Really Pants

The Benefits and Advantages of using wool

Sounds too hot next to the skin?  Think washing and caring for wool is too compicated?

Wool is very comfortable and is the only fibre that can absorb up to 1/3 of  its weight in moisture without feeling wet or clammy as the moisture immediately starts to evaporate into the air. More…

Wool is also an amazing insulator -when the weather is hot, wool can keep the body cool and the heat out,  yet when the weather is cold, wool will keep the body warm and the cold out!

Other benefits of wool include resilience, as well as easy care. Wool maintains its shape virtually forever, and it’s very easy to clean -as long as you know the basic rules for cleaning wool.
Advantages to wool: it’s a natural fibre so it’s very breathable, it has good leak control (especially good at night time!) and wool longies and shorties can be worn as outerwear - no need for trousers!

Disadvantages: Need little bit extra care, can be bulky under clothing, can be expensive, some people are allergic to wool. In certain situations wool isn’t a good choice e.g. for long car journeys or if you’re out and about and the baby will be sitting in the pushchair for a long period of time -this will cause compression wicking where liquid is pushed through the wool by the weight of the baby sitting in one position.

If you want to have a go at trying wool nappy covers there are few rules to follow:

-get a cover with high wool content -it’ll perform better

-the nappy underneath has to be absorbent enough otherwise the wool will let moisture through if the nappy becomes saturated.

-the wool nappy cover may smell a bit after use but you can just air it and the smell will go

Remember: wool is NOT waterproof, rather it is water-repellent when treated with lanolin.

Lanolin? That  surely sounds complicated…

Initially I too was put off by the treating with lanolin thing, but it is not at all complicated, and actually quite quick.

Before you first use your wool nappy cover, it needs treating with lanolin few times before it becomes properly water-repellent. (Lanolin is the wax produced by sheep to keep their fleece in good weatherproof condition).

Treating - You can buy pure lanolin or lanolin treatment (wool cure) -both work the same way. If you use wool cure, the instructions are on the bottle - just add enough hot water to cover the wrap, wait for it to cool down and put the soaker in overnight, then squeeze out excess water very carefully (you can wrap the wool wrap  in a towel to do this), lay out to dry -it’s done!

If you use pure lanolin (cheaper in the long run), it needs to be emulsified in the water as it has a thich wax consistency. You need to add a small amount of e.g. olive soap from health food shops or wool wash to very hot water and add a teaspoon of lanolin. The lanolin will melt and the soap emulsifies it into the water. When the water has cooled down, treat it the same way as with the wool cure.

Washing: Wool nappy covers only need washing about every 2-4 weeks(unless it’s soiled) as long as it’s aired after use as wool cleans itself with oxygen. If it smells after airing, it needs a wash. Natural soap such as olive soap, wool shampoo or washing detergent for delicate items (e.g. Ecover delicate) are good.

It’s advisable to hand-wash wool nappy covers, especially the ones that are 100% wool as hot water and agitation in the washing machine can cause felting (wool fibres shrinking -you’ll end up having a wrap half it’s original size!). Most washing machines do have a wool or hand wash cycle so you could try it out if you’re brave enough! Felted wraps can be washed in the washing machine (e.g. Imse Vimse  and Stacinator wraps). You only will need a very small amount of soap -just enough to clean the wrap without stripping too much of the lanolin out of the wool. Lanolising treatment needs to be done every 2 to 3 washes.

Drying - knitted nappy covers -soakers and longies that are non-felted should be dried flat to prevent them losing their shape. You can roll them up loosely in a towel to soak up drips and put them on the airer.  Felted wraps can be hung up.