How to Wash Long Wool Locks

While I am not that great at spinning yet, I have managed to get my wool washing technique down! I have used this method to wash a few different types of fleece, and it has always worked well for me. The majority of the fleece I wash is Navajo-Churro, but I have used this method to wash Merino and Leicester Longwool as well.

I have tried several different ways, and this is the one that gets me the best results, particularly for Navajo-Churro because the locks can grow up to 12 inches and even longer if you only shear once a year. Our 2024 lambs were all born in the month of May and were not sheared until May of the following year. Their wool was extremely long! Here is a picture of our rams in a small catch pen waiting for the shearer to arrive!

My absolute favorite tools for washing wool are plastic baskets and dish pans. I bought these at Daiso. They are sold in different parts of the store, but they fit together quite nicely and are reasonably priced. At the time of this writing, the dishpan was $6 and the baskets are priced at $2.25. I have quite a few because it just makes life easier but you can definitely get away with two of each. Also, since they stack so neatly, it doesn't take up that much extra space to store more.

Previously I had been using a plastic colander with a fitted bowl, but that was round and didn't fit all that much. When I started dealing with HUGE fleeces, I needed a better system. These baskets let me wash a very decent amount of wool without needing to use too much water. It's important to make sure that the water is quite hot in order to melt and remove the lanolin along with all the dirt. Since my hot water heater isn't set that high, I need to add some extra hot water to my water baths. If I am doing a small amount of wool, I put the dishpans in the bathtub. When I do larger amounts, I move the whole operation outside.

To start with, I try to get as much vegetable matter out of the locks before washing them. I pick out large pieces by hand and I use a metal pick comb to flick out some of the smaller pieces. Then I lay the locks out in the basket. I find that it is best not to overfill the baskets.

Next, I do a warm or cold water soak. I find that warmer water gets the dirt out faster, so that is usually what I do, but if I am going to leave the locks soaking for a while, (or overnight) I just use cool water. If you are using hot tap water you may want to check the temperature. Lanolin will start to melt at about 120 degrees, so you want your water temperature to be lower than 120 for the initial soak. My tap water comes out at 112 degrees so I fill the dishpan with hot water from the bathtub tap and then place the basket of locks into the dishpan. The locks will probably float up some. They will eventually sink down, but if you don't feel like waiting, just use the other basket to press them down into the water. While the locks are having their initial soak, I start heating up water for scouring.

If I am doing a small amount in the bathtub, I use an electric tea kettle to boil water. (You can also use the stovetop to boil water as well and put your dishpan in the kitchen sink.) My kettle will boil about 1.5 liters at a time. I will usually put some hot tap in the bottom of the second dishpan and then add about 3 kettles of hot water to make sure that the temperature is around 160-175 degrees Fahrenheit. I add 1-2 tablespoons of Unicorn Power Scour to the water depending on how dirty it is. Then I lift the basket of wet locks from the soak water, and I drain off as much water as I can before placing it into the hot scour water to soak for about 25-30 minutes. I don't want the water temperature to drop below about 135 degrees because I don't want the lanolin that I am trying to remove to reattach to the fibers. While I am letting the wool soak in the hot scouring water, I start heating the water again for round two.

While I am waiting for the kettle to heat, I take the initial soaking water outside to dump it out because it usually has a thick layer of dirt at the bottom of the dishpan that I would rather not dump down my drain. To make it easier to carry, I will pour it into a bucket first. (It's great for watering plants!) Then I rinse out the dishpan to repeat my scouring process using only about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of Unicorn Power Scour for the second scour. If your fiber isn't that dirty, you can omit the second wash but I generally need to do 2 washes.

You will also want to make sure that you dump the first scour water outside as well because that is going to have a lot of lanolin in it and you don't need that clogging up your drain. A couple of times probably won't hurt, but I wash a lot of wool! Better to be safe than sorry. You will still probably be seeing a lot of dirt and sand at the bottom of your dishpan. Sheep can get really dirty!

Because I get tired of hauling water outside to dump it, I generally just wash the wool outside. Same idea, just a larger scale. I use a propane burner and my 6 gallon cheese pot to heat the water. I can fill the pot with the hose and I use a 2 quart saucepan to transfer water from the large pot to the dishpans. (I set the chairs and shelf up around the pot to discourage my dog from getting near it.)

This set up works well for me because I can heat exactly to the temperature I want quickly. If it gets too hot, I can always add more cold water from the hose. The trick is to get your dishpan set up how you want it before you add your wool because you do not want to agitate it and risk felting it. You also want to keep the temperature pretty consistent so there aren't any extreme temperature changes.

While the wool is soaking in the second scour for another 25 to 30 minutes, I heat the kettle again so that I am doing a hot water rinse. I fill the empty dishpan up a bit with hot water from the tap and then add a kettle or two of boiling water. I don't worry about getting it up to 165 because most of the lanolin should be scoured out but I still want a consistent temperature for the rinse. I aim for 135F for my first rinse. Lift the basket from the scour water. Drain off as much as you can and then lower it into your clear rinse water. I usually let it sit in the rinse water for about 20 minutes and then fill another dishpan with hot tap and rinse again. If you are still seeing dirt at the bottom of your pan you can rinse again. I usually do 2 scours and 2-3 rinses.

I have a top loading washing machine with a drain and spin only cycle so I put it through that cycle to get out the excess water. If you don't have that cycle, you can use towels to soak up the excess. Then I leave it to dry in a wire basket rack. It's usually dry by the next morning.

So, for a quick recap:

Tools: 2 dishpans, 2 baskets, detergent (I prefer Unicorn Power Scour), electric kettle or stovetop to heat water

Note- The wool locks always stay in the same basket, you just transfer the basket to different dishpans. This minimizes the chances for the wool to get agitated and felt.

1. Pick out as much VM as you can and lay out the locks in your basket.

2. Fill your dishpan with water (warm or cool) and lower your lock basket into the dishpan for a soak. (30 minutes to overnight)

3. When you are ready to scour the wool, heat your water to 165-175 degrees. Add it to the dishpan with 1-2 T Unicorn Power Scour or detergent of choice. Put your wet locks basket into the hot water dishpan to soak for 20-30 minutes.

4. While your wool is soaking, heat your water again for a second bath adding 1/2 to 1 T Unicorn Power Scour. When the bath is ready, transfer the wet locks to the new dishpan to soak again for 20-30 minutes.

5. While your wool is soaking, heat water again for the rinse. Aim for a temperature of about 145 degrees. Transfer your wet locks to the clean rinse water. Let it soak for about 20 to 30 minutes.

6. After the first rinse, you can just use hot water out of the tap to rinse again. Remember, always add the water to the dishpan first and then add the fiber basket to the dishpan. 2-3 rinses should do it.

7. Drain off the excess water and let it dry in an area that gets a lot of airflow.