WOOL IS SELF-CLEANING
The ability of wool fibres to absorb and neutralise bad odours is far superior to other textile materials. Wool is easy to take care of, self-cleaning and doesn’t smell bad. The keratin in wool actually breaks down the bad smelling bacteria from your skin naturally.
The core of wool’s fibre is composed of two types of cells that absorb different amounts of moisture. One type swells more than the other causing a constant motion friction between the two. This characteristic creates a mechanical, self-cleaning effect.
Moisture on the surface of a textile promotes bacteria growth, but the outside of the wool fibre stays relatively dry. The surface of the fibre in wool is water repellent, which prevents bacteria growth and its resulting bad smell.
WOOLPOWER CAN BE WASHED AT 60 °C
Sometimes though you just have to wash your Woolpower garment. Our Ullfrotté Original and Woolpower LITE undergarments can be machine washed at 60 °C and tumble-dried at a medium heat. The surface of wool’s fibres is covered with small scales, which means that woollen clothes can become bobbled when washed. But Woolpower’s clothes are treated so the wool is machine washable.
When you wash clothes made of wool, you can use Woolcare, our own washing detergent for wool. It’s a gentle detergent that contains lanolin, the natural fat found in wool, which helps to retain the fine qualities of wool. You can also use a normal detergent, or not any detergent at all. Normal water works – as it comes. Fabric softener shouldn’t be used, and isn’t necessary, as Woolpower clothes are lovely and soft already. The clothes can also be tumble-dried, but the material shouldn’t be over-dried. This can damage the fibers.
KEEP COLOURS SEPARATE
Wash all clothes with similar colours. They might shed a bit in the first few washes, but their colours won’t run.
WON’T SHRINK
The clothes won’t shrink to any great extent, but they may contract a little. But since they stretch anyway, they will shape comfortably to your body when you put them on.
TURN THEM INSIDE OUT
An extra tip – wash the clothes inside out to extend their lifespan.
REPAIR A HOLE
There are several ways to mend a hole, but in these videos, you’ll get tips on how to repair both small and large holes using Kitchener stitch.
Mending with Kitchener stitch
- Choose yarn that matches the garment if you don’t want the repair to be visible; otherwise, use what you have at home.
- Kitchener stitch is a sewing technique to pick up and repair broken stitches by connecting them to adjacent stitches. To reinforce the surface, stitch weak stitches before they unravel and create holes.
- Simple Kitchener stitches can extend the life of your knitted garments and help you avoid the need to purchase new ones.
Replace a broken zipper
How to easily replace the zipper on your terry wool sweater at home:
- Buy a zipper of the correct length for your garment.
- Cut off the broken zipper as close to the edge as possible.
- Pin the new zipper to the fabric that remains from the old one.
- Sew the zipper in place with a straight stitch.
- Repeat on the other side.
- Test the zipper.
- Enjoy wearing your sweater for many more years!
You can find zippers, cuffs, and other accessories to repair your clothes here.
