old school laundry centrifuge to aid with wool scouring
When souring wool by hand the issue is transfering the dirty water from one washing stage/bowl to the next one, increasing the amount of water needed to rinse and the number of rinses required to achieve clean wool.
We purchased a second hand (50+ years-old) laundry centrifuge to test its use in removing access washing water from wool.
Input materials
- dirty wool
- water
- second-hand laundy centrifuge
- water
- second-hand laundy centrifuge
How to
While hand scouring wool, it's usually recommended to use the following basic stages:
- soak the sorted wool in water for 24-48 h
- remove the wool, drain and soak it in a warm, soapy water (ca. 55 degrees, added sodium carbonate and a squirt of soap or biodegradable washing up liquid), carefully stirring making sure the wool doesn't felt
- remove the wool, drain and load into the centrifuge
- rinse in cold water, repreat the centrifuge
- spread out the washed wool and let it air dry, not in direct sunlight
- soak the sorted wool in water for 24-48 h
- remove the wool, drain and soak it in a warm, soapy water (ca. 55 degrees, added sodium carbonate and a squirt of soap or biodegradable washing up liquid), carefully stirring making sure the wool doesn't felt
- remove the wool, drain and load into the centrifuge
- rinse in cold water, repreat the centrifuge
- spread out the washed wool and let it air dry, not in direct sunlight
Gallery
Conclusion
Using a second-hand centrifue is a great aid in hand scouring your local wool. Cost effective too!
Low-tech Criteria
Simplicity5
Efficiency5
Durability5
Maintainability3
Ease of use5
Local5