Hi Fibernetters,
The biggest difference I find in carding fibers, is the cleanliness of the
fiber itself. If you don't get the grease out, you will get neps and noils
no matter what type of carding cloth you use. We have a fine and a medium
card here and I have been able to do merino (16 mic) on the medium cloth
sucessfully. However, if I don't get the grease out I can't do the same type
of fleece sucessfully on the fine machine.
I've tried most of the detergents, which sometimes work. I was talking to
Gary Zeilinger the other day and asked him what he used to wash the finer
fleeces. He told me he uses Amway products LOC and SA 8. One is a degreaser
the other a detergent. When used together the pH is about 7 which is non
damaging to wool. I found that Shaklee has similar products, Basic H and
Basic I.. I used them and got the same results as with the Amway. The
Shaklee products are non-perfumed which is a big plus for me. Along with the
cleansers the water needs to be at least 130 degrees. We use 140.
This is Gary's formula. 1 oz SA 8 (or Basic I) per lb of fleece, 1 shot
glass of LOC (Basic H) per 10/lb of fleece. If a merino type, wash a second
time and use 1/2 of the above. Rinse well and dry. The items in ( ) are the
Shaklee brands.
I, also, had a customer's fleece that was really musty, moldy smelling. I
used Shaklee's Basic G, 1 oz for the whole fleece and it got the smell out.
Haven't tried it on a ram or billy's fleece yet. Simple Green works to, but
I use a 1/4 cup vs an ounce.
I did a cost comparison and felt the above products will reduce the amount
of soap costs by 50%.
I rewashed a couple of processed fleeces using the above products and
recarded them. The neps and noils all but disappeared. Washing and getting
the grease out has been the biggest frustration of this business. Trying to
locate a product that doesn't cost an arm and a leg in shipping, that will
work is the other frustration. Commercial textile cleaners have
hazarderous charges tacked on, that the above products don't.
Hope this helps some of you. Gail White
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