# Might be getting a cupple shetlands!!!  I have a question?



## Arabiansnob (Mar 24, 2012)

I might be getting a cupple of Shetland sheep!! Im so excited.   I am looking into using the wool and spin it.  But I cant find information on how to clean the wool, get the hay and grass out??  I read that you can put it in the washer machine to clean it is this true?


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## nomad (Mar 24, 2012)

I do not have a direct answer to your question.  I know you are to 'card' the wool but I believe when carding you are aligning the fibers.

I do know this, though---when our hair sheep that have a bit of wool on their backs becomes wet  with rain, the wool 'felts'.  So, with that understanding I believe throwing the wool into the washer may felt the wool and not clean it as you would like.

Perhaps I am wrong and washing in the machine makes for an easy cleaning of the wool.

I hope you can find the true answer to your question.


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## SheepGirl (Mar 24, 2012)

My sheep's wool does not felt in the rain or snow because wool only felts when there's friction and heat. When a sheep gets wet, the air pockets in the wool fibers absorb the water.

Anyway, I have heard that a washing machine does work, though I've never tried it. Here is some information about scouring your own wool: http://www.sheepusa.org/Wool_Information - scroll down all the way to the bottom. Also this has some good information.

But to help keep the wool clean, you can always jacket your sheep.


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## nomad (Mar 25, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> My sheep's wool does not felt in the rain or snow because wool only felts when there's friction and heat. When a sheep gets wet, the air pockets in the wool fibers absorb the water.


Perhaps I should have been clearer in my first statement and 'bolded' the word hair.  Let us keep in mind that hair sheep 'rub' to remove this winter wool.  When this wool becomes wet, it sometimes 'shrinks and/or mats' on top of their backs and I must use scissors to remove it in very large blankets/lumps. This does occur more times than I care for it to do so.  There are other times when the winter wool on our *hair* sheep sheds normally being rained on numerous times.

 I did not mean to imply that it always 'felts' with any amount of water, any time of the year or that it felts on wool sheep --- but after reading your comment I can see how that was able to be read into my first statement.

And, perhaps you are trying to correct my word usage of 'felting'.   I think you are suggesting I should have used the words 'shrinking and/or matting of wool' as opposed to the word felting in my original statement.


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## nsanywhere (Mar 26, 2012)

I have shetland/merino mix sheep and wash the wool. I find I need to split the fleeces and do each in 3 bags (3 bags full!)

After shearing and skirting I find a sunny spot in the grass and sit down with the wool. I separate big chunks and pull out the obvious pieces of hay-straw-etc., pulling the wool apart to its fluffier, not matted anywhere (I found this helped it get cleaner). I put the wool into 3 laundry bags - I found doing one fleece in a single bag didn't let enough water flow so they had to be washed a gazillion times.

Next, I fill up the bathtub ~1/3 with HOT water (125 degrees best). Then I add a few squirts of Dawn liquid (don't add soap while the water is running or you will get a ton of suds, way harder to rinse).

I gently and slowly push one bag down in the water, set the timer for 20 min, then walk away (all I want to do is swish!).

After 20 min I pull the plug and let all the nasty water drain out, then gently and slowly lift up the bag, squeeze out the excess, put it in a bucket, and fill up the tub again.

I do 2 washes, 2 rinses - found it best for my wool - so it takes ages, but isn't hard work. You do need to make sure the water doesn't get cold or the lanolin doesn't rinse out.

When each bag is completely done, I put it on the spin cycle to get out most of the water. Then, I lay out the bag on an open metal shelf in the basement where my dehumidifier is running anyway. Voila! Clean dry wool.

I tried to do it in the washing machine once, but it was messy and I didn't like having to stand around to catch the cycles change. I also didn't like that much crud in the machine. If you do use the machine, the main thing is to be very careful it doesn't go into a wash cycle - any agitation will felt the wool. 

Hope that helps!


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## SheepGirl (Mar 26, 2012)

nomad said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
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Sorry, I completely missed that you said hair sheep in your first post! 

However, "felting" and "matting" are essentially the same thing (there may be some differences--I don't know), because with felting, you are matting the wool to get it to stick together in an even layer.


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## SheepGirl (Mar 26, 2012)

nsanywhere said:
			
		

> I have shetland/merino mix sheep and wash the wool. I find I need to split the fleeces and do each in 3 bags (3 bags full!)
> 
> After shearing and skirting I find a sunny spot in the grass and sit down with the wool. I separate big chunks and pull out the obvious pieces of hay-straw-etc., pulling the wool apart to its fluffier, not matted anywhere (I found this helped it get cleaner). I put the wool into 3 laundry bags - I found doing one fleece in a single bag didn't let enough water flow so they had to be washed a gazillion times.
> 
> ...


That's some good information. Thanks for sharing.


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