The beauty and the good look of any garment, such as houndstooth throw pillows, blankets, scarves, and so on, greatly depend on how you take care of it. That includes storage and maintenance. Under maintenance, the most important thing is washing. There are many commercials on the market that promote different types of detergents that can preserve the color and the shape of your garment.
However, when it comes to alpaca wool garments, the story is entirely different. According to that, one can easily make a mistake and think that the alpaca wool garments can be put and washed in the washing machine.
The first and most important thing about the alpaca wool garments is that they cannot go in the washing machine. Especially the 100% alpaca wool should not go into the washing machine. No matter if it has a “hand wash” setting that will be gentler on the garment, the answer is still No.
As mentioned above, one can easily make the mistake of putting the alpaca wool products in the washing machine. And that comes from some of the advertisements on TV and social media. So what is the real reason here?
The alpaca fibers are delicate, and in the process of washing in the machine, they break. Once broken, they interlock, and the final result is the felted garment. When such a thing happens, the garment will be smaller, less soft, and feel tougher.
Alpaca woolen garments are best washed at hand. So, stay away from the washing machine. This is highly suggested because the alpaca fiber has a minuscule scale. That means, that if the fibers are rubbed together, then, they will get stuck on each other. When we put the clothes together in the machine, the machine moves them around so that it can wash them properly.
In this process, the friction will cause the scales to interlock. For some, this might be not enough proof. But, interlocking fibers means getting a completely different garment than the one you put in the machine before. After washing in the washing machine, the alpaca wool garment will start to change its shape.
It will change its texture too, losing its softness. It will not be that luxurious alpaca wool piece, but it will become just another felted piece of fabric. They are coarser and thicker, nothing like the alpaca wool. The smoothness and the softness will quickly disappear. Additionally, the mixture of soap and water makes the alpaca fibers even more prone to damage and friction, as they open up.
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Although it says “hand wash”, this program is still too strong for the alpaca wool. Since it is a machine wash, this program will move the garments around to wash them properly. It is definitely more gentle than the other programs, but even these gentle machine moves can be too much and too damaging for the alpaca wool.
Each alpaca wool garment comes with a set of washing instructions. They are put there so that you can follow them and wash the alpaca wool garment as prescribed. The best and the suggested way to wash an alpaca wool garment is to wash it manually. This reason comes from the need for alpaca wool to soak. When it is well soaked, you do not need to rub it. You also do not need to toss it around. Just soaking is more than enough to wash the alpaca wool garment greatly, so you do not need absolutely any kind of movement.
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As previously mentioned, if the alpaca wool garment ends up in the machine, then, it will lose its shape and look. It will not be the same garment that you put on before. In general, all the things that might happen to the alpaca wool garment after being in the machine are:
To preserve the good look and the condition of your alpaca wool garment, we at Silkeborg Uldspinderi suggest that you always read and carefully follow the washing instructions on the label on each alpaca wool piece. That way, you will preserve the condition and the look of your alpaca throws, cushions, and any kind of alpaca wool accessories.
