Soak has come out with a fresh new scent, Pineapple Grove! Soak is a super easy, eco-friendly, no-rinse wash for hand or machine washing delicates, from lingerie to cashmere. Soak products are manufactured in Toronto Canada and are available in an assortment of fresh fragrances plus Scentless (for your sensitive side).
How it works: Just Soak and squeeze. No need to rinse. Lay knits flat to dry. Wash sets (like lingerie) together. Test fabric for colour-fastness.
To learn more about Soak drop in for a tutorial at Soak School, they’ll teach you how to clean everything from makeup brushes, lingerie, quilts, workout wear, menswear, and of course knits.
It’s that time of year again … the time when I remind you to wash & store your knits. I’m sorry, I know this is a tedious chore, but it’s so, so, so VERY important for preserving the longevity of your knits. You know those evil little buggies who leave those wicked little holes in your knits? They are most often feasting on bits or food, skin, and other human detritus on your sweater. Washing is essential to depriving the little buggies of their buffet, and proper storage keeps them from gaining entrance to the restaurant.
Step 1. Wash
Hand wash in specialty delicate wash like Soak or Eucalan. Both brands are no-rinse (an essential feature for making this chore bearable), made in Canada, and work equally well. Personally, I prefer Eucalan for anything made with animal fibres (wool, alpaca, mohair, etc), it is formulated with more lanolin which is a natural conditioner for fibre. I especially like Soak for garments made with plant fibres or synthetics (you can find it in quilting and lingerie stores as well as knitting stores). Both are excellent products, you can’t go wrong with either. If you don’t have many knits but you want your lacies to last longer, pick up a bottle of Soak, they specialize in lingerie. If you are a knitwear fiend and throw your skivvies in the machine, grab a bottle of Eucalan.
Detailed instructions are on the bottles and product websites, but this is how it’s basically done:
Soak garment in cool water for 10 minutes
Add a little bit of delicate wash and squish it through garment
Soak for another 10 minutes
Drain water and gently squeeze out water (do not wring)
Wrap in a towel and press out excess water
Lay flat to dry
Washing Tips
Don’t forget your non-sweater knits! Wool socks, hats, mitts, scarves, cowls, and long underwear are just as vulnerable as your sweaters and need love too.
Avoid the big corporate store brands like Woolite, they’re still ‘detergents’ and the results will end up making you cry.
If the dye is saturated and you think it might bleed, add a quarter cup of white vinegar to the water before adding your garment. The vinegar will act as a mordent and stabilize the colour.
If you don’t have a laundry room or suitable sink (I don’t) you can pick up a plastic wash basin at the dollar store (which are also wonderful for a nice foot soak). If you want a higher-end, very high-quality basin that will last forever try a 26 Litre Tubtrug – I have one at home for laundry and we’ve been using the same bins all over the store for over 6 years and they still look like new (the best price is from Amazon.ca and you can get free shipping).
Instructions usually suggest drying garments flat on a towel, but I’ve found that if you have already pressed out the excess water with a towel Blocking Mats are a much faster method.
All fibres are susceptible to moth damage (even plant fibres like cotton and synthetics), wools just happen to be their favourite meal . Wash and store ALL the sweaters you wore over the winter.
Step 2. Storage
Now that your knits are clean it’s time to put them away. Thankfully extra-large (33cm x 38cm) zipper freezer bags are ubiquitous and can be found at grocery stores like Loblaws. Presently, my favourites are from Dollarama (they’re tough, the seal is easy and stays put, and they are cheap). Use one sweater per bag, it seals the bugs out, plus it ensures that if one of your knits is infested it won’t spread to the others. This system will also help isolate where any potential infestations are coming from. If you want to seal in a nice, subtle, clean smell you can add a dried bay leaf to the bag – it smells like happy-nice-clean.
Storage Tips
Store your non-garment knits! Woollen blankets, pillow covers, anything felted (like bags, slippers, ornaments) are all vulnerable and need to be sealed up. You can buy XXL Ziploc Bags at Walmart or at Dollarama for storing blankets.
Don’t neglect your STASH! Ever worked with a skein of yarn that constantly breaks (not counting tight knitters working with delicate yarns)? Yup, buggies. I’ve known people who’ve had to pitch their entire stashes because of infestation.
All of the bags mentioned are tough, do not tear easily, and can be used over and over (we use them for storage in the store).
I don’t suggest you rely on big tote storage bins to keep your sweaters safe. They don’t fully seal and my past experience has been full of tears and regret.
If you’re feeling extra organizey and want to exercise a little control over your chaos, you can label your sweaters. A roll of masking tape and a sharpie pen go a long way, and when the cold hits next fall you’ll know which black sweater is which, without opening all the packaging (I learned this the hard way). BTW, there’s no right or wrong way to label your sweaters, as long as you label them so you can *find* them. Mine are kind of kind of random: “V-Neck from H&M – Black”, “Cashmere Scoop Neck – Black”, “V-Neck Dress from Grad School- Black”, “Haley Special Ultra Alpaca – Blue”, “Haley Special Ultra Alpaca – Green” (I’ve got a few of these), etc. It’s hard to see colour accurately when your sweaters are all packed away together, so be sure to put the colour on the label.
Step 3. Second Line of Defense
I field a lot of questions and hear a lot of stories about moth prevention, and I feel I should weigh in.
Moth Traps
I like keeping the windows in my home open as much as possible, which inevitably leads to a little bit of nature creeping in. Hopefully, I’ll have stored everything away properly, but in the past there have been a few strays. This year I’m going to try using Aeroxon Moth Traps as a second line of defence and see what happens. I’ve never used them before, but I’ve heard good things (they use pheromones to attract the males). They last 3 months, so be sure to change them regularly. Even if the buggies don’t have anything to feast on, I’ll still experience a little bit of schadenfreude (shameful-joy) seeing the little bastards in the trap. Death to the sweater eaters!
Moth Balls
Moth balls work, but they smell like camphor on crack, god knows what the chemicals are doing to you and your family, and little kids always seem to think they’re candy. The smell gives me a mirgaine, ’nuff said – VETO.
Cedar Closets
I have fond memories of rummaging in my grandmother’s cedar closet, the smell was wonderful and it’s where she kept her ‘stash’ (she’d keel over if she saw what we collect these days). These closets mostly work on the principle that they are located in the basement, are tightly sealed, and aren’t often opened. Buggies don’t love the smell of cedar oil, but the wood dries out over time and it isn’t a reliable deterrent. Plus, it can’t do anything helpful if you store something already infested in it. I’m conservative when it comes to these things, if you are going to rely on a cedar closet without washing & bagging, I’d put a moth trap in there as a back-up.
Cedar Balls
Cedar balls are pretty, but are already dried out and they don’t have much scent left. I think their best use is in a glass bowl as a decorative centrepiece.
Heavy Perfume (Smelly Soap, Dryer Sheets, etc.)
Maybe buggies dislike the smell, maybe they don’t – this one’s in the realm of ‘old wives tale’. Personally, I’ve never had any success with this technique, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to go all out and make all my stuff smell like Springtime for Hitler. I don’t endorse heavy fragrance for a few reasons:
There isn’t any science on it, I don’t know if it really keeps moths at bay.
More and more people are sensitive to fragrance; I don’t want you to hurt anyone with your perfume and I also don’t want *you* to become sensitized through exposure and become allergic (or your kids – that would be an unimaginable world of pain for the whole family).
Besides being a common trigger for asthma, commercial synthetic fragrances contain chemicals called Phthalates (like the stuff in BPA), which are endocrine disruptors and are associated with cancers of the lady parts, deformities in baby boys, and god knows what else. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to keep my breasts & ovaries and never have to know what chemo feels like, and I want the same for my family and yours.
Spring seems to be starting to sprout and that means it’s time to WASH AND STORE YOUR SWEATERS! Well, at least start. You probably won’t need to put them all away until the end of April, but you can definitely start with the heavy ones now.
The cruel little buggies who leave those wicked holes in your lambswool and cashmere are most often feasting on bits or food, skin, and other human detritus on your sweater. Washing is essential to it depriving the little buggies of their buffet, and proper storage keeps them from getting to the restaurant.
Wash
Hand wash in special delicate wash Soak or Eucalan. Both brands are no-rinse (an essential feature), made in Canada, and work pretty much work equally well.
Personally, I prefer Eucalan for anything made with animal fibres (wool, alpaca, mohair, etc), it is formulated with more lanolin which is a natural conditioner. I like Soak for garments made with plant fibres or synthetics (you can find it in quilting and lingerie stores as well as knitting stores).
Detailed instructions are on the bottles and product websites, but this is how it’s basically done:
soak garment in cool water for 10 minutes
add a little bit of delicate wash and squish it through garment
soak for another 10 minutes
drain water and gently squeeze out water (do not wring)
wrap in a towel and press out excess water
lay flat to dry
Washing Tips
Avoid the big corporate store brands like Woolite, they’re still ‘detergents’ and the results will end up making you cry.
If the dye is saturated and you think it might bleed, add a quarter cup of white vinegar to the water before adding your garment. The vinegar will act as a mordent and stabilize the colour.
If you don’t have a laundry room or suitable sink (I don’t) you can pick up a plastic wash basin at the dollar store (which are also wonderful for a nice foot soak). If you want a higher-end, very high-quality basin that will last forever try a 26 Litre Tubtrug – I have one at home for laundry and we’ve been using the same bins all over the store for over 5 years (the best price is from Amazon.ca and you can get free shipping).
Instructions usually suggest drying garments flat on a towel, but I’ve found that if you have already pressed out the excess water with a towel Blocking Mats are a much faster method.
All fibres are susceptible to moth damage, even plant fibres like cotton and synthetics, wools just happen to be their favourite meal . Wash and store all the sweaters you wore over the winter.
Store
Now that your knits are clean it’s time to put them away. Thankfully extra-large (33cm x 38cm) zipper freezer bags are ubiquitous and can be found at grocery stores like Loblaws. Presently, my favourites are from Dollarama (they’re tough, the seal is easy and stays put, and they are cheap). One sweater per bag seals the bugs out, plus it ensures that if one of your knits is infested it won’t spread to the others. If you want to seal in a nice, subtle, clean smell you can add a dried bay leaf to the bag – it smells like smiles. If you’re feeling a little anxious or just enjoy zipper bags, you can hermetically seal all your pre-packaged sweater cutlets in a second, super-sized meta 4XL Zilpoc Bag
Storage Tips
All of the bags mentioned are tough, do not tear easily, and can be used over and over (we use them for storage in the store).
I don’t suggest you rely on big tote storage bins to keep your sweaters safe. They don’t fully seal and my past experience has been disappointing.
If you’re feeling extra organizey you can label your sweaters. A roll of masking tape and a sharpie pen go a long way, and when the cold hits next fall you’ll know which black sweater is which, without opening all the packaging (I learned this the hard way).
Non-sweater knits need to be put away too! Wool socks, mitts, hats, scarves, cowls, legwarmers and blankets also need love. Even if you don’t get around to washing them you should definitely seal them up for the summer (those super-duper big Ziploc bags are especially great for blankets).
Felted projects are wool too: felted bags, baskets, bangles, trivets, etc, are a favourite feast for tiny beasts. Bag ’em up!
Don’t forget to bag up your stash! While your skeins may not have been exposed to any human detritus, they’re still vulnerable. Ever worked with a skein of yarn that constantly breaks (not counting tight knitters working with delicate yarns)? Yup, buggy. I’ve known people who had to pitch their entire stashes because of infestation.
Listen to Me Now, Believe Me Later The biggest mistake people make is putting their sweaters away for storage without cleaning them first. Body oil, dirt, and food provide a veritable shmorgasbord for moths.
Everyone remembers to store the sweaters, but unfortunately the step-children are often left behind. Don’t forget your wool socks, hats, mitts, gloves, scarves, cowls, and other sundry accessories. Don’t forget blankets and anything felted – the bugs especially love the felties.
2. Inspection! Take a close look to see if your knits need any repairs. Look for little white bits of fluff that look like a long grain of rice, or small deposits of granules that feel like sand. If you have either of these, I regret to inform you that you’ve got bugs. Pick off the offending bits outside, put the victim in a bag and leave it in the freezer for a week to make sure any residual eggs are good and dead. With needle and contrasting thread, gently sew up any holes (you can take this out later and fix it properly). Wash (see next section).
Do not wash sweaters with moth holes without sewing them up. The holes will stretch and get bigger and less fixable.
3. Lather Up Hand wash in cold water with a delicate wash that does not need to be rinsed, like Eucalan or SoakWash (read the instructions on the botttle). Eucalan is great for animal fibres, it has a little bit more lanolin than Soak and comes in a series of natural scents like lavender, grapefruit, eucalyptus, jasmine, or unscented. Soak is a bit lighter (it’s great for lingerie) and comes in an assortment of blended, exotic scents (Aquae, Celebration, Lacey), as well as unscented. I suggest you let your nose choose, both Eucalan and Soak will get your knits clean and ready for hibernation, and both are made in Canada by really nice people.
After washing, gently squeeze out the excess water – never wring! Wrap knits in a towel and gently squish out the excess water (I like to step on it and give it a ‘massage’). Any kind of towel will do, but microfiber towels are especially useful, since they can absorb a ton of water and dry quickly.
If you don’t have a wash tub at your disposal, Soak makes excellent plastic wash basins in 2 sizes (affectionately named Carrie & Phil) that are great for year round laundrification.
If hand washing is not feasible for large blankets, you may have to b
oogey on down to the laundromat. W
ash blankets individually in a large-ish front loading washing machine on the delicate setting with Eucalan or Soak. Don’t use a top-loader, it won’t end well – you need to avoid abrasion as much as possible.
4. Dry ‘Em
Lay your knits flat on a dry towel or drying rack. Flip the sweater to make sure both sides dry, and make sure your knits are completely dry before putting them away, you do not want them to mildew (ew!).
Try to fold your knits as little as possible to avoid creases when you break them out next fall. This especially goes for finer knits, like machine made cashmeres. Lay the sweater on a flat surface with the front down, fold the arms in at the shoulder seam, and bring the bottom up, folding the sweater in half with the arms tucked in.
Knits need to breathe, so skip the vacuum storage bags which can trap moisture. I prefer a plastic zipper storage bag with breathable cloth sides (you can buy them from us in store of HERE). The nylon zippered under-bed storage bags are ok, or you can also stash them in a zippered cotton pillow case. Those big Rubbermaid storage tubs are not impervious to pests, so if your winter knits are going into storage in one, make sure they go into a storage bag first. The small zipper bags (see picture above) are great for a single sweater! Consider storing your sweaters in singles – in the fall, when you break out your knits, you only need to expose the ones you are currently wearing to the elements. Additionally, if one of your sweaters has a little moth colony, keeping them all quarantined can prevent an infestation from spreading to all your knits. Addenda April 3, 2014 Dollarama stores in Toronto now carry Extra Large Zipper Seal Storage Bags (3cm x 39.6cm, find them with the other plastic bags and food wrap) which are perfect for a single sweater: 6 bags for $1.25!
7. Additives?
Please do not add moth balls to your storage bags. Besides smelling awful, the chemicals are terrible for you. I’ve never been impressed with cedar balls, there’s rarely enough of the cedar oil left in the wood to chase off the buggies. If you want to add a little scent to your arsenal, try a sachet of natural lavender (you can knit the sachet pouches or buy them at a dollar store). No lavender plants blooming around your house? You could also try rosemary springs, look in the vegetable section of your grocery store. You can also try some heavily scented soap, like Lush. I cut it up into little pieces, tie the pieces into little bits of old panty-hose, and spread them liberally around inside the bags. Addenda May 4, 2013: Catherine Schaus says she uses bags of lavender tea as a sachet. Great idea Catherine!
8. Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
Unless you only have a handful of knits or limitless amounts of drying space, you aren’t going to get this chore done in a day. Wash one or 2 sweaters every other day (my drying rack holds two) and stow them away as you go. In a few weeks you’ll be done and your knits will be safe. You might want to start the process in April with your thick knits (oops, too late this time round, I’ll try harder next year), and move progressively to the lighter knits as you move into May.
9. Don’t Forget Your Stash!
You yarn needs TLC too. It probably doesn’t need to be washed, but a little inspection can’t hurt, and it definitely needs to be bagged. Animal fibres hold humidity, so stowing the woolens will make your summer hydro bill a little less painful. But more important, the humidity has a deleterious effect on the fibres, they become less resilient, and feltable yarns will lose their feltifying properties.
Addenda: September 9, 2013 I am sooooooooo glad I packed away my winter knits last spring! 1. I was rooting through a basket in my bedroom today and found a small selection of woollens that didn’t make it through the big wash ‘n store process. I laid them out on my bed to fold & put away, and what should I find on my bedspread after? A tiny little worm! That’s right, it was a pre-moth. Hopefully no damage was done, but at least I have proof that all my washing and bagging efforts were not in vain. 2. I went to get out my first sweater of the season, and it was easy to find, I didn’t have to take out my other sweaters, and it was in great condition. Yay! 3. I’m hoping that by the end of the season the items still in bags will give me some indication of which garments didn’t get work, making it a little easier to purge the unused.
We also have the hand cream that inspired the Soak Boxes! Handmaid is a luxury hand cream from the experts at Soak Wash. Enriched with shea butter, olive oil and vitamins A & E, Handmaid rejuvenates skin and protects overworked hands. The directions are simple: apply sparingly, rub thoroughly, get back to it. Handmaid is designed for knitters, crafters and busy folks who work and play with their hands, and comes in all your favorite Soak scents (Aquae, Lacey, Celebration and Unscented).
Soak Wash just came out with a new scent, Lacey! It’s still the same, great delicate wash, with a new, sweet scent. It smells like a kind of candy I used to eat when I was a little kid, but I can’t quite put my finger on which …. definitely not pixie sticks or nerds. 😉
If you’ve never used Soak, it’s a great cleaner for both your hand knits and delicates. I also use it on regular clothes, like blouses, dresses, and especially T-Shirts – I hate the way they fade in the regular wash. You’ll be really impressed with your clothes’ longevity, which is especially nice with expensive things like bras!
One of the most brilliant things about Soak is that You don’t need to rinse it out. You just soak your clothes in Soak, squish the bubbles through, squeeze the water out (or roll in a towel), and lay flat to dry.
By the way, once you start using Soak for your clothes, you’ll probably want to pick up one of their special wash basins. I use mine every other day and bless the day Soak found them! I know they seem expensive for a basin, but I’m a cheapie and I LOVE mine and swear it was worth every penny!
They are just the right size for doing your hand-wash, which preserves my back and reduces the amount of water and Soak I use. They’re made from very high quality materials which are very flexible (as in bendy), light, stand up to a lot of use and abuse, and don’t fade. They also keep my laundry from taking over the washroom. An essential for anyone who lives in an apartment or condo, but I think it’s still really handy for people who have a laundry room with a wash sink (bending over the sink always wrecks my back and neck). I have one of the larger buckets (Carrie) because I frequently wash several pieces at a time. If you’re using it just for lingerie the smaller version (Phil) might suit you.
New Heel is wonderful new cream developed by Soak. Soak knows how to treat hand-knits & delicates, and their new cream was created specifically for feet that wear hand-made socks. It’s nourishing without being heavy, and absorbs quickly into the skin, so it doesn’t leave a residue on precious hand knits. I particularly love using Heel on my hands, because it soaks in quickly, making it easy for me to keep on knitting/crocheting/felting/typing.
I fell head over Heel last month at the DKC Knitters Frolic, where I spent a really fun day next to Jacqueline at Soak. They say the most popular scent is Cucumber, which flies at the trade shows, and almost sold out at the Frolic. My fave is Peppermint, which has a light, natural scent but doesn’t get tingly like most mint creams. The most interesting one is Spearmint – it’s really cool, it smells like gum! And of course, they also make a Scentless option in case you want your feet to smell their footiest.
Not sure which to choose? Not ready to commit? That’s ok, come on over to Knit-O-Matic and try them on!
We’ve got a full collections of Soak Wash in stock for the holidays, including mini and full sized bottles of all five regular scents, as well as the special Unleashed scent, and both of their the shallow and deep basins.
Now, I know it seems like a strange gift to give, but I swear that any person who receives this will fall deeply in love with the stuff. Once you go Soak, you don’t go back. The mini bottles make a great stocking stuffer, and a large bottle coupled with a basin makes a great gift that you know they’ll actually use!
Just one caveat – if you are newly married, or want to be, I don’t suggest you gift Soak unless it’s been requested (you’re good if it’s on the list). In order to fan the fires of romance, I suggest a knitting needle set (a set of Addi Turbos will put you in good stead for years!), a wool winder and/or a swift (an equally sexy choice), a needle case, or a gift certificate. Of course, we have all of the above and will help you choose.
Soak Wash – Special Fibre Care
120ml/$10.50 or 425ml/$16.50
Soak is a special fibre wash which is perfect for both hand knits as well as lingere, unmentionables, and clothes you love. It is easy to use, and doesn’t require rinsing out, and is made in Canada. It is available in 5 fresh fragrances, as well as scentless:
Citrus has the delicious smell of “fresh-squeezed clean”.
Aquae is a “purely elemental” scent that’s like a breath of fresh sea air.
Celebration smells intoxicating though it’s really just ‘good clean fun’.
Flora is a lovely spring fragrance that will make you “stop and smell the fibers”
Scentless keeps your hand-washables (and sensitive skin) completely fragrance-free. Just a fresh and ultra-clear way to take care of the fine fibers you care about most.
Celebration is an original limited edition fragrance that has transcended traditional fiber care to become a timeless classic.
Soak Wash Unleash
250ml/$13.50
Unleash is a special collection from Soak, inspired by everything Ravelry.Unleash your creative juices with this sweet and spicy scent you’d follow anywhere. Unleash is the core of this new collaboration between Soak and Ravelry.
Carrie and Phil Basins from Soak
Phil (shallow)/$30.50 or Carrie (deep)/$34.50
Carrie and Phil are wash an storage basins, perfect for Soaking your hand wash. They are sturdy, high quality vessels which are also great for storage, stash containment, and home pedicures. They are available in a range of bright colours.
Non-toxic
Beveled edges for easy pouring.
Tall/short wash basin
Frost and UV resistant
Flexible
Made in Spain
Gift a Carrie and/or Phil with a bottle of Soak, a few skeins of yarn and some needles, or a pedicure set. You won’t regret purchasing a Carrie or Phil, they are the best little buckets you never thought you’d fall in love with. Once it’s in your home, you’ll laugh at yourself for ever thinking that something cheap & made in China is equivalent – take it from me, a skeptic, there’s just no comparison.
Eucalan Delicate Wash
100ml/$4.50 or 500ml/$11.50
If you aren’t into fragrances and want something a little more on the natural side, Eucalan will be right up your alley. Like Soak, Eucalan is a no rinse delicate wash, it is also made in Canada, and it works exactly as well for all the same purposes. But Eucalan comes in a series of natural scents, derived from essential oils. It does not contain pthalates, which are normally associated with fragrance. Eucalan comes in unscented, lavender, grapefruit, and eucalyptus, and the small 100ml bottles make great stocking stuffers! Eucalyptus also has antibacterial properties, which makes it great for washing hand knitted socks (some people gift a bottle when they give socks). Eucalan is also especially helpful for scratchy sweaters, as the lanolin in it will soften the up a bit.
