Hand wash/cold water

[Janise]

How do you hand wash in cold water? I assume you don't rub the "material"
together, just squeezing the water through it. But for how long? Do you
soak the item for any length of time? (And boy, isn't that cold water cold?
LOL)

Janise

[Wooly]

Handwashing is for the birds and there is very little I'll handle that
way these days. If we're talking woolen goods (sweaters, etc), here's
my method, which assumes a top-loading washer.

1. Fill the tub with HOT water. When the tub is full add a squirt of
cheap shampoo (scented or not, your choice). Agitate for a minute to
dissolve the shampoo and then

2. TURN OFF THE MACHINE. If you have "helpful" housemates then you
should UNPLUG the machine and put TAPE over the dials/buttons to
prevent "helpful" household members from "finishing" the load you
apparently "forgot".

3. Stuff in your woolens and poke down with a stick/dowel/wooden
spoon to immerse. Walk away for half an hour.

4. Without turning the machine ON, crank the selector dial over to
SPIN ONLY. Most machines have a SPIN option that will not spew water
into the drum during the spin cycle - this is the spin cycle that you
want.

5. When you are certain that you have a no-water-spewing SPIN ONLY
cycle selected, plug the machine in if necessary and turn the machine
on. This will spin out the dirty water and suds.

6. When the SPIN cycle is finished REMOVE the woolens from the
machine.

7. Rinse out the tub with fresh water (short fill, sloosh it around
with a rag, spin out, wipe).

8. If the water from the first detergent soak was just disgusting by
all means give the woolens a second detergent soak, following steps
1-7.

9. When you're satisfied with the cleanliness of your woolens you may
rinse, following steps 1-7 but OMIT the detergent/shampoo. For
woolens that may be scratchy when dry put them through a second rinse
with a dollop of cheap hair conditioner added to the rinsewater. [Ed:
IMO adding conditioner merely encourages dirt to accumulate faster on
the wool.]

10. Roll each item in a towel and stomp it well to remove excess
water. Shake out onto a drying screen, reshape, and allow to dry. I
generally turn my sweaters/socks/whatevers inside-out occasionally as
they dry; this helps speed drying and reduces creases and other odd
lumps and bumps once the [item] is dry.

11. When each sweater is bone-dry stuff it in its own cotton
pillowslip. Tie the opening securely and store the bags in your
closet or cedar chest until next fall.

One final note: You can even wash "delicate" wool lace shawls in this
manner if you put them in a lingerie bag.

Post by Janise
How do you hand wash in cold water? I assume you don't rub the "material"
together, just squeezing the water through it. But for how long? Do you
soak the item for any length of time? (And boy, isn't that cold water cold?
LOL)
Janise

[Janise]

Thanks, Wooly. Actually what I'm washing is a sweater that DD#2 bought. It
is 70% Viscose, 30% Nylon...but, it has sequins sewn on it.

That being said, do you use Hot water for all of your woolens, even those
that say wash in cold water?

Janise

Post by Wooly
Handwashing is for the birds and there is very little I'll handle that
way these days. If we're talking woolen goods (sweaters, etc), here's
my method, which assumes a top-loading washer.
1. Fill the tub with HOT water. When the tub is full add a squirt of
cheap shampoo (scented or not, your choice). Agitate for a minute to
dissolve the shampoo and then
2. TURN OFF THE MACHINE. If you have "helpful" housemates then you
should UNPLUG the machine and put TAPE over the dials/buttons to
prevent "helpful" household members from "finishing" the load you
apparently "forgot".
3. Stuff in your woolens and poke down with a stick/dowel/wooden
spoon to immerse. Walk away for half an hour.
4. Without turning the machine ON, crank the selector dial over to
SPIN ONLY. Most machines have a SPIN option that will not spew water
into the drum during the spin cycle - this is the spin cycle that you
want.
5. When you are certain that you have a no-water-spewing SPIN ONLY
cycle selected, plug the machine in if necessary and turn the machine
on. This will spin out the dirty water and suds.
6. When the SPIN cycle is finished REMOVE the woolens from the
machine.
7. Rinse out the tub with fresh water (short fill, sloosh it around
with a rag, spin out, wipe).
8. If the water from the first detergent soak was just disgusting by
all means give the woolens a second detergent soak, following steps
1-7.
9. When you're satisfied with the cleanliness of your woolens you may
rinse, following steps 1-7 but OMIT the detergent/shampoo. For
woolens that may be scratchy when dry put them through a second rinse
IMO adding conditioner merely encourages dirt to accumulate faster on
the wool.]
10. Roll each item in a towel and stomp it well to remove excess
water. Shake out onto a drying screen, reshape, and allow to dry. I
generally turn my sweaters/socks/whatevers inside-out occasionally as
they dry; this helps speed drying and reduces creases and other odd
lumps and bumps once the [item] is dry.
11. When each sweater is bone-dry stuff it in its own cotton
pillowslip. Tie the opening securely and store the bags in your
closet or cedar chest until next fall.
One final note: You can even wash "delicate" wool lace shawls in this
manner if you put them in a lingerie bag.

Post by Janise
How do you hand wash in cold water? I assume you don't rub the "material"
together, just squeezing the water through it. But for how long? Do you
soak the item for any length of time? (And boy, isn't that cold water cold?
LOL)
Janise

[Wooly]

Post by Janise
Thanks, Wooly. Actually what I'm washing is a sweater that DD#2 bought. It
is 70% Viscose, 30% Nylon...but, it has sequins sewn on it.

Hrm, I'd turn it inside out, stuff it in a lingerie bag and treat as I
described.

Post by Janise
That being said, do you use Hot water for all of your woolens, even those
that say wash in cold water?

Yep. As long as you don't 1) agitate or 2) effect sudden change in
temp from hot to cold your woolens will be fine. The recommendation
to "handwash cold, dry flat" is for those who don't know that wool can
be washed in hot water.

Besides, you don't wash your dirty dishes in cold water - why should
you expect it to get your clothes clean, especially those you only
launder a few times a year?

[Threnody]

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 14:33:13 GMT, "Janise"

Post by Janise
Thanks, Wooly. Actually what I'm washing is a sweater that DD#2
bought. It is 70% Viscose, 30% Nylon...but, it has sequins sewn on
it.

Hrm, I'd turn it inside out, stuff it in a lingerie bag and treat as
I described.

Baby shampoos work best, IMO, and you can get them in a variety of
different scents. My favorite for the wash and block process is the
"Grins and Giggles" line in lavendar. Since I have a baby here at home
(and a four year old with sensitive skin) I've had a lot of opportunity
to test different once and the G&G ones just smell nicer and seem to be
very gentle on the fibers. There are some good kid conditioners on the
market too, one of them being from the Suave line that, again, is very
gentle and good for softening scratchy items without leaving heavy
residue.

With apologies to Mother Goose:

Rub-a-dub-dub, three FOs in a tub
And who do you think they be?
The baby, the big girl, the Tunisian that won't curl
Turn them out, clean all three.

Crochet is hardly hobby enough, apparently. I branch into awful parody
now and then.

--Threnody
whee! i need more coffee

[Katherine]

Post by Threnody

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 14:33:13 GMT, "Janise"

Post by Janise
Thanks, Wooly. Actually what I'm washing is a sweater that DD#2
bought. It is 70% Viscose, 30% Nylon...but, it has sequins sewn on
it.

Hrm, I'd turn it inside out, stuff it in a lingerie bag and treat as
I described.

Baby shampoos work best, IMO, and you can get them in a variety of
different scents. My favorite for the wash and block process is the
"Grins and Giggles" line in lavendar. Since I have a baby here at
home (and a four year old with sensitive skin) I've had a lot of
opportunity to test different once and the G&G ones just smell nicer
and seem to be very gentle on the fibers. There are some good kid
conditioners on the market too, one of them being from the Suave line
that, again, is very gentle and good for softening scratchy items
without leaving heavy residue.
Rub-a-dub-dub, three FOs in a tub
And who do you think they be?
The baby, the big girl, the Tunisian that won't curl
Turn them out, clean all three.
Crochet is hardly hobby enough, apparently. I branch into awful
parody now and then.
--Threnody
whee! i need more coffee

LOL Thanks for the chuckle!

Katherine

[B Vaughan]

Post by Wooly
Handwashing is for the birds and there is very little I'll handle that
way these days. If we're talking woolen goods (sweaters, etc), here's
my method, which assumes a top-loading washer.

It sounds like it would be easier to hand wash.

Post by Wooly
1. Fill the tub with HOT water. When the tub is full add a squirt of
cheap shampoo (scented or not, your choice). Agitate for a minute to
dissolve the shampoo and then
2. TURN OFF THE MACHINE. If you have "helpful" housemates then you
should UNPLUG the machine and put TAPE over the dials/buttons to
prevent "helpful" household members from "finishing" the load you
apparently "forgot".
3. Stuff in your woolens and poke down with a stick/dowel/wooden
spoon to immerse. Walk away for half an hour.
4. Without turning the machine ON, crank the selector dial over to
SPIN ONLY. Most machines have a SPIN option that will not spew water
into the drum during the spin cycle - this is the spin cycle that you
want.
5. When you are certain that you have a no-water-spewing SPIN ONLY
cycle selected, plug the machine in if necessary and turn the machine
on. This will spin out the dirty water and suds.
6. When the SPIN cycle is finished REMOVE the woolens from the
machine.
7. Rinse out the tub with fresh water (short fill, sloosh it around
with a rag, spin out, wipe).
8. If the water from the first detergent soak was just disgusting by
all means give the woolens a second detergent soak, following steps
1-7.
9. When you're satisfied with the cleanliness of your woolens you may
rinse, following steps 1-7 but OMIT the detergent/shampoo. For
woolens that may be scratchy when dry put them through a second rinse
IMO adding conditioner merely encourages dirt to accumulate faster on
the wool.]
10. Roll each item in a towel and stomp it well to remove excess
water. Shake out onto a drying screen, reshape, and allow to dry. I
generally turn my sweaters/socks/whatevers inside-out occasionally as
they dry; this helps speed drying and reduces creases and other odd
lumps and bumps once the [item] is dry.
11. When each sweater is bone-dry stuff it in its own cotton
pillowslip. Tie the opening securely and store the bags in your
closet or cedar chest until next fall.
One final note: You can even wash "delicate" wool lace shawls in this
manner if you put them in a lingerie bag.

Post by Janise
How do you hand wash in cold water? I assume you don't rub the "material"
together, just squeezing the water through it. But for how long? Do you
soak the item for any length of time? (And boy, isn't that cold water cold?
LOL)
Janise

[Wooly]

Post by B Vaughan

Post by Wooly
Handwashing is for the birds and there is very little I'll handle that
way these days. If we're talking woolen goods (sweaters, etc), here's
my method, which assumes a top-loading washer.

It sounds like it would be easier to hand wash.

Sure, if you don't mind immersing your hands in cold water, being
unable to squeeze out the washed garments, and don't really care if
you get the stuff clean or not.

What's so difficult about filling the washer, turning it off, stuffing
in the woolens and walking away for a while? There's certainly a lot
less hands-on than there is with "handwashing" and IME the end product
is a lot cleaner for the effort.

[B Vaughan]

Post by Wooly

Post by B Vaughan

Post by Wooly
Handwashing is for the birds and there is very little I'll handle that
way these days. If we're talking woolen goods (sweaters, etc), here's
my method, which assumes a top-loading washer.

It sounds like it would be easier to hand wash.

Sure, if you don't mind immersing your hands in cold water, being
unable to squeeze out the washed garments, and don't really care if
you get the stuff clean or not.

I never use really cold water, more skin temperature. I remove the
excess water with towels.

Post by Wooly
What's so difficult about filling the washer, turning it off, stuffing
in the woolens and walking away for a while? There's certainly a lot
less hands-on than there is with "handwashing" and IME the end product
is a lot cleaner for the effort.

Well, it looked like an awful lot of steps.

[Wooly]

Post by B Vaughan
Well, it looked like an awful lot of steps.

Maybe, but when you actually do it there's not much to it. Some
people need it broken out, some don't.

[Tante Jan]

Post by Janise
How do you hand wash in cold water? I assume you don't rub the "material"
together, just squeezing the water through it. But for how long? Do you
soak the item for any length of time? (And boy, isn't that cold water cold?
LOL)
Janise

Personally, I don't think it is ever necessary to use really cold water. I
think it is just as good to use water that is close to room temperature. I
let the item soak for about 10 minutes and don't rub unless there are stains
that seem to need rubbing and then do it carefully. Many items that are
labeled hand-wash only can be washed in a machine but you have to make your
own judgment about doing it as you are taking a chance when you do.

[Katherine]

Post by Janise
How do you hand wash in cold water? I assume you don't rub the
"material" together, just squeezing the water through it. But for
how long? Do you soak the item for any length of time? (And boy,
isn't that cold water cold? LOL)

I just squeeze the water, and it takes about three minutes. Then I rinse
with running cool water.

HTH
Katherine

[Karen in MN]

Post by Janise
How do you hand wash in cold water? I assume you don't rub the "material"
together, just squeezing the water through it. But for how long? Do you
soak the item for any length of time? (And boy, isn't that cold water cold?
LOL)
Janise

Depending on your washing machine, you may just be able to run it through a
wash cycle with the lid up -- some of them have a safety feature that allows
no agitation as long as the lid is up, but you still get the soak and the
rinse and spin. I wash all my woolens and delicates this way.

[!! (Kira Dirlik)]

I use Woolite in luke warm water. Just squeeze lightly and move them
around. I like the hands-on approach, and watching all that dirt come
out. Rinse a few times again in luke warm water. Then, depending on
the delicacy of the item, I either put them in the washing machine
and spin out most of the water, or I put them in a large towel and
gently squeeze out the extra water. In both cases then I just block
them nicely on a fresh dry towel and let them dry in shape.
Kira