Have you heard of snow washing? A Nordic and cold climate practice since at least the 9th century, snow washing is excellent for your cashmere and other wool fibers. Read on and I'll tell you why plus I'll share my experience snow washing my cashmere and camel items for the first time. I'm in love!
Snow washing benefits
Snow washing is an efficient, eco-friendly method of cleaning that relies on the snow and cold rather than chemicals, soap, or water to clean woolen goods. The benefits of snow washing to clean your woolens are many.
•Easier than hand washing. There's no dripping wet anything involved in snow washing. Snow and cold are used to scrub and sanitize the fiber. Items get damp, not fully wet.
•With no washing, there's no worry of shrinking, felting, or damaging delicate fibers.
•The deep cold kills bugs, germs and odors, completely refreshing your woolens.
•The crystals in the snow can act as gentle scrubbers to clean the fibers.
•Sunshine freshens and brightens.
•Damp items can be laid flat to dry, removing wrinkles and allowing for re-blocking and re-shaping.
How to snow wash - my experience
I have worn my Cattails scarf a lot this winter so it was all scrunchy and folded in on itself and it had a food spot on it (see photos). Could snow washing get out the spot, freshen and clean the scarf, and allow me to re-block it?
Snow washing process
Step 1
Choose a winter day that provides
•below freezing temperatures
•dry, light, fresh snow
•sunshine
Step 2
Take your woolen items (cashmere, camel, sheep's wool - I even did this with a cotton blazer that I didn't want to dry clean) and lay them on fresh snow.
Step 3
Cover the item with snow, rubbing the snow a bit on the item to 'scrub it'. I especially scrubbed the food spot.
Step 4
Keep in snow and sunshine for 30 minutes or so (some sources say overnight; I left some garments out for 5 hours).
Step 5
Brush off loose snow, take inside and lay flat to dry, reshaping and reblocking. I didn't use wires, I just laid the scarf in its shape and smoothed the edges. Since the scarf was damp, I didn't need a towel - I placed it directly on the tile floor.
Step 6
Inspect the results when dry.
Conclusion
I'm now in love with snow washing for my woolens. If you don't have snow but do have freezing temperatures (or a freezer), the cold will kill germs and bugs and remove odors.
I've also made a video of washing other items in the snow. Check it out:
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Until next time, Amy