How to clean 100% angora coat?
Question:I have a beautiful blue 100% Angora vintage winter coat that I recently bought from an op shop and I'm wondering what is the best way to clean it?
Answers:
You should have it dry cleaned and let the cleaners know it is angora.
Angora is a specialty wool fiber. It comes from the goat. (Angora rabbit is different and because it is VERY silky, seldom used 100% in any item.) Wool fibers have scales on the surface that you can only see when magnified. Imagine a fish and its scales, that is kind of what a wool fiber looks like. With agitation, heat, and moisture, those scales lock into each other and cause the wool fiber to felt and shrink. Once this happens, you cannot reverse it or fix it.
A dry cleaner can properly handle the angora coat.
Wash by hand in Luke warm water with a mild detergent. Dry flat and it the shade.
Dry cleaning is best, but you can hand wash with mild detergent in cold water. If the coat is thick, it may take a while to dry and I've had angora end up a little musty smelling if it doesn't dry thoroughly. I wouldn't wash it too often.
Oh, and keep it out of direct sunlight to prevent colors from fading.
It is July and six million degrees outside...why in the world are you asking about winter coats??
Here in the states we have a product called "Dryel". It is like dry-cleaning you garments at home. If you are uncomfortable washing angora, use this. You're not supposed to put angora in the dryer since it's a type of wool, but using Dryel is ok. I've cleaned my woolens with it. If washed, lay it flat to dry and reshape the coat.
It's almost 90 degrees in Iowa, USA, so freezing sounds good to me!
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