Would you..... hand wash wool item in the machine.

[Iseeall]

I have a jumper that is 80% merino wool 20% nylon, the washing instructions are handwash.

I have a wool wash on my machine and the coldest wash temp is 30degrees. I wash machine washable cashmere and machine washable wool on this setting/temp and never had a problem.

I can't stand the thought of hand washing this merino/nylon mix jumper another winter, is there any reason why it shouldn't go in the machine.

I'd go for it! My logic is ... if it's OK then that'll save all the faff of handwashing it in future, and if it's not OK, well you've had for a while anyway, so it's not as though you're losing something very new. Do report back on what you did and what happened!

I'd do it otherwise it would never got washed and worn anyway.

I did 2 loads last week of wool as a 'try it out' & only one lost its life.

It was 100% cashmere & thats because I tumble dried it afterwards.

Everything else survived. .

Put it in a pillowcase & tie the end, stops it stretching to buggery. Had lots of hand wash only jumpers in the past and only lost one when I put it on at 60 instead of 40 (the colour ran).

It might shrink (even on the wool wash) but you might be able to stretch it out again while still damp. It might be a bit tight when you put it on but body heat seems to expand it.

Last time I washed a 100% merino jumper on a cold wool wash, that's what happened.

(What I don't understand is, how would a cold wool wash differ from handwashing?)

I have a hand wash only wool mix jumper drying on the rack as we speak. It's the spin and the temperature that doo the damage. If you have a wool cycle, go for it!

Thanks for the replies. Am very tempted to bung it in the machine tomorrow.

yes, I would but I have a relatively new washing machine with a wool cycle. I can reduce the spin cycle further than the wool cycle suggests as well.

I wouldn't have done it on my old washing machine's wool cycle.