ivory snow or alternative

[Joshua Shanks]

The FAQ on jersey care says to use ivory snow or some other wool detergent but when I went to my fred meyer I couldn't find any. What stores carry ivory snow and what are some of the alternatives to keep an eye out for?

[Bill Gobie]

Nilwax Wool Wash at REI.

Bill

On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 7:13 AM, Joshua Shanks <jjsh...@gmail.com> wrote:

The FAQ on jersey care says to use ivory snow or some other wool detergent but when I went to my fred meyer I couldn't find any. What stores carry ivory snow and what are some of the alternatives to keep an eye out for?

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[Jimmy Livengood]

Woolite is a common brand. Other places to look include fabric stores, and especially larger yarn/knitting shops and/or quilting stores.

Jimmy

Seattle

---

Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 07:13:27 -0700
Subject: [SIR] ivory snow or alternative
From: jjsh...@gmail.com
To: seattl...@googlegroups.com

The FAQ on jersey care says to use ivory snow or some other wool detergent but when I went to my fred meyer I couldn't find any. What stores carry ivory snow and what are some of the alternatives to keep an eye out for?

--

[Gary Prince]

An entire can of worms here...soaps versus detergents, etc
:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/1233/index.html
 
Non detergent soap:
 

• 1 bar of soap (Fels Naptha -- quite harsh!, or a bar of plain Castile soap also works, like the Dr. Bronners)
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1 cup Borax

 
or in bulk (prices not mine):
 
1 box of Super Washing Soda (55 oz.) = $2.69 (at Wegman’s) 
1 box of 20 Mule Team Borax (76 oz.) = $3.99 (at Wegman’s) or 4 lb. Bob’s Red Mill Baking Soda = $7.96 (Amazon) or $1.99/lb.
1 gallon of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (128 oz.) = $51.99 (at Amazon.com with free shipping)

 
Way cheaper.

 

---

Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 12:31:14 -0700
Subject: Re: [SIR] ivory snow or alternative
From: gobie...@gmail.com
To: jjsh...@gmail.com
CC: seattl...@googlegroups.com

[jan acuff/beckman]

Wow, you guys are making this difficult. You can buy a bottle or jug of Woolite anywhere!

Sent from my iPad

[Ron Himschoot]

The thing that makes it difficult for this guy is the washing instructions that Woolistic includes with their garmets. The following is from their Vintage Velos web site (http://blog.vintagevelos.com/):

"Use only proper wool detergent when washing Merino wool. This is hyper important. We recommend IVORY SNOW LIQUID or ECOVER DELICATE WASH. Ecover Delicate is available at Whole Foods or on Amazon.com. Ivory Snow is a Proctor and Gamble product found at most major supermarkets. We do not recommend ‘Woolite’. We know the name sounds so right… but it is not Woolmark endorsed and we find the formula too harsh."

For what it's worth: I found a large box of Ivory Snow Powder at my local Safeway. I'm not sure if the powder is different from the liquid.

Wabi Woolens (http://www.wabiwoolens.com/jersey-care) recommends gentle hand washing in mild dish washing detergent for their merino wool garments.

Ibex (http://shop.ibex.com/Caring-For-Ibex-Wool) recommends the following detergents:
* Seventh Generation Laundry Products
* Ecover Delicate Wash
* Eucalan

Portland Cyclewear (http://www.oregoncyclewear.com/page/page/2867973.htm) simply says "Machine wash cold on gentle cycle. Lay flat to dry." without recommending any particular detergents or soaps.


I'm not trying to make things too difficult (even though I'm a guy and it comes natural for me) but I'm not finding any jersey makers that recommend Woolite. Then again, it can't be any worse than my usual laundry detergent.



-Ron Himschoot (the club curmudgeon)

----- Original Message -----
From: "jan acuff/beckman" <jacu...@hotmail.com>
To: garyw...@msn.com
Cc: "Bill Gobie" <gobie...@gmail.com>, seattl...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 1:48:41 PM
Subject: Re: [SIR] ivory snow or alternative

Wow, you guys are making this difficult. You can buy a bottle or jug of Woolite anywhere!

Sent from my iPad

On Sep 23, 2013, at 4:40 PM, "Gary Prince" < garyw...@msn.com > wrote:





An entire can of worms here...soaps versus detergents, etc
:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/1233/index.html

Non detergent soap:




• 1 bar of soap (Fels Naptha -- quite harsh!, or a bar of plain Castile soap also works, like the Dr. Bronners)
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1 cup Borax


or in bulk (prices not mine):

1 box of Super Washing Soda (55 oz.) = $2.69 (at Wegman’s)
1 box of 20 Mule Team Borax (76 oz.) = $3.99 (at Wegman’s) or 4 lb. Bob’s Red Mill Baking Soda = $7.96 (Amazon) or $1.99/lb.
1 gallon of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (128 oz.) = $51.99 (at Amazon.com with free shipping)



Way cheaper.

[Amy and Robin Pieper]

Been a while since I've hit "reply all" on the SIR list - what a rush!

Here's my 2 cents: these are sports clothes, not special occasion garments, and are treated as such in my household.  All wool (Ibex, woolistic, smartwool, duofold, etc.) is washed with the rest of the laundry using Seventh Generation detergent on regular wash mode in cold water.  Most are then dried flat or on a hanger although sometimes smaller items mistakenly get tossed in the dryer without tragic consequences.  All our wool jerseys have lasted for many seasons and many brevets - I think my original SIR blue is approaching 10 years (although with limited use in the last 2 years - which may be why some readers will be saying "who the heck is Amy Pieper???").  Relax...obsess elsewhere.

---

From: Ron Himschoot <ron...@comcast.net>
To: jacu...@hotmail.com
Cc: Bill Gobie <gobie...@gmail.com>; seattl...@googlegroups.com; garyw...@msn.com
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 2:42 PM

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[Susan Otcenas]

The key thing to remember when washing wool is that it is the natural
oils in wool (ie. The lanolin) that give wool so many of it's wonderful
properties. You do not want to use anything that will strip away the
lanolins from the garment.

Most detergents contain harsh surfactants, the primary purpose of which
is, you guessed it, stripping away grease and oils from our garments.
Which is great when you want to clean bike grease off your Showers Pass
Jacket, and absolutely terrible when you want to clean your wool
jerseys. There's a pretty good explanation of how laundry detergents
work here: http://home.howstuffworks.com/laundry-detergent1.htm

The Woolmark Company has a certification process for (amongst other
things) soaps that are safe to use on wool. You can see the mark to
look for here: http://www.woolmark.com/

They also have a pretty handy "How to care for your Merino Wool
Sweater" guide here:
http://www.woolmark.com/content/publicationPDFs/Introduction_to%20_Carin
g_for_your_wool_Sweater.pdf If you scan down to pages 14-15, there's a
guide for how to remove all sorts of dirt and stains from wool garments.
What jumps out at me pretty quickly is that plain old white vinegar,
diluted in water, is pretty good at removing most stains and dirt.
Rinse well so as not to smell like salad dressing.

A castile soap (olive oil based), well diluted in water, is a good
gentle choice for washing wool garments. Another good choice is baby
shampoo (without conditioners or other additives). If it's gentle
enough to use on human baby hair, it's gentle enough for your wool
garment as well. With either, just dilute it in warm water, soak the
jersey for 10 minutes, then rinse with fresh water until all the soap is
washed out.

Don't wring your wool jerseys. After gently squeezing out the excess
water, lay it out on a clean towel, then roll the towel up into a tube,
gently pressing on it as you go to press the water out of the jersey.
You'll likely need 2-3 towels to get it mostly dry. Lay it flat on a
fresh towel, and allow to air dry.

I hope this helps!

Susan


***********************************************
Susan Otcenas
Team Estrogen, Inc.
www.TeamEstrogen.com
877-310-4592
***********************************************
Follow our TE fan page on Facebook!
Look for "teamestrogen.com"
***********************************************

[Mark Thomas]

Solid or flashing?

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[Lynne Fitz]

I am with Amy.  My wool jerseys go in with the technical stuff, and I wash them with Tide HE detergent.  I am pretty sure any lanolin that existed in that wool was scoured out in the early fleece processing.  Just saying.

Wash in the delicate load, extra rinse, hang dry.  My Woolistic jerseys are in great shape.  I have had two teeny little holes in a sum total of 8 Woolistic jerseys.

Lynne "should not have counted them up..." F

[Allan Desmond]

were not all born knowing this?
 

---

From: garyw...@msn.com
To: gobie...@gmail.com; seattl...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [SIR] ivory snow or alternative
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 13:40:33 -0700

[Paul Johnson]

This looks to me like a pretty good addition to the tech info pages on the
SIR club website. Not saying this is the definitive how to, but in two
years when the question comes up again, it might be easier to point the
concerned writer to the this gem on the club website than wade through the
23 responses.

Thanks Susan

[Thomas Durkin]

Fred Meyer is not stocking Ivory Snow. The lower service espoused by Kroger continues to erode the Fred Meyer brand IMHO.

On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 7:13 AM, Joshua Shanks <jjsh...@gmail.com> wrote:

The FAQ on jersey care says to use ivory snow or some other wool detergent but when I went to my fred meyer I couldn't find any. What stores carry ivory snow and what are some of the alternatives to keep an eye out for?

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--
Tom Durkin

[Susan Otcenas]

"I am pretty sure any lanolin that existed in that wool was scoured out in the early fleece processing.  "

 

With all due respect to Lynne, this isn't quite right.  Wools *are* scoured in processing, but the lanolins that remain are instrinsic to the functionality of the garment.  Not only is lanolin part of what makes wool moisture repellant, it also contributes to wool's antibacterial properties, which is part of the reason why you can wear wool over and over without it stinking so much.

 

Overtime, harsh detergents will strip out those remaining lanolins.  To get the best performance and longest life out of your wool garments, it's best to treat them more gently. 

 

Susan

 

***********************************************

Susan Otcenas

Team Estrogen, Inc.

www.TeamEstrogen.com

877-310-4592

***********************************************

Follow our TE fan page on Facebook!

Look for "teamestrogen.com"

***********************************************

 

---

From: seattl...@googlegroups.com [mailto:seattl...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Lynne Fitz
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 3:56 PM
To: seattl...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [SIR] Re: ivory snow or alternative

--

[Lynne Fitz]

If you want proper wool wash, there is Eucalan or Soak.  You'd find those at a knitting store, or online.

http://www.eucalan.com/store-locator/usa/washington

Lynne "wool fiber spinner/knitter when not spinning my bike wheels" F

On Monday, September 23, 2013 7:13:27 AM UTC-7, Joshua S wrote:

[Andrew Squirrel]

I've had great luck washing all my wool items with Ecover Delicate Wash that is available at most faux-hippy grocery stores. 

On Monday, September 23, 2013 7:13:27 AM UTC-7, Joshua S wrote:

[Robert Higdon]

PRO TIP: Since wool never smells, you can avoid washing it all together.

Robert

--

[Lynne Fitz]

Um.  It does eventually smell.  At the very least, there will be sweat/salt residue, and wool moths love that, and then you have a lace wool jersey.  I wash mine every wearing, especially after the Portland Velo wool jersey great moth feast - not my jersey, but many others.

Ecover would probably do it as well.  The thing with Eucalan is that is has lanolin, if you want that.

[id...@mac.com]

Come on everyone...  Robert has spoken...  Please let that be the end of this thread!

 

Dan

 

[Matt Dalton]

Dan:

 

Soil sport.

 

Matt

[EvilJim]

  Wait, people listen to Higgy in the rando circles?  That doesn't really happen among the 'cross folk...not that I recall.

On 9/24/2013 3:31 PM, id...@mac.com wrote:

Come on everyone...  Robert has spoken...  Please let that be the end of this thread!

Dan

[Joe and Anne Platzner]

In rando circles, Higdon's word is law.  Cinelli, Campagnolo, Merckx, Higdon.