Tips to Take Care of Woolens: Make Them Last!

Winters are on a roll and you take out all your lovely sweaters and cardigans to keep you warm. This is a season to experiment with colors, woolens, sweaters and cardigans and mufflers but taking care of them could be a tricky job. Wool is delicate natural fiber and hence needs utmost care while washing and storing or else woolen garments will lose their color, shape and softness. Know how to take care of your woolens and make them last.

Tip 1- Woolens are more capable to attract and breed bacteria and dust particles in them. Hence regular brushing of the jackets and coats is important to keep them clean for a long time. Do this and you can wear them without getting any skin allergy or rashes.

Tip 2- Store your woolens dry and keep sun drying them. This helps in taking out all the moisture out from them thus killing all the germs in them. Sun drying also leaves the woolens warm and fluffy, and provides a heavenly feeling when you wear them.

Tip 3- To prevent damage, fold and store your heavy sweaters instead of hanging them in the cupboards. Hanging heavy woolens on the hangers causes forming of dimples in the shoulder areas of the sweater and stretches them. This destroys the shape of the sweater and makes it look loose on you. Forming dimples on the shoulders also causes tearing of the sweaters.

Tip 4- Woolens are made up of the fur of sheep and yak and hence are very delicate. To provide a long life to the woolens, always use mild soap and lukewarm water. Mild soap would keep the essential oils and luster intact in the woolens and maintain its shiny and soft appearance. Luke warm water helps to kill all the germs present in the woolens and keeps them hygienic.

Tip 5- Sweaters and cardigans often tend to form balls on their surface, which is due to friction while rubbing against other objects. These are the broken or torn threads of wool which curl and tangle to form minute balls on the surface. Most of these parts are in the elbow area and the balls make them look old and unattractive. Use small razors to take out all the balls out of your woolens and make them look like new again.

Tip 6- Never ever bleach your woolens to remove stains and dirt. This would remove color from the wool and make it look old and dull. Never use detergents which contain bleach in them.

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Tip 7- Avoid wearing the same woolen garment continuously for more than three days. Give your favorite woolens a rest as they take time to regain their original shape. Wearing the same woolen clothes everyday can cause early damage and make them look old and dull.

Tip 8- Never ever expose the woolens to direct sunlight. When clothes are dried in harsh sunlight, they tend to lose color, shape and their softness. Sun dry them in shade to maintain the color and oftness of your woolens.

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Tip 9- When you take out woolens from the trunks and old locked cupboards, hang them in a steamy room for a couple of minutes. This will remove the wrinkles and germs from your woolens.

Tip 10- In case your woolens are vintage animal fur, it is advised that you first use a wet cloth for cleaning and then proceed to washing. In this process, most of the dirt and stains would go away and sometimes you might not need to wash them. Gentle wiping helps the fur to stay at their place and prevent them from getting harmed and damaged.

Tip 11- Storing your woolens after winters could be a tricky job. As you are not going to check on them every month, make sure that you provide enough shield to keep them protected. Naphthalene balls are very important in such cases. They will keep the woolens safe from moths. Wrap some naphthalene balls and keep them between the stack of your woolens. Always wash them, fold them properly and then store them in the trunks and cupboards.

Source-Medindia