>> June writes:
<<Is the soap flakes
and alcohol method truly the best way to really get rid of the lanolin
permanently?>> <<
June,
This recipe does get the dirt out! I've used it. I think it works best if
your water isn't full of minerals, like ours is. It's terrific at removing
dirt. The problem I had was in rinsing the dirt out <g>. I rinsed and
rinsed and rinsed some more and then did it again. The wool still didn't
rinse clean, but by that time, I'd had it. I gave it one more rinse, and
called it a day.
Thoughts on Cyril's recipe: Ivory Soap is a soap, not a detergent. The
difference between soap and detergent, is that detergent's are man made,
from man made chemical. They both do a good job at getting out dirt. If
you're in a hard water area, soap will leave an icky sticky residue on what
you've washed. That doesn't happen with detergents. That means you need to
add a water conditioner to the wash. Calgon makes one. A soap bath will
leave a fleece softer feeling than a detergent bath. Cyril recommends a
vinegar rinse, in the last rinse. He also suggests that you make sure the
alcohol is thoroughly rinsed out and that the fleece can dry completely in
a day or less. Otherwise, the alcohol will eat the fiber, and there will be
a pile of dust where the fiber used to be.
I found some White King laundry soap and used that to wash some Shetland
fleece. (I was being a Scrooge. I didn't want to toss it, but I didn't want
to use it on our clothes.) I added Calgon water softener to the wash
water, and lots of the laundry soap. The fleece came out gorgeous! Nice and
soft, with no soap residue. I should add that I use Calgon to all the water
I wash my fleeces in. I have to. Our water is really chock full of
minerals.
Cyril's recipe may be best for his area of the world. And, as we all know,
washing a fleece is a very personal choice/decision. We all have methods
that work best for us and all of those methods are different. So, you'll
get lots of us telling you how we wash our fiber. The only problem you'll
have, is in trying to decide which method will work best for you. :)
wrnk
d2
PS <whispering> I use Orvus and lots of hot water. Works a treat.
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