Felted wool is a special type of wool before washing the wool felt items. It is imperative to check if the product comes with special washing instructions. If the package does not include washing guidelines, always proceed cautiously and test the washing technique in a small area of the felted wool product. This is important in ensuring that the fabric color is not affected and the item does not shrink when washing. So let’s look at the other details of cleaning the wool felt.
Chapter 1 Can You Clean Felt Items?
Wool blend felt items could wash. There are, however, some precautions that you need to take, which we shall explain later in the article. For instance, if you own wool or felt clothing, like a wool sweater, you already know what happens when you wash it. It shrinks down to a smaller size. This means one thing; wool felt product washing should be careful. Otherwise, it will shrink. Washing methods like spot cleaning or dry cleaning can be a good option for ensuring that the wool felt is in perfect condition. Regardless of your chosen method, always ensure that the water is cold to prevent shirking. Here is a comprehensive video on how to clean wool felt pool table
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH-u0PwGi_k
Chapter 2 What Are The Types Of Wool Felt That You Could Wash At Home?
Felt has several uses depending on the quality of the wool, among other factors. Since they are lighter and breathable, wool blends produce products that keep you warm during winter. Pure wool felt is used for home furnishing and decorative materials. This is because the materials are durable and resistant to wear and tear. Other items produced by wool felt that can also be washed using simple remedies include;
- Felted sweaters
- Children’s craft projects
- Handbags
- hats
- Tree ornaments
- Pool table cloth
- Felt baby boots, among others
Images showing the different types of wool-felt items
Chapter 3 How to Clean Wool Felt Products
1. General cleaning
Brush the wool-felt surface using a cloth brush to remove surface dirt or lint. You can also use a piece of white bread as an alternative to a cloth brush.
Rub the bread over the felt to absorb any dirt stuck on the surface.
If the material requires thorough freshening, you may use an upholstery steamer and then brush the surface.
2. Washing feet
As much as it is possible to wash felt, it is also important to test it first. This is to ensure that the dye does not fade or bleed. You can do the test using a white cloth with plain water. If the white cloth gets stained, you should avoid washing the felt and only go for general cleaning. As early stated, felt is prone to shrink, which is important to ensure that you only use cold water. If there are areas that are dirtier than others, use a mild detergent and a soft brush (like an old toothbrush or nail brush). After washing the wool felt, do not place it in the drier. Instead, find a cool and dry location for the felt to air dry. Here is a video guide to help you understand the process better
3. The absorbent powder hack
You can also use an absorbent powder like banking soda or salt for cleaning felt. The powder removes fingerprints, salad dressing, and other oil-based stains.
Please take a little absorbent powder and sprinkle it over the stain.
Let it sit for at least an hour
Shake off the powder
Repeat the process until the wool felts is stain free
4. Removing harsher stains
Since felt is made of wool, it is not as easy to clean as you may expect.
Knowing stain-lifting tactics can protect your valuable items from ruining if they are tough to stain.
- While the wool felt is still dry, use a smooth brush to remove loose debris. Do not apply too much pressure when brushing. Otherwise, the debris will get embedded in the felt fiber.
- For liquid spillage, use a clean towel to bloat it up.
- Gently rub the towel at the stain. Ensure that you do not rub the liquid into or around the surface of the wool felts. Continue bloating until no visible liquid is left, only the stain.
- Fill a bucket with cold water. You can also sink a sink full of water. Avoid using hot or warm water. Also, ensure that the water is enough to submerge the item.
- Add a small amount of soap to the water. You can also use a wool wash specifically produced to clean wool felts.
- If the stained felt has a bad odor, cut a few slices of lemon and squeeze the juice into the water. The lemon will help get rid of tough stains and disinfect the fabric.
- After that, submerge the item in the water and wash the stained part. The wash should be as gentle as possible.
- Once the stain is cleaned, use running tap water to rinse the wool felt. Rinse carefully until all soap is removed from the wool felt. It would be best if you did the rinsing as soon as possible and squeezed the item to eliminate excess water.
- Place the item on a dry towel and use another towel to press the felt and remove excess moisture. Repeat the process until the felt is not wet anymore.
- Avoid rubbing the felt. This is a vulnerable stage, and any rubbing may damage the fabric.
- Leave the felt to air dry in a cool place. You can also hang the wool felt on a drying rack. Do not place the item in direct sunlight.
- If this does not work, consider taking the wool felt to a dry cleaner.
Chapter 4 What Should We Pay Attention To When Cleaning Wool Felt?
If you have a bag, hat, sweater, or decorations made of wool felts, you already know how expensive felt is. Wool felt, for instance, is usually made of 100% wool. This wool is sold in the yard and can be costly too. The felt is also luxurious and can be a perfect option for home décor applications. That said, it is imperative to take precautions when cleaning wool felts items. You should ensure that the water used, the cleaning method and even the detergent do not affect the item’s quality.
Here are some important things that you should consider when cleaning wool felt;
- Ensure that you only touch a felt item with clean hands. This is because the oil in your fingers can be absorbed easily, leaving fingerprint stains on the item.
- If the wool felt has attracted stubborn lint, use a piece of masking tape or a sticky lint brush. In this way, you can easily remove the lint without damaging your item.
- Considering that felt contains wool fiber, wool felt items could also attract moths. You should, therefore, store the item in a moth-safe environment. You can also repel the moths with the use of dried lavender.
- Hang the wool felt item on a flat peg that won’t disturb the felt. The reason for this is that restoring the felt to its original position may not be easy. If you do not intend to wear the cloth for some time, store it in a debris-free place to reduce the risk of moisture damage.
- Never expose felt products to light. Direct light fades felt colors, and the item will deteriorate over time. If you are not using felt decorations, it is better to store them in a plastic airtight container. You can also store felt ornaments in clean egg crates.
Conclusion
Felt is a great fabric for decoration and crafting. But wool felts products would only be useful when appropriately handled. When it comes to washing your feet, there are only a few options that you can consider.
The best way to wash your feet is by dry cleaning. Hand washing is, however, a safer option. In this article, we have mentioned important steps to take if you want to clean wool felts items on your own.
How you store wool felts items is also as important as how you maintain them. The best way to care for wool-felt items is by proper storage.