I tried this with an Australian Border Leicester x fleece (probably crossed with Merino or other fine wool breed). The fleece started out with average grease, more than most BL, with very muddy tips. It was a year old, but not waxy, and the lanolin was nice and slick. I soaked overnight in cold water and Dawn, then washed again the next day in HOT w/Dawn. Once it was dry, the fleece was quite tacky and sticky, tho it had not been before the wash. I tried several things, another hot wash and rinse, I even tried alcohol on a part of it, and did a really hot wash in a dye kettle on part of it, but could not remove the tacky sticky stuff. It was waaaay too sticky to spin.
Weird thing is...I put this fleece away for about a year, thinking that I'd never be able to spin it, but it was such a beautiful color, I didn't want to throw it out. A couple of weeks ago, I got the idea to try washing it again with a little washing soda in with the Dawn. When I got the fleece out, I almost didn't recognize it except for the color. It was soft and clean! No sticky residue anymore. I still don't know what happened there....if it was the cold water that solidified the wax or whether it would have been like that no matter what I did. And then the miraculous cure! I've been washing fleeces for 30 years, and never have I had an experience quite like this. I still don't know if I'd try the cold water soak method again...maybe next time I will try it on a part of the fleece first. Lynn C Seattle Julie C Gerow wrote:
This is not for really dirty fleece but I think I remember Mable Ross saying that you could soak a fleece in cold water overnight and get a lot of dirt out of it that way - with very little effort. I think the lanolin stays in unless you use hot water. I am too impatient and have never tried that technique (even though I keep saying to myself that I will). Has anyone else had luck with doing the cold water soak? Julie
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