Washing Wool!
Wool makes a wonderful diaper cover. I didnt use wool very much with Avah. It scared me. It seemed complicated to wash and care for. It was expensive. I thought she would be way too hot since we live in Texas (or..the surface of the sun)...I was wrong. Its easy to care for. It can be expensive..but I refuse to get caught up in that so I buy used pieces or plain pieces or pieces that have been accidently shrunk and will not fit their toddler..but will fit my infant. I also search for large wool sweaters that I can turn into covers with a little cutting and sewing. Sam never gets hot in his wool. Wool breathes easy. It keeps you cool in the heat and warm in the cold. Its naturally waterproof (you do have to keep it lanolized though) and it is darn cute! We dont own a lot of wool that he can wear right now. Most pieces that I have are waiting for him to grow into. The beauty of well lanolized wool is that he can wear it, it gets damp, you lay it out to dry, and its ready to wear again. I can usually get about 1 week out of my covers before washing again. Thats right...wool is self cleaning! Amazing right? So lets get to the way I clean my wool. I dont have a wool wash bar. You can use one if you want...I may one day...at this moment, if Sam gets poop or dirt (which doesnt happen yet since he pretty much stays where I put him) on his wool, I just wash the piece off that has the poop on it, and stick it in the window to dry. Why the window? The sun takes care of that stain! Remember people...sun = free bleach. But when I notice the wool isnt doing its job as well as it should be..which is to keep the pee on the inside of the diaper..I wash it. Here is how I do it
Gather what I need. Which is only the wool that needs washing and my wool wash. I use
Northern Essence. I like this wool wash because it is a wash and lanolin all in one. I also like that I can buy it locally at
Cloud 9 Baby in College Station. Tell Joanna I sent ya! :) She is so sweet and has the cutest little shop. The bottle I have right now is "Fresh Linen" scent. Love it!

I fill the sink about 1/2 way with warmish water and shake the bottle of wool wash while its filling. I squirt about 50 cents worth (2 quarter size squirts to be clear) and swish it around with my hand. Before I dry my hands off, I rub them together like I am putting on lotion! The lanolin makes my hands oh so soft!! Bonus!! Then I put the wool into the sink and squish it down making sure its soaked. (Ignore my sink. Its not dirty..just old and stained. I promise!) Oh and the water will look milky.

After about 1/2 an hour..sometimes more if Im busy and forget (that NEVER happens!) I go back to take out the wool. Drain your sink..unless yours is super cool like mine and it drains itself. (nice huh?) Carefully squeeze out the excess. DO NOT RINSE! You want to keep all that yummy lanolin in the wool! Then I lay it out on a towel.

Now you carefully roll it up. Like a jelly roll. (that sounds good...I should make one!) I kind of press on it and roll it over and over. Gets all the excess out so it doesnt take days to dry.

Now its clean, fresh, lanolized and WET! So I hang it up to dry. If its not stained I hang it over my stool that is stored behind my door. If its stained, I hang it in a sunny window (unless its dyed wool...then I dont worry THAT much about stains on the inside. the sun will fade the dye!!) It usually takes our wool about 24 hours to be totally dry...sometimes a little more if its really humid.

And just for fun..here is a picture of some of Sam's wool. He is wearing a pair right now, and is sleeping so here are the ones that currently fit. The others are stored away, and I'm far too lazy to dig them out. I promise I will when he is big enough to wear them!

There are many different types of wool. And just as many styles. Just google Wool Diaper Cover and trust me...there is SO much out there. BEAUTIFUL handmade longies and shorties. I drool over them...but I am too cheap. haha! In the picture below you can see the cream shorties made my Disana. These are my MOST favorite. They arent super cute and stylish...but they are bullet proof. Sam wears them overnight and we never have a leak! LOVE those things! And OMG so soft!!

Previous Posts about Cloth Diapering
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