Lots of people worry they’ll ruin their woollen garment by putting it in the washing machine and many think it’s wrong to pop it in the tumble dryer at all so what’s the best way to wash wool?

 The main question people ask is ‘can I machine wash my lambswool or merino wool sweater, jumper or pullover in the washing machine?’ and presume you could never put lambswool or merino wool in the tumble dryer.

Well, you can do both with Glenbrae as our products have been actively designed to be washed in the washing machine and then dried in tumble dryers – the best way to wash and dry our wool.

Not only that, we actively want our customers to do this regularly as it helps to keep lambswool and merino wool garments in shape.

The reason is we make every Glenbrae merino and lambswool garment using our unique Spirol yarn technology and the heat from the tumble dryer actually reinvigorates the Spirol yarn which, in turn, helps to keep your jumper, zip-up, sweater or pullover in great shape.

Glenbrae is the only lambswool and merino manufacturer in the world that has this technology which we devised ourselves so our lambswool and merino range is totally unique and you can wash them with confidence.

The golden rule is you must always use a detergent that’s designed to wash woollen clothes – it will clearly state it on the label - and we recommend three brands which you can easily buy at supermarkets such as Asda and Sainsbury’s or online at Amazon.

These wool detergents are:

1. Persil Silk & Wool
2. Woolite Special Machine
3. Ecover delicate

Woolite is approved by Woolmark, a wool industry certification mark used on pure wool products that meet quality standards set by The Woolmark Company which is the global authority on merino wool.

If your washing machine has a wool wash setting then use this as the low speeds of agitation and low speed spins help prevent the merino or lambswool from stretching and ripping. Its gentle cradling and soaking motion protects the wool fibres from shrinking or becoming distorted.

If you want to save on ironing then after tumble drying put your garment on a padded coat hanger for around 30 minutes and all the creases will just fall out.

If you want to iron your Glenrae lambswool or merino wool garment then use a steam iron on a warm setting.

Quick guide on how to wash lambswool and merino wool

Turn the garment inside out to reduce risk of it fluffing up as it will come into contact with other clothes in the washing machine.

Wash it with similar colours at 30°C using wool specific detergent and on a wool wash setting if your machine has one.

Tumble dry on a warm, gentle heat setting. After tumble drying you can iron the garment using a warm setting on your iron.

If you don’t tumble dry then dry the garment laid flat away from direct sunlight but never wet or damp on a coat hanger as this could pull it out of shape.

Quick guide on what NOT to do when washing lambswool and merino wool

DO NOT