Good care and the right washing machine: how to make your wool sweater wonderfully soft
Cuddly soft and wonderfully fluffy – that’s how our favorite wool pieces should always feel. But what if a wool sweater suddenly starts to feel unpleasantly scratchy on the skin? Don’t worry: your favorite piece doesn’t have to spend the rest of its life in the wardrobe. With the help of your washing machine and our tips, the sweater will become velvety soft again.
To understand why your wool sweater keeps you warm and initially feels wonderfully soft, it’s worth taking a closer look at the material. These two desired effects are created by many tiny fibers that protrude from the surface. As long as these fibers are short and supple, the sweater feels soft – just as it should. However, once many of these fibers start to stick out and become felted, meaning they grow thicker and coarser, they create an unpleasant sensation on the skin – it starts to itch.
Good to know: not all wool sweaters itch to the same extent. Next time, for example, you can opt for a sweater made from merino wool. This comes from a special breed of sheep with particularly fine fibers that always feel wonderfully soft against the skin.
Where does scratchy wool feel the worst? Right: around the neck and under the arms. The arms themselves are usually not the main problem. To provide quick relief, it’s a good idea to wear a T-shirt with a very close neckline and short sleeves underneath the scratchy sweater. This keeps the wool away from the skin and should prevent itching. If you are particularly sensitive, you can also wear a thin long-sleeve shirt underneath. By the way, if you initially find wool sweaters soft and the itching only occurs after some time, it could also be a wool allergy. Other signs include small bumps or redness of the skin. In this case as well, you should wear something underneath the sweater.
First-aid tips for itchy sweatersThe tips mentioned above are not a permanent solution. That’s why you should try to soften your clothes using gentle methods. To ensure your sweater or cardigan doesn’t feel uncomfortably scratchy next time, you’ll need a combination of washing machine and appropriate care products. You’re familiar with the latter from your own hair: using a conditioner makes your hair feel much softer than without it. The same applies to wool.
To make sure your woolen clothes are soft as velvet again in no time, you should wash them in the washing machine whenever possible. Don’t worry: the machine won’t damage your favorite piece at all; instead, it will help make it feel like new. That is, provided your washing machine has the right cycle and you follow a few tips.
First things first: You must turn wool garments inside out before washing them. This is because the wool fibers rub against each other in the washing machine, causing them to become not only thinner but also softer. And that’s exactly the effect you want to achieve on the inside of the sweater. Also essential: a special detergent with a fabric care additive. Be sure to use a suitable wool detergent. Many other products—such as standard all-purpose or color-safe detergents—contain substances that damage the protein structures of the wool. In the worst case, this causes the garment to lose its elasticity and shape. A dreadful thought when it comes to your favorite pieces in your wardrobe.
The biggest fear for many people who want to wash their wool garments in the washing machine is that their favorite pieces will felt. This happens when laundry is exposed to excessively high temperatures during washing. It is a misconception that hand washing is better. In principle, hand washing is not a problem, but in many respects the machine is more effective. For example, to remove stubborn dirt from clothing in a sink, you have to scrub quite vigorously. This puts a strain on the delicate fibers and makes it very likely that they will end up felting after all.
Washing machines can actually do better in this case. Be sure to use a suitable wool wash program—good washing machines have such a program built in. Also read the user manual to be absolutely sure how the program works and to find out whether your garments are suitable for it.
In this case, washing machines actually do a better job. Be sure to use a wool cycle—good washing machines have this cycle built in. Also, read the user manual to make sure you understand how the cycle works and to check whether your garments are suitable for it.
The next time you buy a washing machine, be sure to check out the models from Schulthess. They offer a special program called Wool Finish—one of this manufacturer’s many unique selling points. Whether you want to restore the luster of angora, silk, or cashmere, your Schulthess washing machine takes care of delicate items made from natural fibers. This effortlessly transforms scratchy sweaters into soft and supple garments. Added to this are excellent usability and a wide selection of different programs for every need.
Once the washing machine has finished, you need to take care of drying the laundry. To avoid unnecessarily damaging the fabric, most wool programs skip the spin cycle. The problem is that the garments are soaking wet when taken out of the washing machine.
A tumble dryer is not necessarily the best option, as there is a high risk that your clothes will shrink. The only exception is if your dryer has a special wool program. In this respect, devices from Schulthess offer a practical solution: with “Gentle Plus,” a special program for particularly delicate fibers, the quality of your wool garments is preserved. The machine dries wool laundry in the gentlest possible way, maintains its soft texture, and leaves you with less work in the end.
If your tumble dryer does not have such a program, you should proceed as follows:
However, you should never hang it up to dry, as this would most likely cause the sweater to lose its shape. Drying it on a radiator or in direct sunlight is also not a good idea, because this can make the sweater stiff and scratchy again — exactly what you want to avoid.
Sweaters made from Angora wool in particular tend to feel itchy more often. This is due to the structure of the wool fibers: in angora wool, the fibers are especially thick and coarse. Besides using the wool program on your washing machine, there is another way to make the material soft again. The magic word is wool wax.
It is important to know that wool wax is the natural grease produced by sheep’s skin. Wool is therefore naturally soft to a certain extent. The higher the fat content, the softer the wool feels — although it also becomes less fluffy. Pure wool wax is called Lanolin. Be careful: medicinal lanolin, on the other hand, is a mixture of wool wax and water that is used as a base for ointments. It is therefore explicitly not suitable for treating wool sweaters. You need pure wool wax.
Here is how it works:
We want our clothes to always look their best—an understandable desire. However, that doesn’t mean you need to wash your wool sweater every few days. Doing so puts a strain on the fabric, makes it feel scratchy, and shortens the lifespan of your clothing in the long run. If the sweater is still clean but has picked up a bit of odor from wearing, simply shake it out and then air it out—preferably outside. This will make it smell fresh again. Plus: Washing your sweaters less often helps keep the fibers cozy and soft for a longer period of time.
First things first: Freezing your woolen clothes won’t make them any softer. The reason is simple: Cold alone doesn’t cause any long-term change in the thickness of the fibers or their structure. Still, freezing can help alleviate that annoying itch. Here’s how: Turn the sweater inside out, put it in a bag, and place it in the freezer for a good hour. Then take the garment out again. Now it’s time to use a pair of scissors: Grab the fibers and pull them taut—then you can cut them off with the scissors. However, always make sure not to cut the fibers too short, as this could irreparably damage the sweater. An alternative to scissors is a lint shaver—this should allow you to treat the material as gently as possible. The effort pays off in the end—because the smoother the material on the inside of the sweater is in the end, the softer it will feel to wear. However, there is one thing you should be aware of: While your sweater will be much less itchy after the ice treatment, it will also no longer keep you as warm as before.
Wool detergent, the right washing machine, and plenty of care: It takes a little effort to keep your favorite woolen garments soft over the long term. But it’s worth the trouble—after all, your beautiful woolen clothes shouldn’t be left to gather dust in the closet. You can make things a little easier for yourself by considering the right washing machine right from the start of your next purchase. Because, in fact, not all washing machines have an adequate wool cycle that not only gets these particularly delicate garments clean but also keeps them beautifully soft. Schulthess washing machines meet this requirement—and more: with the Wool Finish, they ensure sensually soft laundry with minimal effort.
Whether it’s a dryer, a washing tower, or a classic washing machine: Schulthess products stand for outstanding quality and very short wash times. Because life isn’t just about doing laundry.
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Januar 7, 2021 
5 Min. Lesezeit