Wool does need special care, but it’s not as difficult as many people are afraid it will be!
You don’t need to wash wool with every wearing – hang it up to dry after each use, and wash once it starts to smell bad or if you notice it’s not performing up to par.
You may wash your wool by hand or in the machine on the delicate or handwash cycle (do this at your own risk – there’s a slight chance that your machine’s delicate cycle will have enough agitation to shrink your wool).
Use a wool wash, and follow the directions on your bottle of wash. Wash in warm water, and avoid extreme temperature changes.
Squeeze out as much water as you can, then wrap your wool in a towel and press to remove even more water.
You may hang your wool to dry, or dry flat. I like to lay my wool on our radiators during the winter!
After several washes, if you notice your covers aren’t performing as they should, you may need to re-lanolize. (If you use a high lanolin content wool wash, you may not need to lanolize your covers separately.) To do this, melt some lanolin in a small cup of hot water. Fill the sink with warm water, add the (clean) covers, and add the lanolin. Agitate just a bit, let soak for a bit, then remove and dry as above!
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