Caring for Alpaca Socks and Alpaca Garments...
Washing Alpaca Socks
You will probably notice that your alpaca socks will not need washing as frequently as socks made with synthetic or
cotton fibres since alpaca is not prone to retaining odours.
Alpaca socks can be washed in the washing machine in COLD water in a delicate cycle with your regular laundry. They must be laid flat to dry rather than dried in the dryer so be careful to remove them from the rest of your load before the load goes into the dryer!
Alpaca socks will have a longer life if you wear them inside footwear rather than directly on bare floors. Wearing them on nylon carpets and ceramic tile which are particularly abrasive will shorten the life span of socks.
Washing Fine Woven Alpaca Items
Fine woven alpaca items such as baby alpaca scarves and alpaca throws should be dry cleaned.
Should you need to iron alpaca scarves or alpaca throws, never place a hot iron directly on the alpaca fabric. Always place a damp cotton cloth like a tea towel between the alpaca fabric and the hot iron. Be gentle!
Washing Knit Alpaca Garments
Always be gentle when hand washing knit garments like toques, mittens, gloves, and sweaters. Dissolve a small amount of a mild shampoo in cool water. Gently squeeze the garment through the water and do not wring, rub, or twist the garment. Rinse with cool water with a little hair conditioner dissolved in the water. Gently squeeze out the rinse water and roll the garment in a towel to remove the excess water. Lay the garment flat to dry. Never dry alpaca garments in the dryer.
If you are in doubt about whether your garment is suitable for hand washing, have it dry cleaned instead.
Washing Alpaca Fur Items
Items made with alpaca fur such as teddy bears, Russian style fur hats, and alpaca fur slippers must never be submerged in water to be cleaned. For lightly soiled fur items, the soiled fur can be wiped with a damp cloth in the direction of fibre growth; never back and forth which will tangle and mat the fibres. Avoid wetting the skin of the fur item. The cleaned item should be allowed to air dry and not be placed in the dryer.
More heavily soiled fur items should be dry cleaned.
Storing Alpaca Items
Like all things made from animal fibre, alpaca items should be stored in the off season in such a way to avoid moth damage. Moths are attracted to dirty spots on alpaca and wool items so before putting an item away for the warm season months, ensure that the item is clean and free of dirt, particularly food splatter.
Items that are difficult to clean such as alpaca insoles, can be removed from the shoe or boot and placed in a ziplock bag and stored in the freezer!
Clean alpaca items can usually be stored safely with no other measures taken. If you have had moths in the past with regular wool items, you may ensure greater success if you store the clean alpaca item in a closed bag so that moths cannot enter. Add some cedar chips or lavender sachets to further deter moths. No need to use stinky moth balls!
If you ever find evidence of moths, clean the item, allow to dry, and place in the freezer for 2 weeks. This should kill any moth larvae and eggs.
Heavier items such as alpaca sweaters should always be stored folded and placed in a drawer or on a shelf. Hanging alpaca sweaters from a hanger is not advised as they may stretch out of shape.