Simply Mom Bailey

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Best Wool Wash for Cloth Diapering

Are you wondering if buying fancy wool wash Is worth it to wash your woollies that you use for cloth diapers? Or can you really get by with baby soap? What is the deal with all the different options and how do I know what to buy?

An Image featuring three different types of wool wash recommended for washing wool cloth diapers. From left to right: 16oz bottle of Euclan, 16oz bottle of Unicorn Fibre Wash, and a bottle of Disana Wool Wash

I get it, wool is intimidating. First, you must decide if you have the capacity to add it to your stash, and then you gotta figure out what type of wool, and how to wash it. I know I totally freezed up trying to find the perfect wool wash and I opted to just start with the basics – gentle baby soap I already had. 

How to Wash Wool Cloth Diapers

Most importantingly: wool doesn’t have to be washed regularly. You’ll wash your wool very infrequently, and lanolize even less. Wool can go several weeks without washing and that means you don’t need big bottles of wool wash (unless you’re doing big washes of wool).

Image of wool diaper covers folded in half and stacked on top of each other: features Sloomb Shorties, HumBird Interlock Cover in Green, Imagine Baby Wool Cover in Green, and Sloomb Underwoolies in Grey.

A Quick & Easy Guide to Washing Wool Diapers

I created this super easy guide to wool for cloth diapering.

This is a FREE DOWNLOAD that walks you through a simple wash routine to get you started TODAY.

If you are only using wool overnight, you might find one little bottle lasts you your entire wool diapering experience. If you use more often, you might consider investing in big bottles. We all cloth diaper differently so different sizes are available.

But like most things, less wool wash goes a long way. Always start with less and you can add more if needed. Rinsing is hard and can be super time consuming. Less is more, and most likely use 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp per wash. Follow the instructions on the bottle, where indicated.

But can you really use gentle baby soap to wash wool?

Yes you can.

Should I invest in fancy wool detergents and wool soaps? Maybe, if it’s in your budget and you are looking for a better wool washing experience.

I’ve rounded up some comments from different wool brands to help you understand why different wool washes exist and the current recommendation is and why.

Types of Wool Wash

  • Mainstream commercial wool wash designed for washing machines
  • Lanolin Rich Wool Washes
  • Specialty Wool Washes

You don’t want to use the mainstream commercial wool washes for diapering wool. This is largely not recommended across the industry because it’s not the right product for the job. The reasoning is that these products contain enzymes and other additives that eat at proteins (aka dirt and grime) and thus eat at your wool.  

Common household laundry detergents are not appropriate for wool especially if it contains enzymes. Enzymes are in laundry detergents to eat protein stains. Wool is made of protein. This can cause accelerated wear by breaking down the weakened fiber 

HumBird wool care guide

Lanolin rich wool washes, such as Euclan, are easily accessible through local shops and grocers. It’s relatively low cost and was very popular in the early 2010’s to 2015.

But once a frequent wool wash recommendation in the cloth diapering community, these lanolin rich washes, such as Euclan, are now less frequently recommended by wool brands because they fail to deeply clean the wool leaving opportunities for urine to remain in the wool and break down wool in the long term. 

The biggest thing to remember is that washing and lanolizing are two different steps. Lano-rich wool washes contain lanolin and can impede proper washing. It is our (and other wool makers’) opinion that the lanolin in it is enough to hold on to some of the soil on the wool but not enough of it to be useful towards moisture protection for diaper cover use. 

Humbird wool care information

There are experienced wool users and retailers who still love and recommend Euclan for washing. I started out using Eucalan myself, but I did prefer the experience with Unicorn Clean. At the end of the day, you need to choose a product that is accessible and affordable to you. 

In my 20 years of washing wools, Eucalan is the best overall of the many brands I, Karen, have tried.  I don’t trust my lovely wools to anything else.  (One tea tree scented wash essentially ruined a wool blanket for me because the smell never goes away and it made it scratchy too. I’ll stick with trusty Eucalan which keeps my wool soft and lovely.)

Green Mountain Diapers on Euclan

Popular Wool Washes

The most recommended wool washing product is Unicorn Clean. It’s beloved by almost everyone and anyone. If you search the internet or a Facebook group it’s constantly recommended. And rightfully so, it does a fantastic job at cleaning wool. But it’s expensive, and can be hard to obtain if you are outside of the USA. Don’t feel bad if you can’t buy and use it, there’s other products that do work and you can find something to wash wool covers successfully.

Unicorn Clean 

Canadians: Unicorn Clean can be purchased through Cloth Diaper Retailers like Lagoon Baby, Lil Monkey Cheeks and more.

Americans: you can also order Unicorn Clean products through other retailers, especially those who stock wool products. There’s sometimes a discount code in the Great Big Book of Cloth Diaper Coupons sold by All About Cloth Diapers for Unicorn Clean products.

We’ve carefully designed a powerful detergent that destroys dirt, but preserves the integrity of even the most delicate fibres, handmade heirlooms, and baby items. 

Unicorn Clean Products

Unicorn might not be right for all wool products. In 2016, Truly Charis announced that their dyed wool covers were bleeding with Unicorn Clean products. As such, it continued to be recommended to not use Unicorn with their products. 

This is an important reminder to check with your wool companies for support on how to clean and maintain your products. They are there to support you and provide the best advice. Wool makers know their textiles best and can guide you to a product that works and fits your budget.

Soak Wash

  • Soak Wash is Recommended by Sloomb
    • “Though the bottle says it is a “no-rinse” wash, when using our wool for cloth diapering purposes, we recommend rinsing the wool under running water after washing.”

Other Wool Washes Made by Wool Companies

Many brands who manufacture wool diapers or wool products manufacture their own washes for their product. These can be a great choice for you if it’s within your budget and accessible. Wool washes designed be wool companies are done so to ensure that their textiles can be effectively cleaned in a way that works.

Not all wool is the same. Not all fibres are the same.

Disana Wool Wash

Charis ‘n’ Ewe

This is a favourite wool wash product from EC Peasy, a highly recommended cloth diaper blogger focused on elimination communication and natural fibres.

But what wool wash is best for me?

I’m one to recommend what your brand recommends, but I’m also one to say that washing wool can be super easy and accessible for all families. If all you have is a bottle of gentle baby soap for cleaning baby’s hair, then just start with and use that. 

Alternatives to Wool Wash for Wool Diaper Covers

Suggested alternatives from Wool conversations online include:

My Experience Washing Wool

I’ll be the first to own up to the fact I used Johnson and Johnson baby soap for the first few washes until I finally decided to wool was the right choice for me and try a wool wash. I was gifted copious amounts of baby wash at my baby shower, that it took my like 4 years to use it all, including washing wool diaper covers.

I tried all the wool washes except SOAK and I still prefer Unicorn over everything. It’s such a fantastic and easy clean product that does a great job.

Other Reviews of Wool Wash for Wool Diaper Covers

I use Unicorn Beyond Clean for poop leakage and deep cleaning and Eucalan for minor cleaning. Eucalan has lanolin so it doesn’t wash the lanolin out which technically means it doesn’t fully clean pee out

Facebook Group Comment

I really like Truly Charis & Ewe wool wash, it’s very efficient and keeps colors pristine (same goes for the emulsifying cubes)

Facebook Group Comment

How to Treat Wool Stains & Spot Removal

Staining happens and some stains might never go away – I’m looking at the blueberry stains on a light blue pair of woollies that once happened and after weeks of trial and error, I just gave up. Though, I’m now reading blogs from 2021 that say Unicorn Power Scour might have been the product I needed. Stains be stains. 

A little bit of wool wash on the stain and sometimes the stain can be massaged out. This type of spot treatment is best done with a dab of water and gentle agitation and then rinse. Without wetting the whole area – just the little spot. 

If the stain is stubborn, a few other popular products that are effective include:

  • Power Scour by Unicorn Clean
  • Buncha Farmers Stain Stick

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