Wool is an excellent material, especially in winter. For example, a wool sock absorbs volatile moisture and odors from the foot, causing the wool fibers to curl. The wool has an exceptional structure. The different parts in the fiber grow and behave differently, which causes the fiber to curl. These different parts also absorb moisture in different ways. Therefore, the wool fiber curls more as it gets wet. There is more air between the wool fibers of the curls, which increases the feeling of warmth in the foot.
Wool repels dirt, so it does not need to be washed often. Also the wool becomes easily clean in the wash. It’s good because washing the wool needs to be done in a special way so it doesn’t shrink or felt. Due to its structure, wool has this exceptional feature, felting. When I was a teenager, my mom ones washed my favorite pullover in the washing machine with a normal program. She didn’t realize I had washed it by hand myself. From the machine came out a shrunken, but so thick and stiff pullover that no child could use it either. The strength of wool also deteriorates when it gets wet. Therefore, it is very important that the wool product is properly maintained. This way it stays good and lasts in use. However, wool is a tough fiber. Aging is not always a negative property. Wool can be used to make good felted products. In addition, part of the wool is treated so that it will not felt and they can be washed more carefree.
The wool does not wrinkle easily. From a small stretch, it recovers well. However, repeated or violent stretching will cause it to stretch permanently. Take good care of your wool product and it is an excellent and long-lasting product.
In addition, wool is a renewable and biodegradable natural fiber. As long as it does not contain man-made fibers or has not been treated with environmentally harmful chemicals that are released into the environment when wool decomposes. The wool is also inherently quite fireproof. If kept in a flame, it burns slowly, but the wool goes out on its own when it is taken out of the flame.
The downside of wool is that it electrifies easily, especially in frost. However, man-made fibers also electrify easily, so they do not provide a solution to this problem. In my opinion, electrifying is not that bad compared to how wonderfully warm you will stay in woolen clothes.
How then should that wool product be washed?
Only certain wool products can be machine washed with a gentle 40 degree program. Other wool products should be washed by hand. You should use a special neutral detergent for wool, as ordinary detergents increase felting. Wool does not withstand bleaching.
Wool garments should be shaped wet and flat dried. Otherwise, they will stretch into the wrong shape. They should not be left to dry in direct sunlight, as UV rays weaken the wool.
If for some reason you want to iron your wool product, it can probably be done at 150 degrees (2 dots).
What is mulesing?
Merino sheep have been processed into corrugated skin to obtain as much wool as possible from a single sheep. For sheep, an excessive amount of wool is heavy to carry. In addition, the urine and sweat accumulated in the folds attract flies and the meat flies with their larvae begin to nest in the sheep. As early as the 1930s, J.W.H. Mules had noticed that flies at sheep skin scarring sites caused by shears could not lay eggs as easily as on healthy skin. According to him, a mulesing procedure has been named in which the skin at the stern of a sheep is removed so that the parasites can no longer lay eggs in the sheep. This operation is performed on lambs under one year of age and does not require anesthesia or antiseptics. It usually takes less than a month for the wound to heal. Many wool producers today use mulesing-free labeling.
