Well I just received some merino raw fleece that I ordered from ebay, it's my first time working with raw fleece and I am so excited. I am hand washing it in the laundry tub because I have a front end loader so I figured that the machine washing was out. I have filled the tub up about 5 times with really hot soapy water and let it soak for about 15 minutes each time and it is still feeling sticky and the water is still dirty, is this normal, do I have to get rid of the sticky feeling from the lanolin or will it still feel sticky when I am done.

Here is the raw fleece I received

Hi jewel, when i wash my raw fleece i gently tease open the ends a bit before putting small amounts of the fleece in a sink of hot soapy water, let soak for about 15mins and just gently push it up and down with your hands a few time , and then just squeeze out the water and re-do that about 3-4 times depending on how dirty the fleece is. Then also rinse a couple of times until the water stays really clear. When i first started i didnt open up the fleece i just plonked it in the water. it took forever to clean but when you tease it open it makes a huge difference.
hope that helps a bit
cheers
karen

Thanks Karen I will tease it open before i try the next batch, thanks

I have never washed wool, but when I wash my white alpaca fleece, I allow it to soak 1-2 days if I want it WHITE WHITE. I change the water 1-2 times and allow to soak more if it still looks dirty. I use Dawn dish soap. This might also help, since it is wool and has lanolin in it. I have washed raw white mohair this way too, and it came out bright and shiny.

Hope this helps.

Louise

To get rid of all the lanolin, you need to get your water temperature up to 160 degrees F. If your fleece is already wet, don't suddenly change the water temp because it will cause felting.

Use a good grease cutting dish soap. Dawn works well. I let my wool soak for 1/2 hour to an hour the first couple of times.

Thank you everyone, I will buy some dawn and wash some up and see what happens

Yes, like already said, you will need the water temp to be 160 F. This means you need to turn the water heater up to high and add to the wash water kettles of boiling water. I use a thermometer to make sure I get to the right temp. Be sure and bag your wool in mesh laundry bags first and the rinse water needs to be hot too. Use the spin cycle only on your washer to spin out the excess water or it can take days to dry. I degrease all my own wool and it truly is a labor of love!

Thanks for the information. My washer is a front end loader so I assume I can't use it to wash the fleece, I use my laundry tub.

yup,dish soap. i just use plain, non sented, because I heard washing wool ruins the fresh apple sent . It might take a while. take it out as soon as you cant see your hand(i use pink dishwashing glooves) about 1/2 way down. I usualy have to do it 2-3 times, and it is not compleatly clear then. keep in mind that you will need to do a few rinsings too.