How to Wash Wool

This article was co-authored by Susan Stocker. Susan Stocker runs and owns Susan’s Green Cleaning, the #1 Green Cleaning Company in Seattle. She is well known in the region for outstanding customer service protocols — winning the 2017 Better Business Torch Award for Ethics & Integrity —and her energetic support of green cleaning practices.

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Wool is an extremely delicate material that is prone to shrinking, but that does not mean that you cannot wash your wool items from time to time. [1] X Expert Source

Susan Stocker
Green Cleaning Expert Expert Interview. 8 November 2019. Hand wash your garment by soaking it soapy water, then rinsing and air drying it. You can also machine wash your garment on the wool or delicates setting, then air dry your wool garment. After drying, you may have to gently stretch your wool garment back to its original size to combat shrinkage.

Method 1 of 3:

Hand Washing Wool

Fill a bucket with water and soap. Fill up a clean bucket or tub with lukewarm water, then add a mild liquid detergent formulated for delicate fabrics and materials. Check the label for instructions on how much detergent to add, or add about ½ cup (118.29 ml). [2] X Research source

This gentle swishing mimics the motion of a washing machine and allows the soap to pass through the wool and remove dirt or impurities.

Let the garment soak for ten minutes. [4] X Expert Source

Susan Stocker
Green Cleaning Expert Expert Interview. 8 November 2019. After about a minute of swishing the wool item around in the water, let the garment sit and soak in the water for about ten minutes. [5] X Research source

Remove the sweater and press out excess water. After ten minutes, take the wool garment out of the water. Roll the wool item from one corner to another into a ball and squeeze the balled garment to press out excess water, then place the garment aside. [6] X Research source

Empty the bucket and fill with water. Empty the bucket or tub entirely of the soapy water. Then fill the tub back up with clean, tepid water so that you can rinse the wool again. [7] X Research source

Swish the wool item in the clean water. Place the wool garment back in the tub of clean water, then swish it around just as you did before. Swishing the garment will wash the remaining soap out of the wool. [8] X Research source

Repeat rinsing if necessary. The one wash in clean water should have removed all of the laundry soap. However, if the water is extremely soapy and it seems like there is still soap ingrained in the wool, pour the water out, fill it back up with clean water, and repeat the process of swishing the garment around in the clean water. [9] X Research source

Advertisement Method 2 of 3:

Machine Washing Wool

If the label says hand wash, it’s best to hand wash your sweater rather than machine wash. Only machine wash the garment if it is recommended on the tag.

Place the item in a mesh bag. Put the wool item in a mesh delicates bag to protect the wool material from snagging inside the machine. Though it isn’t absolutely necessary to use a mesh bag, it can protect the delicate fibers of the wool item from damage. [11] X Research source

Some machines have a hand washing setting, which you can also use as it is quite gentle.

Add delicate laundry detergent. Add a laundry detergent formulated for wools or delicates, using its label to approximate how much you will need. [13] X Research source

Place the wool item in the machine. After you turn on the wash settings and have added the soap, place the wool item in the machine. Close the machine and wash the garment until the cycle is over. [14] X Research source

Advertisement Method 3 of 3:

Drying and Stretching the Wool Garment

The clean towel will help to absorb the excess water from the wool so that it will take a shorter time to air dry.

Squeeze the rolled towel. When the towel is rolled completely, gently squeeze the roll from one end to another. Don’t twist or wring the rolled towel, as this can damage the fibers of the wool. [16] X Research source

Lay the wool garment out to air dry. [17] X Expert Source

Do not hang up the wool garment on a hanger to dry, as this can cause the item to stretch and become misshapen.

You can also stretch the garment and pin it in place to the towel with sewing pins so that it dries stretched out, but this should be a last resort since it sometimes warps the pinned areas. [19] X Research source

Expert Q&A

Can I shrink my wool clothes in the wash to make them fit better? Susan Stocker
Green Cleaning Expert

Susan Stocker runs and owns Susan’s Green Cleaning, the #1 Green Cleaning Company in Seattle. She is well known in the region for outstanding customer service protocols — winning the 2017 Better Business Torch Award for Ethics & Integrity —and her energetic support of green cleaning practices.

Green Cleaning Expert Expert Answer

Wool is one of the easiest fabrics to shrink. To shrink a wool item, wash it in hot water and then dry it. How much the item shrinks depends on the type of wool, however, so there is no surefire way to guess how much a wool item will shrink. Some can go from XL to infant size, while others can go from XL to Medium. Wool is highly unpredictable.

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What do I do if my wool sweater shrunk in the washing machine? wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer

This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor Staff Answer

It can be difficult to fix but try this: Fill a tub with lukewarm water, adding ⅓ cup of either delicate wool wash or baby shampoo. Push the shrunken sweater under the water to cover it and let soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the water, squeeze the sweater gently (no rinsing), then lay it on a clean towel. Roll or bundle the towel up to remove more water and leave a damp sweater. Gently stretch the damp sweater into shape again; the fibers will be more malleable while damp. Let dry on a sweater rack. If this fails, donate it to someone smaller than you, possibly a child or use it for animal bedding, felting projects, a cushion cover or other repurposed hacks.