Can you wash a whole skein of yarn?

[sOCKsgirl]

Hey everyone sorry I haven't been around much lately but I've been busy with work and now that the nice weather is finally here I've been fishing and swimming and on vacation and doing a little crochet here and there.

 

Now more to the point of my post...

 

Unfortunately my dear boyfriend spilled a whole bunch of cherry diet dr pepper on a couple skeins of yarn one is a one pounder of caron white and the other is a variegated red heart baby yarn. Neither yarn has ever been used and I don't want to throw it away I hope there is some way I can wash it and have it come out ok.

 

Thanks all

-Shannon

[catlyn]

Just wash it and see. You certainly can't do any more damage than what's already been done.

But first try some of that oxygen soap....it's a stain remover. Can't remember the name of it....

Is it Oxy-clean or something like that? I've used that before and got stains out.

[ArielManx]

I've never tried it myself (been lucky enough not to spill anything, knock on wood!), but whenever this topic comes up, the recommendation always is to stick the skein inside a knee-high nylon, or the cut-off leg off an old pair of pantyhose, tie it shut, and toss it in the wash. It must work or people wouldn't keep suggesting it!

[crochetluvknot]

Yup tie in something like pantie hose or a undergarment bag

[rshseaeagle]

I had two skeins of RHSS that I spilled an entire glass of Cranberry Juice on. These were brand new skeins of yarn. I was so . There was no way I was going to just throw these away because I had just purchased them (at full price) 2 days before for a specific project.

 

I put each one into a tube sock and tied a knot in the end of the sock. Threw them both into the washing machine and then the dryer. It took awhile for the inside of the skeins to get dry, I think I had to run them through the dryer twice before the inside of each skein was dry.

 

They came out like brand new and better yet, they were a little softer to work with. I don't really care for RHSS becuase it always feel scrathcy to me, but hey yarn has gotten so expenisve that you just can't be all that picky sometimes. I had excellent luck with doing it this way. Would have used a panty hose leg but did not have any at the time.

 

Let us all know how it turns out for you and good luck,

Toni

[beth eathorne]

i would tie them up in maybe a leg from an old pair of hose. that way the yarn will not unravel in the wash and while you are at it put some fabric softner in the rinse. i tried this and it does soften the rhss up nicely. i also think that the yarn would dry a little faster in the hose...i once came home to 2 skiens of yarn that looked like a web had been spun from them.. dh dog got loose inside and he loves yarn..i picked out knots and tangles for several hours until i got it useable again. dh said just throw it away and buy more...:eek:eek i would never throw away yarn for any reason without trying to save it first....

[crazycrochet]

Tie it in something. Our dog forgot where he was and lifted his leg on a skein of RHSS. I washed it and came out beautiful. No smell to it or anything. Because of how it got wet, I didn't use the skein in anything that I would give away, but it looks great in an afghan I am making for the spare room.

[KER828]

Yup tie in something like pantie hose or a undergarment bag

This really works well!! I had the same problem but with tea and I used a knee high nylon stocking and it worked perfectly!!

[sOCKsgirl]

Well I just sprayed the two skeins down with the oxy clean, hopefully that will help remove the red soda stains and I put them into a pillow case since I couldn't find any nylons (can never find them when I need them I swear) and put them into the washing machine. Now I'm crossing my fingers and hoping this works.

 

Thanks for the suggestions

-Shannon

[jenniferelyse74]

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the soda comes out.

 

I will have to remember to use nylons if something similar happens to me. Great idea.

[sOCKsgirl]

Well I just pulled the skeins out of the wash and they came out perfectly clean and not a tangled mess! Huzzah! I put them in the dryer, I wonder how long it will take them to dry, especially the one pounder, it's so thick.

 

And I have to say that for some reason the wet red heart yarn felt so ICKY it sent shivers through me. I always thought it was wet wool that I couldn't bear to touch but I think it's wet acrylic. Although the caron yarn did not give me the same reaction. I wonder why the red heart is so much scratchier. They're both 100% acrylic.

 

-Shannon

[sciutoa]

Thanks for asking this question and to all those who took the time to reply. Perfect timing! I'm working on 20 or so scarves, scarflettes and cowls for Christmas gifts that I'm using a thread of worsted weight combined with a hand wash only novelty yarn such as Fun Fur or ribbon yarn. I had been wishing there was a way to machine wash the finished product to soften up the worsted weight acrylic yarn. But this solved the problem perfectly. Washed the skeins tied up in nylons on cold, gentle and dried with extra fabric sheets on low. So the yarn will be washed soft when I make up the scarves!

[norwinmom]

This thread was helpful for me too. I just bought some yarn from a thrift store yesterday, and they are kind of dusty dirty from sitting around for a few years. So I'm gonna give this a try and see what happens. It's just the outer layer that has it, so it's either wash it, or unravel the outer layers of yarn, and I don't want to do that and waste yarn.

[darncat]

I have washed tons of yarn. I bought a HUGE amount from a yard sale and it smelled funny and had stuff in it. It was 2 FULL plastic totes for $16 dollars so I couldn't pass it up, no matter how stinky it was.

I unwound it from it's original wrapping on to my skein winder and tied it in several places and tossed it in the wash. Just like you would do when dyeing. Then put it on the clothes line for a few hours untill it got dark and then finished it off in the dryer.

I haven't finished it all, but it worked really well. If it didn't have "stuff" in it I would have just put it in some panyhose.

[Munchkin3229]

Thank you so much to everyone who responded to this question. I recently had a pipe burst in my attic and my house was flooded and I had just purchased a lot of new yarn for several projects, and it is covered in wet insulation and drywall pieces....You probably can imagine my horror. I had been desperately hoping it was salvagable-so THANKS! again for the topic. I'll be trying the suggestions out this weekend!