Get Dry Clean Like Softness For Your Woollens at Home! Here's How!

With the winter season in full swing, the colourful scarves, mufflers, cardigans and sweaters are making their appearance everywhere. However, we all tend to get a bit apprehensive about the care and maintenance of woollen clothing, especially the expensive, branded woollens. We know how they can be vulnerable to shrinkage, colour fading, loss of softness etc., which is why we often tend to opt for dry cleaning wool. To address these concerns and find alternatives to dry cleaning, we began researching this fabric and what makes it so unique.

We learnt that wool belongs to a group of proteins called keratins, responsible for its elasticity, flexibility and wrinkle recovery properties. These special properties also make it delicate, so we cannot handle them like our other garments.

Like everyone, we thought we could only dry clean our woollens to keep them clean, especially the high end ones. But, after some trial and error, we understood that if we use the right products, we could get dry clean like softness for our woollens at home. Check out the step-by-step process we followed for the same.

Step by Step Guide to Wash Woollen Garments

1. Love & Care Soft Woollens Expert Care Wash Liquid Detergent

2. Bucket

Step 1: Check the Garment Care Label

We all know that there is a care instruction label sewn on our garments. But, how many of us make it a point to check it? When it comes to woollen clothes, you don't want to take a chance. If the label mentions only dry clean, don't attempt to wash it at home and head straight to a professional dry cleaner. But, most woollens can be cleaned at home, and the same will be mentioned clearly on their care label.

Step 2: Turn the Garments Inside Out

We highly recommend washing your precious woollen garments by hand. And, we also recommend turning them inside out before washing them. We have seen that this simple step protects the outer part of the woollen garment from being handled too aggressively and damaging the wool fibres. This in turn helps in prolonging the winter wear's longevity and softness.

Step 3: Use Only Cold Water for Soaking

It didn't take us long to understand that woollens are vulnerable to high water temperatures and agitation. Often hot water and rough handling of woollen garments results in shrinkage and loss of their natural softness. Thus, use lukewarm water of 30 degrees Celsius or less and always handle woollen clothes with a gentle touch. Begin by filling half a bucket with clean water.

Step 4: Add a Gentle Detergent Suitable for Woollens

Initially, our lack of awareness made us use regular detergent for our woollens. Unfortunately, some of our favourite woollens had to be discarded in the bargain. The harsh chemicals damaged the wool fibres and led to loss of lustre, rough texture and colour fading.

We realized we needed a detergent meant exclusively for woollen clothes. Among the entire range of wool-friendly detergents, the features of Love & Care Soft Woollens Expert Care Wash Liquid Detergent instantly grabbed our attention. Its package mentioned that its unique formulation is pH balanced and has no enzymes or bleach.

When the pH level of a detergent is low, it means that the detergent is mild and gentler on clothes. It will keep the strength of the fabric intact. When the pH level is higher, it means that the detergent is harsher on your clothes. Therefore, it is important to opt for a detergent that has either low or neutral pH level. Also, industrial enzymes and soda traditionally used in detergents can cause damage to delicate materials such as woollen clothes. So, both the pH level balance and absence of enzymes and soda in Love & Care Woollens Expert Care Wash Liquid helped us in retaining the new-like softness and shine of the woollens.

When we finally used Love & Care Soft Woollens Expert Care Wash Liquid Detergent, we actually felt the difference in our woollen garments. Even after repeated washes, the softness and fluffiness of our woollens was just as when they were bought. Their shape, texture, colour was not hampered in any way. We also found it to be an extremely easy-to-use product.

We first mixed one cap of Love & Care Soft Woollens Expert Care Wash Liquid Detergent in half a bucket of cold water. Then we soaked our woollens in this solution for up to 5 minutes. Finally, we rinsed our woollens gently. We noticed that its low foam technology helped us avoid over rinsing our clothes which would otherwise damage the woollen fibre.

Step 5: Dry with Care

After washing our woollens with Love & Care Soft Woollens Expert Care Wash Liquid Detergent, we then dried them on a flat surface. We recommend not hanging the woollens to dry; instead, dry them on a flat surface. We did this as we noticed that woollens tend to absorb more water, and when they are hung, the weight of the water can distort its shape. Also, avoid drying it under direct sunlight as it could damage the woollen fibre and make it rough. Hence we always dry our woollens under the shade to retain their softness and shine.

We are sure this step by step guide will give your woollens just the softness and shine it needs.

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