Scouring
Fibers to be processed need to be cleaned of dust and the natural greases produced by the animal. Sheep can produce a lot of grease and fine-fibered breeds, such as Merino have more than others. Most of this has to be removed and the process is called scouring. In our operation this washing is done by us using lots of very hot water and scouring agents designed for the removal of the grease. The wool goes through successive vats of hot water and detergent that progressively remove most water soluble oils and dust before drying. Angora, silks, and synthetics need not be scoured because they have virtually no oil on the fibers. Alpaca, Llama and Mohair are scoured using less detergent as they have far less grease in them but we do want to remove the dust and dirt from the field.
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- Columbia Custom Carding LLC
- 31525 Canaan Rd
- Deer Island, Oregon 97054
- 503-410-3152 (Mill)
- mitch@cccarding.com
- Hours M-T 10-5:00 (mill by appointment only)