Soften your wool sweaters with these surprising household items: milk or conditioner
3:09 PM EST, December 18, 2023
Finding a quality sweater at a shopping mall can be a challenge. Despite their initial beauty, many contain primarily synthetic materials. Polyester or acrylic materials may look attractive until they're washed. Synthetic sweaters can become misshapen and color-faded after contact with water and detergent. It's a smarter choice to invest in natural fabrics, but how can one make wool less rough? Here's a trick!
Make your woolen sweater less coarse using a pantry item
Thick woolen or mohair sweaters are lifesavers in the freezing winter. However, they have one major overlooked drawback—they often irritate sensitive skin. This can cause continuous itching and discomfort, which is undesirable. To resolve this, you should soften your sweater—a procedure that needs cow's milk.
You'll need about 2 quarts of water and a cup of cow's milk to create the softening solution. If you don't have milk, you can use cream or kefir instead. Mix the two liquids and soak your sweater in the solution for 30 minutes. After soaking, wring out the excess water and wash the sweater in the washing machine using an appropriate setting.
Ensure you wash the sweater at a low temperature and avoid spinning it for too long. Natural materials tend to shrink, and when they do, it's hard to reverse the process. Also, be sure to use gentle detergents, such as those made for children.
Out of dairy? Try using hair conditioner
If you don't have dairy products at home, which is possible given that many people are lactose intolerant, you don't need to buy milk solely to soften your sweater. A hair conditioner makes a good alternative.
Mix a quart of water with about 1.7 ounces of conditioner ensuring there are no lumps. Immerse your sweater in this mixture for at least an hour. Then, wash the fabric as usual, remembering not to use high temperatures, which can harm the garment. Finally, lay the squeezed-out sweater flat on a dryer, preventing it from hanging too much to stop the material from stretching. After this procedure, your sweater should stop causing any itchiness.
