Whether as a placemat, slipper or hat: felt can be used to make numerous useful items. But can they be washed easily?
- Felt is a natural product made from sheep's wool.
- That is why you need to be very careful when cleaning.
- Can felt in the washing machine?
Felt is a textile made from sheep's wool. Using a special process with moisture, heat and friction, the wool can be felted and formed into a homogeneous fabric - the wool felt. This consists of difficult-to-separate fibers that have become tangled in one another. That is why felt is a non-woven textile.
Does felt need to be washed?
The advantage of felt is that it has a very high percentage of fat and is so tightly woven that hardly any dirt penetrates the fabric . That is why felt is one of the easiest to care for and hardly needs to be washed. Washing in the machine is also not recommended: the material can deform because the wool continues to become matted.
Instead, brushing or vacuuming dirt is all it takes . Lint can be removed with a clothes brush. You can also dab fresh or dried stains with a moisturizing agent , such as shampoo or wool detergent * - this is important so that the felt does not lose its natural fat content. This protects it from dirt. Then dry wet felt lying flat in the air. You can also iron the material on moderate heat using the "Wool" setting.
You do not have to worry about smells: felt absorbs little scents from the environment and smells fresh and neutral after a few minutes in the air.
Also interesting : wash towels properly - you must pay attention to that now.
How to clean felt in the washing machine
If you still want to clean felt in the washing machine * - for example, because it is very dirty - you should use a wool detergent and set the temperature not higher than 30 degrees . Find out what the manufacturer recommends for care by looking at the label. Alternatively, you can try a gentle hand wash or take the felt to a specialist company for cleaning.
Also read : At what temperature are tea towels washed?
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* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
