Originally uploaded by purlingswine
Do you remember that at last year’s Rhinebeck I bought a fleece? The only reason I even remember is that it has been in the garage lo these many months! Every time I park Onslow I have a guilty reminder of all those promises I made myself in the seconds before I bought it.
I figure the least I could do is get it washed before Rhinebeck rolls around again. geesh!
So washing a fleece is first and foremost a big pain in the ass.
Everything I have read highly recommends that you do not dump the dirty water down the drain since the lanolin can cause plumbing problems.
I am not into plumbing problems. I live in fear of my cess pool and will go to great lengths to keep my cess pool happy (yes, we are on cess pools here in Suffolk County NY – civilization seems so close and yet so far away) .
Fleece washing is therefore an outdoor activity.
Fleece washing takes a great deal of hot water. The last time I did this, I set myself up on the deck, right outside of my kitchen with the hot water not too far away. Well, I like to keep Mr. Boar happy as well. I may not worry about his happiness quite as much as my cess pool’s, but I at least try not to make him unhappy.
I do believe that dumping dirty, lanolin soaked fleece water all over his new deck boards would make Mr. Boar unhappy. very very unhappy.
So on Friday, I started washing the fleece out in the yard. This is not close to the hot water. And with every electric tea kettle full of hot water that I trotted out back, it seemed to get further and further. I only did one tub full of fleece, it took me an entire afternoon and by the end I was exhausted and stinky.
This is where my friend Flair comes in to save the day. I was bitching to her on Friday night about what a colossal pain in the ass it all was. (by the way, friends with full time jobs just love it when you complain about crap like this) She reminded me that she holds the keys to the kingdom. Hot Water in the Back Yard!
Sunday saw me at Flair’s, reveling in the steamy outdoor availability, realizing that fleece washing isn’t as bad as all that and wondering just what it would take to get Boar to put in an outdoor shower?
purlingswine 
How cool, Ann! Outdoor hot water. That you even attempted to wash the thing outside wins you an award.
I h8te washing fleece. Although I pushed myself and washed the little bit of fleece for the Explorer’s Bond. :) I know, it doesn’t compare with a whoooole fleece, but still, it was dirty.
Rosane.
Yeah for freind’s like Flair! Good luck with that outdoor shower. Try coming inside, stinky and fleecy smelling and crawling into bed. See if that gets you anywhere!
Please tell me you meant septic system, not cess pool. Even in the wilds of northern Wisconsin we have septic systems (not that I have ever tested it by washing a fleece).
i toldyou…put it in the hot tub!!
all i can say is “ewe”-is that stuff filthy!
I tried this once- and only once..It stunk too much!