Wool and silk are the fibres people are most frightened of washing — and the fibres wet cleaning was specifically designed to handle.

Why wool shrinks, and why that is avoidable

Wool fibres are covered in microscopic scales. Add water, heat and agitation and those scales interlock and ratchet together permanently. That is felting, and it is why a jumper comes out of a domestic machine three sizes smaller. It is also completely irreversible.

Every part of professional wet cleaning is aimed at that mechanism:

• Cold water. The LANADOL process runs from cold to 40°C. No thermal shock.
• Controlled mechanics. A programmable washer-extractor runs a gentle, specific drum action — not the aggressive tumble of a domestic machine.
• Detergent that protects the fibre. LANADOL AKTIV is formulated to hold wool back from felting during the cycle itself.
• A fibre-protecting final bath. LANADOL APRET films the fibre so it does not shrink in the dryer — which is where most wool damage actually happens.
• Controlled drying. Moisture-sensing dryers stop at the right residual moisture instead of baking the garment dry.

Silk, cashmere and angora

These go through the same process, with one firm rule for the cleaner: they are cleaned with AKTIV, never X-PRESS. LANADOL X-PRESS is the heavy-duty product and is explicitly not recommended for silk, angora, cashmere or predominantly wool garments. Any cleaner running the LANADOL process properly sorts for this at the counter.

Silk has a second consideration: dye. Silk takes colour beautifully and holds it poorly, so bleeding is the risk rather than shrinkage. AKTIV’s colour-stabilising action is doing the work there, and a competent cleaner will still test an inside seam on a strongly dyed or contrast-trimmed piece before committing.

What wet cleaning does better than solvent on these fibres

Water dissolves what water-based soils are made of. Perspiration, deodorant, salts, sugars, body oils, most food — these are the soils that actually accumulate in a jumper or a blouse, and dry cleaning solvent does not remove them well. It removes the grease and leaves the rest.

The practical consequence is familiar to anyone who has owned a good wool coat for a decade: it comes back from the dry cleaner clean-looking but never quite fresh, and over years it yellows at the collar and holds odour at the underarm. That is accumulated water-soluble soil that was never taken out. Wet cleaning removes it.

What to tell your cleaner

• Point out stains and say what caused them if you know. Oil, wine and protein all take different treatment.
• Mention if the garment has been treated at home already — heat-set stains behave differently.
• Flag anything with beading, sequins, leather trim, shoulder pads or a fused interlining, so it can be assessed properly.
• If a garment has sentimental or unusual value, say so. It changes how carefully it gets sorted.

The care label

Most wool and silk garments carry a circled W or a crossed-out wash tub. Neither means the garment cannot be professionally wet cleaned — the crossed tub refers to domestic washing. The circled W is an explicit instruction that professional wet cleaning is the recommended method.

Looking for a cleaner who runs the full LANADOL process? Find your local wet cleaner or call 1300 70 69 70 and we will point you to one.