What immediate action do you take after splattering a fine wool sweater?
October 27, 2015 6:17 AM Subscribe
I invested in a really nice merino cardigan and celebrated by going to a new Japanese noodle restaurant and splattering soup all over it.
What's the best course of action after doing something like this?
- blot stain with water at restaurant?
- hand wash sweater as soon as possible?
- dry clean as soon as possible?
- don't worry about it? (as once soup dried, it was no longer visible)
Thanks,
Jon
I would blot at the restaurant and clean it as usual according to the instructions that came with it if I were being really careful, so any possible broth smell wouldn't attract moths like I know body odor can. I might behave more like Liesl, on preview, if there was a visible stain.
In reality I'm not really careful because all my merino is either fancy outerwear that I bought used (and so risk machine washing for convenience) or outdoor garments like tights and underwear (that explicitly tell you to machine wash and not sweat it). I do dry them on drying racks, though.
posted by hollyholly at 6:35 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
In reality I'm not really careful because all my merino is either fancy outerwear that I bought used (and so risk machine washing for convenience) or outdoor garments like tights and underwear (that explicitly tell you to machine wash and not sweat it). I do dry them on drying racks, though.
posted by hollyholly at 6:35 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Blot to absorb as much liquid as I can immediately and then do the same with some water. Evaluate whether to spot wash or completely wash when I got home.
posted by quince at 6:39 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by quince at 6:39 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
If you don't have any wool wash, you can also use a small amount of shampoo to do Liesl's suggestion. In the case of that, you will want to rinse by refilling the sink with clear water and submerging again, don't agitate or wring.
posted by cabingirl at 7:30 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cabingirl at 7:30 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Seconding Eucalan or a similar product, though in a pinch I have successfully hand washed knits using shampoo. Just follow Liesl's handwashing instructions but use a tablespoon or so of shampoo rather than specialized wool wash. If the sweater looks distorted after you press the water out you can gently tug it back into shape, but you probably don't even need to do this--wearing it once it's dry will also work it back into shape.
Do be mindful about over-agitating, rubbing, wringing or accidentally adding hot water to the basin. Mostly just let it soak and press the water out. That said, I actually think hand washing is bar none best way to clean knits, and if you have even one or two nice/expensive sweaters it's absolutely worth purchasing a bottle of some kind of wool wash. The idea that sweaters need to be dry cleaned is absolutely due to marketing and FUD on the part of the dry cleaning industry. I generally wash mine once a year before packing them up for the summer, or when they're visibly dirty.
Woven woolens are what you really want to be cautious about washing (or even getting wet), and probably do need to be dry cleaned when they're dirty--the weave may shrink more or less along different axes, puckering the fabric, and woven woolens are more likely to be constructed from a mix of materials and interfacing which need to stay roughly the same size and shape for the garment to look right. Woolen knits are of a more flexible construction and getting them wet is no problem as long as you don't felt them, and merino and cashmere are actually easier since they resist felting, I assume for the same reason that they are more comfortable to wear (felting occurs when the slightly scaly wool fibers can move in one direction relative to each other but not the other; think of any given pair of fibers acting as a microscopic ratchet).
posted by pullayup at 7:37 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
Do be mindful about over-agitating, rubbing, wringing or accidentally adding hot water to the basin. Mostly just let it soak and press the water out. That said, I actually think hand washing is bar none best way to clean knits, and if you have even one or two nice/expensive sweaters it's absolutely worth purchasing a bottle of some kind of wool wash. The idea that sweaters need to be dry cleaned is absolutely due to marketing and FUD on the part of the dry cleaning industry. I generally wash mine once a year before packing them up for the summer, or when they're visibly dirty.
Woven woolens are what you really want to be cautious about washing (or even getting wet), and probably do need to be dry cleaned when they're dirty--the weave may shrink more or less along different axes, puckering the fabric, and woven woolens are more likely to be constructed from a mix of materials and interfacing which need to stay roughly the same size and shape for the garment to look right. Woolen knits are of a more flexible construction and getting them wet is no problem as long as you don't felt them, and merino and cashmere are actually easier since they resist felting, I assume for the same reason that they are more comfortable to wear (felting occurs when the slightly scaly wool fibers can move in one direction relative to each other but not the other; think of any given pair of fibers acting as a microscopic ratchet).
posted by pullayup at 7:37 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
and lay the sweater flat on a rack to dry
I find this stretches wool sweaters, and I don't recommend it.
What I do is after I've unfolded the item from the towel, is I refold it up as I would for putting it into a drawer. I then take a small fan that can be turned to face up, set it to a very low setting, and place the item gently on top of the fan.
The item dries within a few hours AND it keeps its shape without stretching. About halfway through drying, I unfold it and refold switching the sides that were folded so it can dry more evenly.
As for the stain, a gentle soak definitely. If you don't have Soak or Euclan, a gentle baby shampoo can sometimes work in a pinch. The important part with all of these products is to use very little. Like a few drops is enough.
posted by zizzle at 7:39 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
I find this stretches wool sweaters, and I don't recommend it.
What I do is after I've unfolded the item from the towel, is I refold it up as I would for putting it into a drawer. I then take a small fan that can be turned to face up, set it to a very low setting, and place the item gently on top of the fan.
The item dries within a few hours AND it keeps its shape without stretching. About halfway through drying, I unfold it and refold switching the sides that were folded so it can dry more evenly.
As for the stain, a gentle soak definitely. If you don't have Soak or Euclan, a gentle baby shampoo can sometimes work in a pinch. The important part with all of these products is to use very little. Like a few drops is enough.
posted by zizzle at 7:39 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Nthing the wash by hand, squeeze out in a towel roll method. Then I just lay the sweater flat on the floor to dry in a clean spot, with the ceiling fan on. When I used to have an extra bed, I'd lay it on top of the bedclothes. This avoids the stretching that hanging or putting on a drying rack can do.
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:03 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:03 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
When Liesl is speaking of laying flat on a drying rack, I believe she is speaking of a rack like this.
posted by bibliogrrl at 6:12 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bibliogrrl at 6:12 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Seconding pullayup. I had a number of sweaters damaged from smoke in an apartment fire, and the specialist dry cleaner I went to told me to "treat my sweaters just like my own hair"—i.e., hand wash with shampoo and also give a conditioner treatment for softness. I've been doing this for years now, and sometimes stubborn greasy stains need a little extra spot washing, but the shampoo method works great. I find that running a cool iron over the cashmere, in particular, when it's almost dry also reduces the fuzz and any subsequent pilling.
posted by amusebuche at 1:07 AM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by amusebuche at 1:07 AM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
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Fill a tub with cold water (doesn't have to be ice cold, just not hot) and pour the recommended amount of wool wash in. Swish a bit, then drop your sweater in. Submerge it and squish the bubbles back and forth through the sections that need attention, making sure not to create any friction. Take the sweater out of the water and squeeze (don't wring! don't pull or twist at all!) as much water as you can out of it, and dump the tub out.
Next, spread out a large fluffy towel on the floor and spread out your sweater on top of the towel. Roll the towel up like a jelly roll and stomp gently on the towel log, further squishing more water out. Unroll, hang the towel up to dry, and lay the sweater flat on a rack to dry. It'll probably take about 24 hours to be fully dry, unless you live in a desert.
If you still see stains after that, take it to a professional.
posted by Liesl at 6:34 AM on October 27, 2015 [16 favorites]