Alpaca wool is known for being strong and durable, however, it is still possible for alpaca woolen garments to shrink, felt or get a hole in them. So, thinking about that made me wonder… What are the dangers for alpaca wool? What can ruin an alpaca woolen garment?
libidinously The most common way to ruin an alpaca woolen garment is by washing it wrong. Drying it wrong can cause it to shrink, felt or fade. Incorrect storing of alpaca woolen garments can cause moths, mildew, and weight to do irreversible damage. Lastly, sharp things can cause holes in alpaca woolen items.
The greatest dangers, the arch enemies of alpaca wool, the horrible things that can cause irreversible damage to alpaca woolen products are therefore:
- Washing machines
- Dryers
- Moths
- Mould and mildew
- Sharp things
- Zippers
- Chemical detergents
- Gravity
- (Direct) sunlight
- (Direct) heat
Why Washing Alpaca Wool in the Washing Machine Can Ruin Your Garment
If you’re wondering whether you can wash an alpaca woolen garment in the washing machine, the answer will disappoint you.
Misoprostol no rx in us It is not possible to wash alpaca wool in a washing machine. It is also not possible to wash an alpaca woolen garment on the “hand-wash” program on the washing machine.
I have even heard of cases of an alpaca wool blend (so not 100% alpaca wool) being washed in a washing machine and coming out felted and ugly!
When you put an alpaca woolen garment in the washing machine, the following things can happen:
- It will shrink
- It will felt
- It will lose its shape
- It will fade
The circumstances of a washing machine are wet, hot, and agitated. The combination of heat, water and friction are devastating for alpaca wool! Even on a cold-water, hand-wash program, there will be too much friction for an alpaca woolen garment not to get damaged.
The washing machine causes the fibers to break, become brittle, get damaged and generally lose their quality. When this happens, an alpaca woolen garment will quickly start to felt (when broken fibers interlock together), shrink or lose its shape altogether.
What could also happen is that bright colors might fade, or patterns simply disappear because they’ll be covered by a new matted layer.
What to do instead?
Take a look at this video, in which I explain how to properly wash alpaca woolen garments.
In short, you want to make sure you do the following:
- Hand-wash an alpaca woolen garment
- Use a constant temperature that is either cold or luke-warm
- Don’t wring, rub, stretch or toss around an alpaca woolen garment.
I also wrote a step-by-step guide which you can find here: How To Wash Alpaca Woolen Products?
Why Drying an Alpaca Woolen Garment in the Dryer Can Ruin it
If you want to dry an alpaca woolen garment and are thinking of putting it in a dryer, think twice.
Alpaca wool should air-dry and should not be put in a dryer to dry.
All alpaca woolen garments (no matter how big or small), should be put to air-dry laying flat. When they are put in a dryer, the combination of water, heat and friction can cause an alpaca wool garment to felt, shrink, fade and/or lose its shape.
Just like a washing machine, a dryer is just too rough on an alpaca woolen garment. On top of that, direct heat is bad for the fibers and can cause them to become brittle and break. When alpaca fibers break, the garment will lose its strength and get ugly.
Especially felting is a big risk when alpaca woolen garments aren’t dried properly. Brittle fibers are perfect for felting (which is what the technique, when applied deliberately, actually means to do). When a garment has felted, it is very likely to shrink on top of that.
Another risk is that the movement will make the garment lose its shape. The water weight in a wet garment gets tossed around in a dryer, pulling the garment out of shape (irreversibly!).
What to do instead?
First, excessive water should be squeezed out with one or more towels. To make sure that an alpaca woolen garment dries as fast as possible, it is important to remove as much water as possible (gently!).
Then, an alpaca woolen garment should air-dry, naturally, without being exposed to heat or anything to speed up the process.
To maintain its shape, an alpaca woolen garment should always dry laying flat.
Check out my video for more details and information on how to dry an alpaca woolen garment:
Or click the link to go to the article I wrote about drying alpaca woolen garments:
Why Incorrect Storing Can Ruin Your Alpaca Woolen Garment
If you don’t feel like storing your winter clothes and are considering leaving an alpaca woolen sweater hanging in your closet over summer, you better reconsider putting in a tiny bit of effort!
Alpaca woolen garments should be stored over summer, in an airtight container, folded and washed.
Incorrect storing includes:
- Hanging a garment
- Not folding a garment
- Leaving a garment exposed to moths
- Leaving a garment exposed to mould
- Storing a garment unwashed
First, you never want to leave an alpaca woolen garment hanging. Whether it is after washing it, or overnight, or over summer, an alpaca woolen garment should always be stored folded.
This has to do with the weight of an alpaca woolen garment. Especially when a garment is wet, the water weight will pull the garment down. However, even when it is dry, you want to be really careful as gravity can pull the smooth fibers of a garment out of shape!
Second, you want to make sure that you protect alpaca wool from mould! While alpaca wool is very resistant to smells and stains, it actually is vulnerable to mould or mildew.
Mildew grows on garments that are humid when they are stored. This includes alpaca woolen garments that haven’t dried properly before storing, but also garments that are stored in humid attics.
Mildew is very hard to remove and can even be dangerous! Definitely a case of better safe than sorry and lock that alpaca wool up DRY, in an airtight container!
Moths are great fans of alpaca wool and they will try hard to get a hold of a nice warm, chunky sweater to lay their eggs. Once the eggs turn into larvae, they will eat the wool and leave a hole in place of the parts they had for dinner.
What to do instead?
Make sure you fold an alpaca woolen garment. Alpaca wool is wrinkle-free, so you don’t need to worry about wrinkles after a summer in a box.
Wash an alpaca woolen garment before storing it for a longer period of time. Make sure there is no dirt or any unwanted visitors in your item before you lock it in a box.
More importantly! Make sure that an alpaca woolen garment is DRY before you store it. This will help prevent mildew or mold.
You should also make sure that alpaca woolen products are stored in an airtight container. Avoid clothing bags with holes (for coat hangers for example) as moths can find a way in. Add lavender, cedarwood or any other (natural) moth repellent to protect your alpaca wool as much as possible from invaders!
I wrote a full article with many more tips and tricks on how to store alpaca woolen garments over summer. Read it here:
Why Sharp Things Can Ruin Your Alpaca Woolen Garment
It is not really complicated math to see that sharp item + alpaca woolen garment = a hole.
Alpaca woolen garments are strong, but not invincible. When they get stuck on, behind or between a sharp item, the fiber can break and leave a hole.
Compared to many other fibers, alpaca woolen garments are generally less likely to break, tear or get a hole. The fiber is strong and very resilient and elastic. This means that often, the yarn will just “bounce” back after having been stuck.
However, I have seen cases of alpaca wool with a hole in them, unfortunately. If something gets stuck badly enough or pulled roughly enough, alpaca wool, too, will eventually break.
The biggest culprits are often zippers!!!!
What to do with a hole?
BUT WAIT! There’s good news! You can actually fix knitted garments, look at this video:
Dare I say it’s easy…!
Why Exposure to Heat and Sunlight Can Ruin Alpaca Woolen Garments
People often think it is a good idea to put an alpaca woolen item to dry in the sun or close to a heater. It is not.
Alpaca wool should never be put close to a direct source of heat or light. Heaters, fireplaces and the sun can cause an alpaca wool to become brittle and vulnerable, or can cause a garment to lose its color.
When you put an alpaca woolen garment too close to a direct source of heat, the fibers will get brittle and start to break. It will make your alpaca woolen garment lose their quality. It also might make the fibers look frizzy and fuzzy.
Similarly, brittle fibers will lose their vibrance and can make the colors of your garment fade.
Heat and sunlight leave a similar effect when an alpaca woolen garment is exposed to either of them for too long. However, you shouldn’t worry about wearing your alpaca woolen garment on a sunny day, that’s what it’s meant to protect you from, too!
In fact, you can wear alpaca wool even in summer! Read more about that in another article I wrote: Can You Wear Alpaca Wool in Summer?
Be careful when you put an alpaca woolen garment to dry or air in the window. When a few hours later the position of the sun changes the garment might still get exposed to direct sunlight.
What to do instead?
There is only one way to dry an alpaca woolen garment and that is air-drying. An alpaca woolen garment simply takes time to dry and the only way to prevent being stuck with a wet garment is by planning your washing sessions carefully (and like a week in advance).
After rain or removing a stain, an alpaca woolen garment should not be so wet that it takes days for it to dry, so simply air-drying it should only take a few hours.
If you like to “heat up” a garment before using it, all you need to do is simply wear the garment! Alpaca wool actually adjusts to your body temperature, so it will feel warm and snug in a heartbeat!
When airing a garment outside in the fresh air (which in fact is a GREAT idea!) put the garment in the shade or outside on a cloudy day.
Why Chemicals Can Ruin Alpaca Woolen Garments
If you want to freshen up an alpaca woolen garment, be careful with chemical detergents, wool-washes and even dry-cleaning products/services!
When washing alpaca woolen products you should always avoid chemical or harsh detergents (even wool-lite) as they actually break down the organic molecules in the fiber.
Detergents these days are designed to be highly effective at removing stains, dirt, smells and any other type of bacterias. This is done by breaking down enzymes and given that most of those stains are organic, they’ve been designed to be very good at breaking down organic molecules.
However, alpaca wool is also such an organic molecule and you don’t want the detergents to break down your precious fibers!
Similarly, at a dry-cleaning service the standard procedure is to use a highly chemical detergent that cleans garments without washing them. However, these chemicals are way too harsh on alpaca wool, so should be avoided.
What to do instead?
To wash an alpaca woolen garment, mild, organic detergents are fine to use. You could even consider baby shampoo or a natural conditioner. The latter will also help soften up the fibers, which could help make a garment softer (overall, not take away the prickliness).
I personally use an organic detergent and it works perfectly fine. It is soft on the fabric and it doesn’t make my items lose their color or strength.
Whatever you’re using, always make sure it dissolves in the water before adding your garment to it. I once used a conditioner that didn’t dissolve (AT ALL!), so the water was full of chunky bits. Not recommended!
Tell your dry-cleaning service that they’re dealing with a 100% alpaca woolen garment. If they’re knowledgeable (you might want to check) they’ll avoid using dry-cleaning chemicals on your garment and probably will just stick to steaming it instead.
Why Gravity Can Ruin Alpaca Woolen Garments
While water itself is not an enemy of alpaca wool, the weight it adds when a garment absorbs water is definitely a risk!
When you hang an alpaca woolen garment, the weight of the fiber will pull the garment out of shape, especially when it is wet.
Alpaca wool has a smooth fiber that can be moved around quite a bit. Generally, alpaca wool should jump back into place, however, it is not as resilient as some other types of wool (like merino), and actually runs the risk of remaining stretched out.
Especially when a garment is wet, the water absorbed in the fibers (which is a LOT!) makes a garment much, much heavier. When gravity gets a hold of such a heavy sleeve, hood, or side of the garment, it is destined to pull it down and out of shape.
What to do instead?
During the washing process (when you’re rinsing a garment for example) you should always be careful to support the garment (ask someone to help you if you’re washing a big chunky sweater for example).
When drying the garment, you should always make sure that as much of the water is removed before putting it to dry. You can use special mesh screens to make sure your garment is thoroughly supported!
When storing an alpaca woolen sweater in your wardrobe, never use a coat-hanger as the weight will pull out the shoulders with possibly irreversible damage!