Organic Sweater Washington DC

What could be finer than bundling up in one of your favorite organic wool sweaters on a brisk winter morning? Sweaters, when properly cared for, can bring you years of comfortable luxury and beauty. People often have the mistaken impression that caring for sweaters are tricky and difficult, which is not so. To simplify things, we have compiled a collection of sweater care tips to help you easily get maximum wear out of your beautiful sweaters.

How to care for your sweater between washings

• Give your sweater a good shake after each wearing to remove fluff and dust.
• After wearing a sweater, air it out to remove body moisture and odors that might be trapped in the sweater fibers. Simply lay your sweater on a dry, cotton towel (organic cotton, of course) on a flat surface, away from direct sunlight (sunlight may cause unnecessary fading). Never hang a sweater on a hanger as the weight of the sweater can pull the shape out of the shoulders.
• Carefully remove any fuzz balls, also called "pills", that seem to grow on a sweater. These are caused by simple wear. To remove the sweater fuzz balls, carefully cut them off with a small scissors. Don't pull them off as this can further damage the fibers by pulling them out even more.
• After your sweater has thoroughly dried, fold flat and store it in a natural wrapper with cedar chips to discourage moths. Don't store wool in plastic, which builds up moisture and keeps the sweater from breathing.

Laundering your sweater

When your sweater needs cleaning, check the label for the manufacturer's washing recommendations - hand wash, machine wash, or dry clean.

Before we list the simple steps for hand washing your sweater, two issues need to be clarified: water temperature and the detergent choice. Water temperature has been hotly debated topic. Some insist that it should be cold to prevent shrinking and fulling. Others advocate very hot water to better remove oils, stains and dirt. The reality, it doesn't matter. Hot water does not cause fulling or shrinking - hot drying does. Cool water and the proper detergents can remove dirt and germs as effectively as hot. What's important to remember about wool is, the temperature of the water in the wash cycles need to be the same. We suggest a mild water temperature that is comfortable to your skin when touched.

Choosing the right type of detergent is equally important. Use a detergent that does not have an alkaline pH. Beware; most soaps are alkaline so we recommend staying away from them. An alkaline pH causes wool scales to open which leads to fulling. The alkaline in Woolite will strip a sweater's wool fibers, so avoid using it.

Many recommend dish detergents and shampoos for washing wool sweaters. These usually have a base rather than alkaline pH. We recommend reading the labels of these detergents to insure that it is truly a detergent and not soap. Also confirm the detergent or shampoo does not contain thickeners, perf...