How do you care for vintage wool trousers?

[Metatron]

Hello, I was wondering how Loungers keep their vintage wool clean without constant dry cleaning?
I picked up a nice pair of wide legged wool trousers at a thrift store and would like to keep them in good shape.

 

[Undertow]

You might give them a good dry cleaning once a year, or less. Otherwise, just hang them up and leave some breathing room - just so long as they're not crammed into a drawer or stuffed into a plastic bag somewhere.

You can spot clean with a little borax, washing soda and fels-naptha mixture. Or Woolite.

Wool is an amazing material that pretty much takes care of itself.

 

[John in Covina]

Be aware that wool is sometimes attacked by moths (moth balls!) the larva may munch on them.

Also be aware that dry cleaning doesn't do well on some things like food spills. D/C will take out grease and oils along with some schmutz attached to them but on carbohydrates and sugars those need to be spot treated to get out. Something like a food spill may not be visible but remaining in the garment, it gets caramelized into an impossible to remove stain by the steam pressing.

there some home dryer dry cleaning products, don't know how well they work.

 

[Vampyre Master]

bought this on ebay but it smells like an old sheep, what can be done, got it hanging outside and the moment
VM

 

[Annixter]

Hello, I was wondering how Loungers keep their vintage wool clean without constant dry cleaning?

My recommendation is to not dry clean them. There's many different schools of thought on the subject, but I believe dry cleaning is more harmful than hand washing wool--especially vintage. Furthermore, most modern dry cleaners skimp on replacing dirty cleaning solutions and only add dirty chemicals to the garment. There are sources online that go into great depth about washing wool, but I can lay out the procedure the way I've been taught.

First, don't use Woolite or any other detergent advertised as being designed for delicate fabrics. Contrary to popular belief and thanks to company advertising departments covering it up, Woolite has too much alkaline for animal fibers, as do most detergents. If you don't believe me, wash your hair with the stuff for a week and see how things turn out. The best stuff I find to use is Dawn concentrated liquid detergent in original scent (the blue stuff). Cheap and very easy on wool. The process takes some time and delicacy, but you'll clean the trousers better than any dry cleaners and you'll be much, much easier on the fabric. Before washing the trousers, mix up a little cool water and Dawn detergent in the sink and test an inconspicuous part of the trousers for color fastness, blotting the wet area with a paper towel to check for running. If the color doesn't run, move on to the steps below.

1. Fill up the bathtub with cool water and add enough Dawn detergent after the water is off (you don't want bubbles) as you would for washing dishes.
2. Lay out the trousers on top of the water and let gravity take effect as the water penetrates the fibers, and you can gently push down on them if you want to speed up the process. Watch for color running during the first few minutes. If the color does run, quickly rinse and dry in the process described later on.
3. Allow the trousers to soak fully submerged for 30 minutes to an hour. If the water becomes very yellow or brown, allow them to soak for longer as they are very dirty. I've had to soak up to 2 hours for very heavy fabric.
4. Pull the drain plug and allow the water to drain out. Without allowing the fresh water to pour directly onto the trousers, fill the tub with cool water again to cover the trousers by a few inches. Allow them to soak for around 10 or 20 minutes.
5. Drain the tub again and repeat the rinsing soaking as many times as you think it takes to clear the trousers of dirty or soapy water.
6. Once you are finished rinsing the trousers, use both arms to cradle them and move them to where they lie flat on a drying surface of some sort. I find that a baby gate laid flat over the bathtub allows for a great surface for the trousers to drip and air dry. Or a clothing drying rack works too.
7. Once they have dripped for a little while (30 minutes or so), grab a couple bath towels. Lay one flat on the floor and lay out the trousers on top of the towel. You may need to fold the trousers as you would hang them, one leg atop the other. Roll the towel and trousers, and then walk on the roll making sure not to scrub the towel sideways with your feet. Repeat with another towel because the first will get soaked.
8. Once the trousers are pressed of additional water, lay them flat on that drying rack in the shape you want them once dried, and give them a day or two to dry depending on your temperature and humidity. Once dry, follow ironing procedure for wool.

For whatever reason the 20th century created a myth that wool cannot be hand washed or it will shrink, come apart, and a host of other misconceptions. The fact is that wool is animal hair and is plenty capable of being washed without shrinking or being harmed. People have been using it in garments for centuries before dry cleaning. The key is to use cool/cold water, a harmless yet powerful detergent like Dawn, to never rub the wool together, never pour water directly on the fabric, never lift the garment while it is wet without fully supporting it as best you can, and never hang it to dry until most of the water weight is evaporated. The wool fibers are very delicate when wet, and they will pull apart or pill if you start rubbing them together or grab the waistband and lift the trousers from the water allowing the heavy water to pull down on the fibers. While the trousers are soaking in the tub, you can use a flat palm to gently pushed them up and down to get water flowing through the fibers to help with washing.

I say all of this with experience washing numerous wool sweaters, vintage suits, and a very heavy vintage overcoat with not a single case of shrinkage or fabric deterioration. Hand wash the trousers this way and you will get rid of years of sweat, dirt, food, who knows what else, and dirty dry cleaning solutions that have been trapped in the wool, and the trousers will look, smell, and feel great. From there on, you can spot clean until they need another bath.

 

[Marc-Ange Draco]

Sage advice from Annixter.

I do much the same thing with trousers, suit jacket and even overcoats. The only differences are that I generally use soapnut liquid as my detergent and I never stand on the towels, I only roll them.

Once the towels are wet, I get some more dry ones and repeat. I then lay a dry towel on the drying rack under the garment to soak up any remaining moisture for the first few hours of drying.

Just remember that the two biggest enemies when washing wool are heat and agitation. Use slightly warm water, be gentle and you will be fine.