How to Prep Your Wool (and a Giveaway!)

As I mentioned when Out Like a Lamb began, one of my number one concerns was ruining wool (after paying what seems like a high price) by prepping it incorrectly.  I didn’t know what “lanolizing” meant.  I didn’t know how in the world to do it.  I didn’t know how long it was going to take to add in this extra step to cloth diapering.  Most importantly, I didn’t know why you had to do it or how it works.  But… now I do and I want to share all of that information with you (in case some of you don’t already know!).

• Wash your Woolies with a Wool Wash (Eucalan is my pick!).  Instructions on how to wash can be found in my Eucalan review.
• While your Woolies are soaking in their Eucalan wash (for at least 15 minutes), boil about 1 cup of water.  Add a pea-sized drop of Lanolin.  (I simply used the exact stuff, Lansinoh Lanolin, that I used while breastfeeding).  Mix until the Lanolin is dissolved.

•  Turn your Woolies inside out and put them in a bowl with lukewarm water.  Add the Lanolin (or Sheep in a Jar) mixture.  Massage your woolies to get them coated.  Leave your wool to soak for 4-8 hours (I always do overnight!).
• The next morning, I wring my woolies out (carefully!) and lay or hang them to dry.  I usually let them dry all day long and they’ll be ready to wear by that night! 

That’s it!  The lanolizing process is done.  Easy, right?  Well, let’s make it even easier (and better!).

Nifty Nappy has created a product called, “Sheep-In-A-Jar Lanolizing Potion #9″.  Vilate has created her own special potion to replace the Lanolin in the above step.  What’s so great about Potion #9?  Well, it’s made specifically for lanolizing cloth diaper woolies!  It’s also Eco-Friendly, Hypoallergenic, Fragrance Free, and Biodegradable. 

This stuff is so new that it’s not even available for purchase yet, but will be as soon as Nifty Nappy fulfills their thousands (yes, thousands) of diaper orders.  I haven’t had a chance to try the “potion”, as my jar is on a USPS truck somewhere at this moment, but I will be sure to share my experience as soon as I use it!

The Lanolizing Potion is to be used exactly as you would use regular Lanolin, dissolving 1 tsp of the mixture into warm water.  That amount of mixture will lanolize 2-4 woolies.  Vilate says that it works best when paired with Liquid Nifty Soap Nuts (another new Nifty Nappy product on the horizon!). 

My favorite part of washing and lanolizing wool is that it only needs to be done every 3-4 weeks (depending on how many wool covers you have in your stash), unlike PUL covers which need to be cleaned alot more often!

Win It:  One of you lucky So Easy Being Green readers is going to win a 4 oz jar of “Sheep-In-A-Jar Lanolizing Potion #9″ before it’s even available for purchase!!!  A 4 oz. jar will do approximately 24 lanolizings.