Fabric Care
Hand-washing is the best way to care for your alpaca wool clothing, but to save time, you can also machine wash alpaca garments. Since it is naturally anti-bacterial and odor-resistant, you'll find that you won't need to wash alpaca wool as often as other fabrics, so airing out your clothes is usually sufficient. This brings the added bonus that you can save water and energy.
If you do find your alpaca clothing needs a wash:
- Hand wash or machine wash on a gentle cycle in cold water with a gentle/wool detergent.
- Wash with like colors. The dye will likely tint the washing water, but the color of your garment won’t be changed.
- If hand-washing, rinse the garment(s) in cold water and gently squeeze out the excess water.
- Lay the garment flat to dry.
- Iron on warm setting, if you feel ironing is necessary.
- Store your garments, preferably folded rather than hung.
A few things to avoid:
- Do not use fabric softener or bleach.
- Do not tumble dry or dry clean.
- Try not to twist or wring the fabric too much.
- Be cautious when using citric acid, as it may naturally bleach botanically dyed fabrics.
