Yes, cold water.....and actually baby shampoo....the cheap stuff from the $ store is fine, is best for washing wool.
Wool shrinks from being agitated while wet and with wet heat. So best to wash in cold water....mostly soak.....then push up and down in the water with your hands and drain. Avoid lifting by one end when wet....support the whole thing.....then lay out flat to dry....don't hang.
If you have a washer that allows it....I fill my washer with cold water, add some baby shampoo, agitate briefly to mix, lay the blanket in....push down into the water....soak for half an hour....then push up and down in the water......and spin out.....fill again with cold water....push up and down to rinse....and spin again....allow to spin until all the water is out.....then spread out to dry.

I've been knitting and crocheting with wool all my life (I'm 72) and so did my grandmother before me. Certainly in this country, wool has never been hard to find.

After you wash your afghan (use woolite), you can press out water as much as you can, but don't twist or wring. Then use plenty of bath towels and press them against the afghan to absorb more water. Only then spread out to dry carefully without stretching it. To tell you the truth, once you've washed it, you should never have to do it again. I have an afghan that my grandmother made for me when I was 16 and it's never been washed. Nor have any of the others my grandmother made that I still have. They're well cared for, look clean and smell clean.

BTW, I wouldn't lay it out on the grass. Can you put it on a sheet of plastic on the floor somewhere? You can then set up a fan nearby to speed up the drying. Do it on a dry, sunny day with the windows open.

Instead of Woolite or some other soap/shampoo that requires a rinse you can also try Eucalan, which you should be able to find in a yarn store (or online). You add it to the water and let the item soak for a period of time, then squeeze the water out and dry. No rinsing needed. Be careful using a washing machine - you don't want to agitate the afghan because that might felt the yarn. If you can use just the spin cycle, that would be a good way to get the excess water out.

Thanks for the advice.

I have a washer with manual, non-digital settings. So I am
sure I can just spin. I wasn’t sure even that was safe, thinking it might
stretch or distort. I have never washed the ones my mother made, but they have
never left my house. This purchased one
doesn’t look dirty, but I won’t really know til I wash it.

My mother retired to live in a very small town when she
started to knit and crochet, maybe she didn’t have good resources for yarn. I remember when my grandmother lived in that
same small town, we would take her to buy her yarn and crochet cotton, and
found what she wanted at the 5 and dime store. But all the places where she
used to shop were gone by the time my Mom took up the craft. A local clothing
store had a fabric department in the basement, and they sold a small selection
of yarn.

I have several wool blankets, as well as an afghan that my grandmother made. None have ever left my house....but when I wash them, every 8 to 10 years ;-) the water looks soiled. I can't imagine never washing them.
Never heard of Eucalan but I'll now do a search!
The reason behind baby shampoo being easy on wool is because it is lower on the pH scale than woolite and consequently more gentle.

Make sure whatever detergent you use is enzyme free. Wool will shrink from movement. If you have a dedicated wool cycle on the washer, not gentle or delicate, but wool that should be fine. Wash and rinse temps need to be the same. otherwise just soak in a tub. I would not move it around but just let it soak. Than drain and refill with same temp. You can gently move it to your washer for a spin cycle to extract the water. Spin is not the same as movement.

Any liquid laundry detergent that is enzyme free should be fine. Liquid detergent is fairly PH neutral where as powders are not.

Why enzyme free???

Linda laundry detergent enzymes eat away stain and they are very good at eating away at protein stains...wool is a protein. .enzymes will destroy wool..perhaps you won't notice it at first but over time you will

Well....all laundry detergent doesn't contain the same enzymes...protease is one to avoid.
One study I read mentioned the percent of protease in a detergent and the amount of detergent in a tub of water....and concluded that with very very hot water and a PH about 8, eventually silk fiber might lose it's integrity.
But I would avoid all heavy duty laundry detergents, not because of enzymes but because of the high PH, which causes the wool fibers to open up and give more chance of becoming entangled...felted.
BUT if I had a stubborn stain on a wool item I would sure give an enzyme detergent a try
For some reason the detergents for front loaders are closer to PH neutral than the sudsier detergents.
And the neutrality and lack of additives is the main reason why those dealing in fine washable woolens recommend baby shampoo.....but it does suds! The cheaper ones make less suds.
I use Woolite to wash my hand washables that are not wool.....and shampoo to wash my woolens.....and on occasion I have washed my hair with Palmolive dish detergent...LOL! I was desperate!

Problem is protease is the cheapest most common enzyme..even some of the cheaper brands of laundry detergent like Purex with Oxi that now contains enzymes have protease..

As for wool and heat....it will require 2 thingz to felt or shrink wool if one was to bath wool in hot water....heat and movement...wool can be soaked in hot water but if it experiences any movement its all over with lol. Wool also can't tolorate change..for instance if wool is washed in cool or warm water rinse temp needs to be the same as to avoid a shock...

Think you'll find baby shampoo has a PH of 7. As does Woolite.. isn't 7 neutral.

Linda...do you think we read too many old laundry manuals..haha

Palmolive as shampoo..I've used Dawn..lol...and I'd bet most of the world has done this. Haha

Why not just dry clean it?

I don't dry clean anything I can possibly wash, I don't like the chemicals. A washed wool blanket will smell lots better than one that has been dry cleaned.

That's true, but if you're worried about the garment lasting, it really should be cleaned according to how the material will best respond.. Washing wool tends to distort it and cause pilling. A dry cleaned wool piece should last for many years. Besides, if you dry clean it, there is no reason that you can't hang it outside to air out or put it in the dryer with some bounce.. I'm a dry cleaner, I should know:)

This YOUTUBE is one of several showing how a carpet is commercially cleaned. I'd love for someone to explain how one can use an electric appliance, with their feet in water and not get electrocuted. Anyhow, they really give the carpet a cleaning and rinsing notice how clear the rinse water is. I would hang it outside for a few days to dry.

Since you are a dry cleaner, I am sure you have some prejudice toward dry cleaning.
Putting a wool afghan in the dryer with some bounce is a sure way to make it pill and felt and the cleaning chemicals are still there.
Washing wool does NOT distort it any more than dry cleaning does if your cleaner is not careful.

Put wool in the dryer with Bounce....for what reason?? I'm assuming so the Bounce can add its chemicals to try to cover up dry cleaning chemicals...Wool can be safely washed at home with a few precautions..no Bounce needed

Thank
you all. Luckily, there are no stains, so I will be able to avoid using any
strong detergent. I didn’t know that about the enzymes damaging wool and
protein fibers. The only enzyme detergent I’ve used is Biz enzyme pretreatment soak. And
not on wool, but now I know more, and will avoid that should wool become stained.
Mostly on my linen tablecloths after someone spills gravy on them.

I’ve
often used shampoo to hand-wash: but that was mostly because I was lazy and
wanted to do it in my sink upstairs then hang the item to dry in the shower.
Maybe laziness can be a good thing??? Sometimes?

Linda,
I too have used dish detergent to wash my hair! I think I was renting a cottage
and they had kitchen supplies but no shampoo. I was used to hotels and hadn’t
packed any.

Linnea, most laundry detergent has enzymes. Not just the Biz. Just about the only ones without is is Sun and Xtra. Lol

...And if we are applying a bit of common sense....how often will you wash a wool afghan? Is the afghan of historical significance?...like say of hand spun wool by your great great grandmother?
In the grand scheme....that afghan will not be compromised in any manner you can tell by washing it every 5 years in a detergent containing an enzyme.....but I still use shampoo for woolens.

My afghan isn't dirty, but I keep it over the back of my couch so it is dusty. What do you think about the idea getting out dust with a vacuum cleaner? Has anyone tried it?

Gale, best to start a new post. It will be seen by more people than this old one. I only got notified because I'm the original poster.

Throw it in the dryer - no heat - and run it for a few minutes.

NO.....even with no heat the action of the dryer will cause pilling and felting.
I have a friend who used to own and Annie Blatt store and she always recommended shampoo. Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo has a lower PH than Woolite....which is why it doesn't hurt baby eyes. And is better for washing woolens....not so much for removing greasy dirt.

This is very interesting to see all of these opinions. Personally, for me, I cannot imagine curling up with any blanket or throw that has not been washed for 5 years, nor would I use a newly purchased one without washing it. I take great care of my possessions but I would not want something that I cannot clean.

Hopefully these purchases were not huge amounts of money so just go ahead and wash them. They are not very usable if dirty!

Do not dry in the sun, it will fade.

Linda, thanks for the info on the baby shampoo. I did not know that. Someone once recommended Ivory brand dish washing liquid for hand washing fabrics. But I don't remember where I read this, and if in fact it is good advice. I've been using it, but would be a little afraid to use it on wool.

The wool afghan is bagged up : I still have not cleaned it.

Depending on how any afghan is constructed after washing it may need to be laid flat, gently stretched into original position and pinned until dry.

Dishwashing liquid...particularly ivory ...have sudsing agents added. Seems people think that when there are suds there is cleaning power. Makes it hard to get rid of the suds when using for hand washing.

Yes, I'm not sure where I saw this. Something about it being pH neutral, maybe...

Ivory is far from neutral...google tells ne it has a ph of 9.5.

Ah. I've been using it for handwashing: nothing valuable. But if the baby shampoo is better I'll get some.

and I believe it's cheaper....

I need to wash a wool afghan that is likely 75-100 yrs old. It has a strong musty/mildew odor. What is the best method for eliminating this odor?

Wash it....using baby shampoo...or woolite if it's white ( woolite contains optical brighteners....shampoo does not)...Soak and squeeze, do not agitate nor wring....lay flat to dry....scroll up it's all explained.

I have a wool afgan, off white with black roosters on each square. it had a large stain and i washed by hand but water was too warm. the black bled onto the white, i rinsed immediately in cool water, how do i fix the bleeding areas?

also not sure how to view the answer

I have learned a lot about enzymes and animal fibers...wool, silk and down.....and the enzymes that "eat" the protein in stains also "eat" the protein in the fabrics.......I made a mess of a doiwn throw that had a pet "accident" by using amn enzyme cleaner. Mamma Pinky is right...Woolite or baby shampoo..

But I suspect not much will fix a color bleed......you might try cold water.....but I suspect it is what it is.