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I grew up on a sheep farm in rural New Zealand, so I’ve always loved all things wool. It’s long-lasting, breathable, and naturally antibacterial, which neutralises odour. It also looks smart and resists fading better than other materials like cotton. However, since wool is an animal derived product, it’s made of proteins, so you can’t use most laundry detergents to clean it. Therefore, it’s common to get a waxy buildup, particularly in the armpit area, due to sweat and deodorant that can’t be removed safely with normal stain removers and laundry detergents. Whilst dry, they look like darkened, crusty stains. They usually look worse when taking them out of the wash and can appear like white, waxy residue.
Unfortunately, stain removers like alkaline cleaners, oxygen bleach, and enzymes break down the delicate wool protein fibres and create holes. You can learn more about this in my post What’s Causing Holes in My Wool’s?…and How to Prevent It. Just using regular wool laundry detergents is not enough to remove the sweat and deodorant residue, so you will need to take a different approach, which I’ve outlined below. This process also works for silk.
What you will need
- A large bucket or tub to soak your garments in
- A plate or something heavy to weigh down your items to avoid tide marks
- Wool safe laundry detergent, such as Woolite Hand Wash or Ecover Delicate
- Concentrate liquid dishwashing detergent such as Fairy Original or Palmolive Original or Dawn
Step 1: Soak
To soften the stains, start by soaking your wool garments. In a tub, mix a gentle wool cleaner such as Woolite Hand Wash or Ecover Delicate in tepid water, no more than 30 degrees Celsius. Place your items in the water and fully merge. Cover them with something heavy, like a plate, to ensure they stay fully submerged, otherwise you can get tide marks. Leave it overnight or at least for a few hours.
Step 2: Removal of the stains
After your items have been soaked, the stains will appear white and waxy on the surface. This will help you see where you need to concentrate your efforts. Place a small amount of liquid dishwashing detergent, such as Fairy Original, Palmolive Original or Dawn, onto the stains and gently rub it onto the area. You can use a very soft brush or gently rub the material together and use your fingernails to work in the detergent. Rinse it well to check if the stain remains or there are areas you have missed, then repeat if necessary.
Rinse items thoroughly in tepid water to ensure it doesn’t foam in the washing machine. If the item is machine safe, then place it into your washing machine on the wool cycle with a small amount of your wool detergent and put it through a wash cycle. If it is a handwash only item, give it a gentle handwash in tepid water using your wool detergent. Hang the items out to dry.
Hopefully, your wool items should now be nice and clean like my results below.
