Help...best way to wash knitted jumpers

[wellygang6]

Please can anyone advise. I can't afford to get them dry cleaned but am scared of ruining the colour or shrinking them which I have done many times in the past. Now I have a pile of them waiting to clean. How do others do it? Thanks

I do them on the wool cycle in my machine and turn it down to the lowest temperature possible to be on the safe side provided the label says they can be washed. If it says it’s dry clean only then I don’t risk it.

remove from the machine immediately cycle ends and shape while damp and dry flat away from direct heat.

Exactly what pp ⬆️ said. But to add, I use Woolite or supermarkets own brand equivalent which is specifically for wool/delicates. Smells lovely too.

wool cycle
low temp low spin (or no spin for very fine wool like cashmir/angora)
wool detergent or shampoo if you don't want to buy a big bottle that you rarely use.

dry flat
if no spin place garment between 2 towels and gently roll up to squeeze out water.

clothes that can't go in the washer are not worth having imo.

I hand wash with Woolite. I would never trust a washing machine. Also I think they get cleaner with hand wash, as there is a lot more water, and you can scrub the under arms well.

Thanks all. Appreciate it 😊

Personally I only wash knitwear if stained or before putting them away for the summer. Instead I air them outside for a good amount of time. They smell lovely and fresh after having been aired. Typically I wear cardigans though so always have something underneath but I'd treat a knitted sweater the same. I guess if airing didn't work I'd wash more frequently but there's never been a reason to. Before putting them away for the summer I wash on a wool cycle and dry flat.

Don't forget wool jumpers don't actually need washing hardly ever
steamery.co.uk/8-myths-and-truths-about-washing-wool?h=f197e865cd848cb7ac72b1b89ea323c6

20° wool cycle in the machine, with a minimal quantity of powder.

I handwash mine in kitchen sink using warm water and wool fat soap. Gently swoosh it round, rinse with same temp water and give it a short gentle spin in washing machine. 800 rpm. Never shrunk a jumper this way yet and I have LOTS of merino woolies

Dont use non bio or bio powder or liquids

I hand wash wool with a no rinse lanolin based wool wash like Eucalan.

Wool marked 'superwash' can be machine washed.

Hardly ever wash them, always wear something underneath, try airing first, scrape off dirt like mud or food (may not need washing). Only then handwash in blood temp water with special wool soal. Squeeze, dont wring, squeeze in a towel, then dry flat. Some can be washed in machine with wool wash liquid - tend to do more ordinary jumpers this way, or ones not prone to pilling. Always wash inside out.

I only ever hand-wash wool, with a handwash liquid from the supermarket (sometimes marked 'delicates'). If it's 100% (or close to) wool then it won't need washing often anyway, wool repels dirt and stink. (Especially if it's merino - I'm currently doing a '30 day challenge' in a merino dress and it smells as fresh as it did the day I got it out of the packet! I must have worn it about 20 times so far, and half of that has been the last ten days running.) Washing machines can shrink woollens so easily, even on special settings. I might consider machine washing superwash wool (superwash wool yarn is sort of coated with a plasticky stuff that stops it felting, allegedly) but really, it's not so hard to wash a woollen jumper every week and dry flat.

What shrinks and felts wool is sudden changes in temperature (warm to cold as well as the other way around), agitation (eg vigorous spin cycle, or lots of hand agitation) and soap, as well as an initially high temperature.

If your jumpers are acrylic fibres then mostly they'll be fine in the machine on a cool setting.