Anyone who has had moths will be interested in this new range of Care Washes from British knitwear designer and manufacturer John Smedley. Designed by The Laundress, the cult New York detergent team, the cotton and wool washes are designed to keep your top quality yarns and sweaters in good nick. Crucially, the washes all contain cedar, which pesky moths can’t abide and lavender, which they aren’t wild about either. By coating every yarn in the wash you put another layer of protection between you and the little pests.
I really like the smell of the wool and the cotton Care washes and due to the fact it’s designed to protect colour and delicate yarns, it’s also excellent for reviving vintage finds. I tried the cotton wash on my recently purchased delicate vintage silk shirts (lovely, a bargain but a bit ‘old’ smelling) and the results were excellent, the smell was completely removed.
There’s a stain bar, for stubborn stuff and a ‘reviving spray’ which might also be good for spraying into your wardrobe to put the moths off (much like my favourite Angela Flanders one does). It’s about now (spring) that the moths start moving about again amongst your treasured knitwear, so I hope you are all being vigilant
The Smedley’s Care range is not cheap (the washes are £24 each) but then neither was your cashmere, I bet.
Buy it here
