Scouring
Greasy Fleeces
Opening the fleece prior to washing helps to move all the grease & wax.
Fill tub or large bucket with very hot water (approx.
70deg.) & approx.
3 tablespoons of wool scour detergent (Teric or Synthrapol).
Wash only 1 - 1.5kg at a time, washing too much fleece at a time
results
in grease being left in the fleece meaning it will need to be
washed again.
Push down into water so all the fibre is
wet. Drain & squeeze
out excess water.
Merino & fine fleeces & extremely
greasy fleeces need this step to be repeated using at least
2 teaspoons
of wool scour.
Rinse by submersing in very hot water. Drain & squeeze out
excess water.
Submerse in cold water. Drain & squeeze out excess water.
Submerse again in cold water. Drain & squeeze out excess
water.
Final rinse is submerse in very hot water then spin out excess
water in washing machine, spread out on rack to dry. Hot water
prior to spinning out removes more water than cold.
These 4 rinses need to be done to remove all the detergent from
the wool, leaving it not sticky & perfect for carding.
Do not dry in the sun, as this causes static electricity making
it hard to card.
Do not run water onto the fleece at any time as this will cause
it to felt.
I am set up to scour fleeces, so as this is a time consuming
job that needs to be done well, it is best to send the fleeces.
Exotics
need slightly differing treatments for washing.
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