Always turn your garment inside-out to wash and dry.

Machine Wash*
Machine wash on gentle 30^o wool cycle using mild liquid wool detergent.

♦ Do NOT use soap flakes. ♦ Do NOT use fabric conditioner. ♦ Do NOT wring. ♦ Dry away from direct heat and sunlight. ♦ Do NOT tumble dry.

Please forget what your Mum, Granny, or people posting on forums say about using old-fashioned soap flakes. These are exactly that - "old fashioned" and not suitable for modern superfine merino. Used directly, soapflakes do not melt at a low enough temperature, and even when melted in hot water and allowed to cool sufficiently, soapflakes can contain harmful strong alkalis that can damage your merino. Soapflake residue also clings to the fibres, making it very difficult to rinse clean, so it's also wasteful of water. We recommend NikWax WoolWash, which has been specially developed for Merino wool, but also washes synthetics well. Ecover for Delicates is also good, as is Woolite. And don't forget, your synthetics can be washed on the same cycle and with the same detergent - so chuck them in together - we do.

Hand Wash
Handwash only if you have no option.

♦ Use lukewarm water and mild liquid wool detergent. ♦ Do not use soap flakes. ♦ Do not use fabric conditioner. ♦ Gently massage your garment and rinse thoroughly in lukewarm water. ♦ Remove excess water by rolling in a towel. ♦ Do NOT wring. ♦ Line dry away from direct heat or sunlight.

Pressing
Cover garment with a clean smooth-woven cotton tea towel and use a steam iron on a wool setting.

*Unlike some leading brands, we do not advise that you wash our merino garments with denim in order to remove "fluff" (they mean pilling - those little balls of itchy, short fibres that appear). This is because our gear, if washed according to our manufacturer's instructions doesn't "fluff" or "pill".   Our gear is made with top quality yarn which doesn't need the sandpaper qualities of denim to keep it smooth (and in the process wear it out faster).

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER DRY MERINO OVER A RADIATOR OR IN FRONT OF A FIRE - UNLESS OF COURSE YOU WANT TO RUIN IT!

Tumble drying
Whilst some garment labels say they can be tumble dried, we do not recommend it. Tumble drying wears your clothes out faster. Just think of all that fluff and fibre you have to remove from the filter each time. That's your clothing wearing out! Tumble drying is also expensive in terms of energy. Superfine merino will dry overnight if hung on a line or hanger.

Dry Cleaning
We never have anything dry cleaned. We don’t like the chemicals used, or the smell they leave behind in the clothes and in the atmosphere.

Enemies of your Merino!

Apart from not being washed properly, Superfine Merino gear has two other enemies:

• Sharp pointy things that can snag the fabric causing holes and runs
• Moths

Avoiding sharp pointy things is fairly easy, but there is one that most people overlook - the prong on your watchstrap buckle. You'd be amazed how many people pull on their pants, fasten them up, then pull on their merino top and try to stuff it down inside the waistband. If they're wearing a watch, the buckle prong can snag and tear the merino.

The second enemy, moths, can be defeated by regular wearing and washing. If you need to stash your merino away for any length of time, we suggest using vacuum compression bags. Try these from from PackMate. For more information on moths and how to avoid them click here

Mending your Merino

If you are unlucky enough to snag or tear your merino, or be attacked by moths, all is not lost. It can be mended using silk sewing thread. We like Gutermann Silk which you can buy on-line here or Seta Reale from Coates. How invisible a mend this will be depends on the size of the hole and your own skill, but it does work.