It’s that time of the year to dig out your faithful old wool jumper that’s been hanging in your closet for years or the luxurious wool scarf that’s been carefully stowed away since Spring that you’ve been waiting to show off., Wrap them up and get ready to welcome the New Year with style.
However it is equally important to maintain that lustre to team them up with your best outfit. Here are a few tips on easy hacks to preserve your beloved winter-wear by Mr. Atul Vir, CEO and Founder of Equator Advanced Appliances who has been designing innovative washing machines for the past 30 years:
1) Gentle Cleaning: It is best to use coarse horsehair brush gently on the wool fabric after each wear. It will suit wool and take much more care than poor quality synthetic brushes. However it can be difficult to manage if the winter wear has been used multiple times. A convenient alternative would be to wash the woolen wear in a washing machine that has In-Built wash-cycles designed to suit wool and other winter-wear fabric. By setting the right pressure and rinse, you can avoid issues like De-threading of wool, stain & smell, etc. In that case, you can rely on smart appliances in the market. For e.g. Equator has designed a special Wool wash cycle, that applies proper care on the fabric as per the need.
2) The Right Detergent: One can use detergents that have No Soda and is pH-neutral to clean your clothes from within and keeps them looking as good as new for years!
3) Desiccate away from direct sunlight or heat– Always see to it the wool fabric has been drying at room temperature, direct contact of sunlight and heat can affect the fabric and make it worst.
4) Wool Resting method – Make sure the wool garments are hung aside for 24 hours before wearing again. This gives the natural flexibility and coil in the wool fabric and ample time to recover and return to its original shape.
5) Bracing– It helps to refresh the wool fabrics after unpacking. Simply hang the woollen wear on a hanger and keep in an airy area. In addition, before wearing, it can be hanged in the steamy bathroom which helps the fabric for moisturizing and helps to remove wrinkles from the wool.
6) Airing & Fragrance – While some airing whiffs get stuck into clothes for instance, food odours to remove those smells, place the wool garments flat on a bed or towel for an hour. One can even spray a light perfume from a considerable distance and keep the fabric in an open area for a few hours.
7) Hang it with Care– Some of the woven wool garments should be hung on triangular-shaped or padded coat hangers. This ensures there are no limpness.
8) Iron out– Wool fabrics do not require ironing in the first place, but if you still feel there is a need, use steam on the Wool Ironing mode while pressing for a better look. Moreover, avoid ironing the fabric when it is totally dry.
9) Lighter weight fabrics- Wool fabric with less weight may take a little longer time to shed their crease, so the wrinkles can also be removed by the use of ironing method with a damp cloth or steam iron on the fabric.
10) Storage- Proper storage is an important factor when it comes to extending the lifecycle of your wool. Meanwhile, food stains and body oils attract moths; you should make sure your wool fabric is clean before packing it away in airtight bags or containers. Ideally, the use of Woolmark-endorsed moth repellent can be helpful but do not place directly on the fabric.
11) Stain Removal – For greasy stains scrape the stain with a blunt object to remove excess oil and use a hot iron over layers of tissue to soak up the excess oil/grease. On can even use grease removers that are soft on fabric. Another solution is to use white spirit over the stain area.
For lesser greasy stains use a teaspoon salt into one cup lukewarm water and blot the stain. Another way is to add one teaspoon of wool wash detergent to a cup of warm water and apply it to the stain, Leave it for some time and then wash well with water.
A cloth soaked in diluted white vinegar can be used to lessen the ill-effects of the washing detergent.
12) Sanitization: During the current Pandemic it is imperative to keep your clothes Germ-Free. One can follow the Old method of washing i.e. soaking and hand washing the winter clothes in water with a liquid detergent meant to suit Wool and other knitted fabrics. Washing Machines like Equator’s Super Combo EZ 5000 CV makes a perfect choice with its in-built Sanitize Cycle that helps to kill the germs and preserve your wool fabric for years to come.
Following these simple alternatives, you can extend the life of your beautiful woolen fabrics while preserving them for a longer time.
