[Jacob-list] washing wool

[Gillian Fuqua]

	I wonder if those machine washing instructions had you put in vinegar 
to deal with the lanolin.  I don't do my wool in the washer because of 
the lanolin factor.  I don't want all that grease in my pipes or in my 
septic system.  A girlfriend of mine does hers in the washer but then 
runs through an empty load with bleach.  I don't like to put all that 
bleach in my septic either.   I also would be leery of a hot water 
wash, I don't have any particular reason, just my gut.  I wash my 
fleeces in cold water with Dawn dishwashing liquid, the blue kind. I do 
one wash and two cold water rinses.  I dump the water outside and think 
of it as fertilizer.  I do small batches at a time and find that as it 
sits in the tub, extra bits of grass/detritus floats up to the top.  I 
then "wring" it in an old salad spinner.  All this said, I'm not doing 
tons of fleece at once.  I also find that by doing small batches I 
really get to know the fleece before I start carding/spinning.    But 
the bottom line is that you have to come up with a system that works 
for you.  I don't know what other folks do about lanolin and septic 
systems.