Mistake That Destroys Your Felt Product

Have you owned some of the felt products or plan to own felt products? Or are you a seller of felt supplies? Then you must have faced some problems while storing or using felt products. If yes then this blog is for you.

Felt products are one of the most popular and trendy products nowadays. Felt is one of the versatile and unique quality fabrics. With a tough and flexible nature, felt products last for ages even after using them multiple times.

While the products are tough and perfect for windy and cold days, we all have one question. How to store or maintain felt products so that it can be used for longer periods of time without having to worry about wear and tear.

Most people think that storing and maintaining the felt product is hard. Well, that's not the case. However, poor maintenance and storage of the products can destroy or damage your felt products. Here are a few storing and maintenance mistakes that can destroy your felt products.

Moisture And Humidity

Wool basically is water resilient in nature and can absorb water. Wool felted products can absorb roughly half of their weight in water and be fully soaked without having any catastrophic damages. However, leaving the felt products for too long in water can eventually damage or destroy your felt crafts and items. The shape and size of the felt products can get damaged or disoriented if the product is left for a long time in humid conditions.

Humidity also causes mold to grow in your felt product. Hence it is best to avoid storing felt products in low ground, underground, bathrooms or in any humid area. If in any case, your felt product gets wet, it is better to leave them to dry naturally. If the product gets wet due to rain, just shake it off and place them in shade. This helps to retain its shape while drying. Never, try to force dry with a blow dryer as rapid heat can also damage felt products.

Use Over High Heat (temperature)

Using your felt product over a very high temperature can be another mistake that is destroying your felt product. Although wool is naturally flame-resistant, the shape and size of your felt products may distort due to high heat.

Exposing wool directly to fire doesn't burn felt products like paper or other fabrics. Neither does it melt or drip or ignite into flame. Rather it produces smolder but only for a short period of time. Yet, that is enough to damage your product.

It is a complete no-no to leave your felt product near a direct heat source. It is also bad to leave your products in direct sunlight for long periods of time. The use of hot water to clean stains in your felt product is also a bad idea. Washing with hot water can shrink your product.

Rapid drying with forced heat will also cause damage to your felt product. Agitating felt products while damp can cause tiny scales to open. If this happens there is no way to restore your felt product.

Pests and Insects

Pests are the worst thing that can happen to your felt product. Moths and pests feed on animal fiber and once your felt product gets exposed to such pests, your product can get destroyed easily. The felt product can be severely damaged with the infestation of pests. And sometimes use of chemical pest repellent can do more than harm to your product.

On the contrary, it is easier to keep your product away from such pests and moths. It is always better to use preventative measures than to deal with insect infestation. The best way to keep your product away from pests is to use certain storage procedures.

Keeping the felt product in secure airtight containers is an easy method to keep pests away. Storing felt products away from direct sunlight and in a clean area can be a great solution. Use of lavender scents, using cedar hangers, or keeping them in breathable cotton bags can also be a great alternative to secure your felt products from insects and pests.

Storing methods

Since the felt products are damaged by moisture, heat, and even pests and insects, it is better to use a good storing method. Basically, the storage area should be free from the extreme changes in humidity and moisture, far from any direct heat source, and in a clean area.

The storage area should preferably be clean, dry, dark, and cool. The place should be clean to prevent dust from damaging your felt product. Cool and dark places keep pests and insects away from your product and also reduce the risk of forming mildew. However, storing in direct sunlight can also damage felt products.

Storing felt products flat can also help to reduce pressure and prevent damage. And if you have to fold the products, it is better to avoid sharp folding to prevent abrasion. After storing your felt product, remove them every now and then. If the felt products are folded, fold them in the opposite way occasionally to minimize fiber breakage.

Cleaning Mistake

Felt products are one of the easiest fabrics to keep clean. They are stain and liquid-repellent and can easily be cleaned. However, it is necessary to understand a few cleaning techniques to maintain your felt products and eliminate damage to your product.

Before handling your felt product make sure your hands are clean. While cleaning your felt product, it is important not to be rough, use high heats like hairdryer, etc, bleach, and use bristle and rigid brushes to clean your products.

For cleaning minor issues like spillage, allow them to dry naturally. If you try to work before, dust might get locked into fiber making it hard to clean. If there is any debris, you can easily brush it off after drying the product.

You can also get stains out of felt by doing spot clean and soaking and squeezing. Dry cleaning can also work like a charm and minimize damage. Vacuuming helps to remove loose dust and dirt. However, you must use different techniques to clean different types of felt crafts. Be it felt cat caves, felted shoes, rugs, mittens, scarfs, etc. there are specific ways to clean such products.

Felt products are perfect materials for your home and daily use. The longevity and durability of these products depend upon how you use and care for them. Hit us on our social media if you use any other techniques to avoid silly mistakes on your product. Get your durable felt products at Felt and Yarn.