How to Care for Lambswool We all love Lambswool, its hard to
Image the world without our old favourite the knitted Lambswool
Cardigan, we all love wearing Lambswool sweaters and feeling
snug and warm when we have a nice, soft to the touch, Lambswool
garment on our backs. Natural fibres like Lambswool and wool are
both highly durable and environmentally friendly, but, Lambswool
and wool cardigans and sweaters may however be negatively
affected by some components in heavy-duty washing powders if
incorrectly treated in laundering. This is not to say that
Lambswool and wool is in any way weak or inferior, merely that
as a natural material, like skin or hair, it can be harmed by
aggressive agencies.
What to avoid There are two main types of ingredient that may
result in the deterioration of a Lambswool cardigan or wool
sweater washed under incorrect conditions:
Sorry but it gets a little technical here.
Biological Detergents In addition to the normal surfactants,
emulsifiers, perfumes etc contained in ordinary detergents, the
so-called ‘bio’ detergents also include a small quantity of
enzymes. These are protein digesting biological catalysts, and
are effective at decomposing stains or soiling in which
protinaceous material is the main constituent. Egg, blood, and
most other food stains etc are all protein based and will be
effectively removed by enzyme-containing detergents. The problem
is that like fur and hair, the histological structure of the
fibre in Lambswool cardigans and sweaters is based on the
polypeptide and disulphide linked protein Keratin. This can
itself be affected by the biological components in some of these
detergents. It is possible that enzymes may attack the cell
membrane complex of the wool fibres, and lead to disintegration
of the structure into its component cortical cells, this leads
to a hole filled Lambswool garment.
Bleaches and Bleach Activators In order to increase their
apparent cleansing efficiency, some washing powders include
bleaches or ‘bleach activators’. These are usually of an
oxidative nature, though can also be reductive. Again, because
of Lambswool and wool’s inherently natural characteristics, the
fibre can be damaged by strong solutions in these
bleach-containing powders.
More often than not, these types of washing powders will cause
fading of colour to Lambswool cardigans and sweaters, even
erosion of the fibre cuticle and a corresponding deterioration
in resilience and strength.
What to use Washing powders intended for use with natural fibres
(Lambswool, wool cashmere, etc) will avoid the inclusion of
strong bleaching and biological agents and these are therefore
to be preferred for the washing of your favourite Lambswool
cardigans and sweaters.