to pass on to quilters, also. Thank you so much for looking it up for me!!
Another great article, Kate. Thanks! BTW- Love the dog crate idea!
For archival hand washing (of cottons) we use a product called Orvis – where a small dab gets you a lot of suds. (Bonus- it’s cheapest at Veterinary supply stores – apparently it’s used on horses).
Anyone ever try it on wool?
Yes, Orvis is highly recommend by textile restorers and spinners and many others! It’s not always easy to find but if you’ve got access to it, it’s an excellent choice.
Thanks for a great refresh on laundering hand knits. I’m thankful for reminders.
You’re recommending Orvus Coat Defense–shampoo for horses with sensitive skin–for sweaters?
I’ve used Orvis paste for years. It works well for hand washing delicate items like old handmade quilts and knitted items as well.
I am making my first large blanket with superwash wool. Would you recommend a brief spin in the dryer?
Great comments. Thank you for saving our hard work!
….and the tumbling will cause pilling.” I learned something more by reading to the end 😀
Dog crate! Excellent idea, thank you! I have a drying rack, made of PVC tubing and some mesh, it sits 4 inches off the ground. I put it on the floor next to our boiler and my woolens dry in about 24 hours.
So fun to see I’m not the only person using the dog crate to dry my woolens!
I am in the time of year when all the sweaters get their washing before their summer resting phase. Yesterday I washed an older, not hand knit cashmere cardigan and I was lost in the process of squeezing (very gently) it in the trug I use and feeling very virtuous that this ritual allows me to keep sweaters longer.
Thanks for reinforcing my late Spring/early Summer ritual!
I used Eucalan to wash a baby blanket knitted with 50% acrylic, 50% nylon yarn in dark green and yellow with little spots of other colors. (I like baby blankets that I am gifting to be easiest possible to care for.) The green ran. The FO was still nice — the spots of other colors meant the running of the green didn’t stand out — but I was disappointed. My LYS recommended not using Eucalan for non-wool fibers but also reported the issue to the manufacturer in case there had been a manufacturing defect.
I firmly believe in rinsing. It is amazing how dark and dirty that water is. Also, I use the same gentle detergent from the grocery store I use for everything else-it works well, doesn’t cost more or have a scent that causes a reaction in my household. Further, with an entire household wearing wool, I use my fences, wooden racks and more to dry outdoors and and I use my top loader washer on delicate cycle, cold, no problems. Different strokes for different, wool wearing folks.
Thanks for the article, Kate. It comes at a good time, too–sweater-washing time is here. I have always hand-washed my handknit sweaters, but store-bought ones go in the washer. I haven’t used a garment bag before; do you just shove the sweater into it, or do you fold it up and put it in? And I’m assuming it’s one sweater per bag, yes?
I’ve always wondered, what is the advice for really dirty handknits? My husband uses his older sweaters for blacksmithing, woodworking and other grubby work. Now and then there are stains of undetermined machine oil, wood polish and glue. Rubbed in dirt is pretty common. A simple soak does nothing to the stains! This sometimes happens to his handknit socks too, I’ve yet to figure out how to get oil based clay out. I do scrub and I’ve tried various stain removing soaps but nothing stands out. For overall washing I use Eucalan.What is the best method for really nasty stains? And very dirty handknits?
Ivory liquid dish soap for the win. I’ve been using it for literally decades. A good squirt in the sink or a big glug in the washing machine.