If you use wool nappies, a piece of wool washing soap is handy. The soap contains lanolin (a natural woolfat from sheep) and is therefore also called lanolin soap. Anyone who uses cloth nappies with wool will find the term lanolin familiar. Lanolin makes wool covers water-repellent. Do you have a small stain on your wool cover or a spot that is no longer water-repellent? In this case, you’ll be glad if you have a piece of wool washing soap at home, because with this you can quickly fix it.

What exactly is wool washing soap and what is it used for?

Wool washing soap is a bar of soap that cleans and greases wool at the same time. In other words, it cleans the wool and keeps it water-repellent. If you use cloth nappies with wool, wool washing soap can help you save time while it gently cares for the wool. Since the soap contains lanolin, it is also called lanolin soap. You can use wool washing soap for wool covers in two ways.

First, use it to clean small stains, for example if there is a bit of poop on the cover. That way you don’t have to wash and grease the cover in a full bath, which usually saves aa lot of time. Secondly, wool washing soap is useful when a small area of the cover is leaking. With wool washing soap, you can repair this quickly, without having to re-grease the cover. Frequent treatment in a full lanolin-bath causes over-greasing of the wool. We now explain to you in detail how this works.

Cleaning a stain with wool washing soap

If you use woollen cloth nappies for your baby, it sometimes happens that some poop gets on the cover. In such a case, you’ll be glad if you have a piece of lanolin soap at home. If you don’t have this, you will have to re-wash and grease the cover completely.

Use lanolin soap to clean small stains as follows: wet the stain with lukewarm water (no more than 30°C), directly apply the soap until it starts foaming. Then gently rub the wool together or clean with a soft brush. Rinse with lukewarm water. Do not worry, the pure water does not dissolve the lanolin. If the cover is very wet, you can roll it in a towel to dry faster. Stand on the towel and kick or dance a little bit so that the water from the cover soaks into the towel. Then let the cover dry lying down. When dry it is ready to be used again. Are stains still visible? Lay the cover in the sun briefly, but be careful not to leave the wool too long in the bright sun.

Making a wool cover water-repellent with lanolin soap

Sometimes a wool cover is no longer waterproof in a small spot, even though it does not yet need to be fully re-greased because it is otherwise still greasy enough. In this case, you can make a bath with lanolin soap. Rub the soap by hand in lukewarm water (no more than 30°C) until the water looks milky. The more soap you use, the richer the solution becomes. Place the wool cover in the water and leave it to soak for five minutes. Then rinse the cover with lukewarm water and make a new lanolin soap bath. Therefore, use fresh lukewarm water and again rub in the soap until it is milky. This time, soak the cover for about two hours. Then lay the cover flat drying. It is ready to be use again soon.

If you have a new wool cover, we recommend making a full bath with pure lanolin. We also recommend washing the cover every 2-3 weeks and cleaning it thoroughly once a month. You can read all about washing and cleaning wool in this blog.

What’s so special about Jovoh’s soap?

Jovoh’s wool washing soap has a high lanolin content, which means it cleans and greases wool covers (or clothes) at the same time and ensures they remain water-repellent. The soap is certified according to the EU Cosmetics Regulation and is also suitable as a skin care product (e.g., washing hands or dry skin). Hence, you can put the wool cover on your baby without worry. Jovoh’s lanolin soap contains natural and nourishing ingredients such as lanolin and coconut oil. The soap is handmade by Werfzeep, an artisanal, organic soap factory in Utrecht. Werfzeep uses plants and herbs from the local forest and their own herb garden, which they process into extracts, hydrolates, and essential oils. We are extremely happy that they make such a fine, natural lanolin soap for Jovoh.

Even more great stuff from Jovoh

• Do you need wool covers? In our webshop, you will find beautiful, durable wool covers that are honestly made from the best natural fibres.
• We also have a wide selection of high-quality inserts made from natural and sustanable fibres: from muslin nappies to hemp boosters and from cotton flats to prefolds: we have it all.

Wool is an ancient, natural fibre that we are seeing more and more in our daily lives. From clothes to blankets and socks to cloth diapers. Wool has numerous advantages: it regulates temperature and stays warm even when wet. Moreover, wool is dirt-repellent, which means you need to wash it much less often than other fabrics. Washing wool is not difficult, but you need to know how to do it so that you can enjoy it for a long time. In this blog, you can read about the best way to wash and dry wool, plus some handy tips for cleaning wool diaper covers.

What makes wool special?

Wool is a natural fibre with unique properties that other (synthetic) fibres, for example polyester, do not have. Wool breathes, can regulate temperature and is antibacterial. Because wool is dirt-repellent, you need to wash wool much less often than cotton or polyester, for example. Actually, it is best to wash wool as little as possible. Let it air regularly.

Wash wool as little as possible, but as often as necessary

Washing wool without damaging it

Many people think washing wool is complicated. Once you know what to look out for, washing wool is actually simple. The most important thing to consider is that wool is sensitive to temperature fluctuations. If you wash wool in the washing machine on a normal program, they are likely to shrink. This is not necessarily because wool cannot withstand high temperatures. You can even boil wool. However, what wool cannot handle well are large temperature fluctuations or intensive movement combined with high temperatures. The solution therefore is simple:

Wash wool with lukewarm water (30 °C at most), by hand or on the wool program in the washing machine. Make sure you use special detergent suitable for wool.

Washing wool by hand

The most thorough way to wash wool is by hand. It will last the longest if you don’t treat the wool to roughly. Washing wool by hand is as follows: fill a tub, bucket, or the sink with lukewarm water (30 °C at most). Add a little wool detergent or olive soap and put your wool garment in the soapy water. Gently knead the garment for a few minutes to get it thoroughly clean. Let it soak for another 10 minutes and then rinse the garment well with lukewarm water.

Washing wool in the washing machine

If your washing machine has a wool program, you can also wash your wool items (e.g., clothes, blankets) with this. Wash at 30 °C and 600 rpm maximum. Washing wool in the washing machine is usually slightly less accurate than by hand, but of course easy.

Drying wool: here’s what to look out for

You now know how to wash wool without damaging it. It is also important to handle wool carefully during drying. Do not wrung wool as the fibres can damage and felt. If the wool is soaking wet, for example after a hand wash, gently squeeze out the water and place the wool garment on a towel. Roll up the towel and stand on it. Then kick or dance a little on the towel so that the water from the wool soaks into the towel. Then lay the wool to dry lying down on a rack. Do not hang wool or dry it on the heater. You can dry wool outside, but not in bright sunlight for too long.

Washing wool covers

Those unfamiliar with wool may find it hard to believe, but wool is also an excellent fibre for cloth nappies. Wool is water-repellent and can absorb up to 30% of its own weight in moisture. It is hence great as outer fabric for cloth nappy covers. So, isn’t it unhygienic? On the contrary. Because of wool’s dirt-repellent and antibacterial properties, wool nappies are much less likely to smell. They do not need to be washed as often as synthetic fibres, such as PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) coated cloth nappy covers.

If your child has only peed in the nappy, you merely need to wash the cover once every 2-3 weeks on average. Airing out is often enough. Unless the wool cover starts to smell or yellow urine stains appear, it is better to wash it as soon as possible. Of course, if poop gets on the wool cover, you should clean it right away. If it is just a little bit, you can easily and quickly clean it with wool washing soap (lanolin soap).

If you want to wash the cover more thoroughly, you can do this by hand or in the wool program of the washing machine, as described above. It is important to keep cloth nappies hygienically clean. Hence, it is recommended to clean them thoroughly every now and then with e.g., a wool detergent or olive soap. In the following overview, we have summarized exactly how washing wool covers works.

The best way to wash Jovoh wool covers

General cleaning with wool detergent

A wool cover must be washed every 2-3 weeks, depending on how often you use it. You can do this by hand or in the washing machine’s wool program, at a maximum of 30 °C. Therefore, use a regular wool detergent. Occasionally, a more thorough cleaning is needed, as wool detergent is not made to deeply clean wool from urine and poop.

Thorough and deep cleaning with olive soap

It is advisable to thoroughly hand wash wool covers about once a month. Otherwise urine stone can build up, which is difficult to remove from the wool. Normal dirt is easily removed with soapy water (made from e.g., olive soap). It gently cleans the wool without overloading it. A bar of olive soap is especially suitable for targeted stain removal. Rub the stains directly with the soap bar.

Simultaneous cleaning and greasing with lanolin soap

If a little poop got on the wool, treat it immediately with a wool washing soap (also called lanolin soap). Wet the wool with water and treat the stains directly with the soap bar. You can also gently rub the wool together or clean it with a soft brush. Afterwards, rinse the cover with fresh water. Wool washing soap is also ideal if the cover is leaking on a particular spot, but does not need to be greased yet.

If too much dirt has accumulated in the wool, you can treat it with natron. However, the treatment stresses the wool. It is hence recommended to avoid this by washing the wool cover thoroughly on a regular basis.

Additional information on cloth nappies

Do you also want to enjoy the benefits of wool nappies? In our webshop, you will find beautiful and sustainable wool covers that are honestly made from the best natural materials.

Sources

• E-Book: Care of wool diapers, Stoffwindelguru
• Wollhandwerk: Wollpflege
• Utopia.de: Wolle waschen: So geht sie nicht kaputt
• Photographic rights sheep: rbwildlife
• Photographic rights wool blanket: MrsBeAn