Wool 101 - How to Care For and Lanolize Wool Diaper Covers

Caring for wool doesn’t have to be scary. When you first receive your wool covers you’ll need to wash them and lanolize them. This is a two step process. Once you begin using your wool you should only need to wash and lanolize them every 3-4 weeks. You will need a gentle wool wash or baby soap and some lanolin. Some of our favorite wool washes include the Eucalan wool wash or the GroVia Wool Wash Bar. For lanolin we prefer the Sheepish Grins solid lanolin or the GroVia spray lanolin.

How To Wash Your Wool Covers:

1. Fill a small sink, bucket, tub or basin with lukewarm water and about a tablespoon of wool wash. Be sure to mix the wool wash in with the water to evenly distribute the wash. Add your wool to the water being sure that the water covers your wool. The water should appear to be a little cloudy at this point.
2. Gently saturate the wool and move it around in the water. You may want to turn your wool inside out at some point. Gently hand wash your wool until you feel like the dirt and grime is gone. It may be necessary to do this process 1-2 times with fresh water if your covers are really soiled.
3. Gently squeeze the excess water from the wool and set it aside for the next step; lanolizing.

How to Lanolize Your Wool Covers:

1. Start with clean wool covers (following the steps above).
2. Fill a small sink, bucket, tub or basin with lukewarm water.
3. In a separate cup or bowl add boiling hot water, a teaspoon of lanolin, and a few drops of wool wash (or gentle baby wash). The lanolin should dissolve in the hot water and you shouldn’t be able to see any clumps remaining in the wash water. Add to the sink of warm water and wool.
4. Gently saturate the wool just like you did during the first wash being sure to get all areas of the covers wet. You’ll want the lanolin to soak into the entire cover. Now let it soak for at least 15-30 minutes. Letting your wool soak overnight (or for about 8-10 hours) will produce the best results.
5. After soaking remove your wool covers and gently squeeze out the excess water by hand. The best way to remove the most water is to lay your covers between dry towels and gently press the water out of the cover.
6. Lay flat to dry and then your diaper covers are ready to use. Depending on your climate, the temperature, and humidity; your wool diaper covers may take a day to dry.

You will want to repeat this process every 3-4 weeks. You will know when it is time to lanolize your wool if they begin to leak or smell of urine after they are dry. You will also want to wash and lanolize wool covers if they become soiled with poop. Otherwise, just air dry your diaper covers between uses and allow them to dry.

If you have questions about wool diaper covers or washing wool feel free to contact us for assistance.

Other wool resources:
http://theecofriendlyfamily.com/2009/09/all-about-wool/
http://www.clothdiaperrevival.com/2013/01/back-to-basics-how-to-prep-use-wool.html
http://www.theinquisitivemom.com/2013/02/nifty-nappy-printable-instrucitons-for.html#.UV3IHZPVUpg
http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/how-to-lanolize-your-wool-a-quick-video-guide/
http://paddedtushstats.com/2013/03/06/the-quick-and-easy-way-to-wash-and-lanolize-wool-cloth-diaper-covers/