To lanolize a wool diaper cover, fill a small mason jar half way with boiling water. Place a teaspoon of Lanolin in the water and wait while it dissolves. I use Now Brand Lanolin, which is very affordable and lasts a very long time. Add a teaspoon of a wool safe soap to the water (we use Ecos Magnolia and Lily Liquid Laundry Detergent) carefully cap the mason jar and hently shake and swirl until the lanolin is completely emulsified.

Next fill the sink half full with WARM - neither hot nor cold - water and pour in the lanolin/soap mixture. Using water that is the wrong temperature will cause the wool fibers to shrink, so make sure the water feels about equal to the temperature of your hand. Swirl the sink water Around to fully mix the Lanolin/Soap. A bar of gentle soap, like Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild Castille Soap, can be used to spot clean any areas on the cover that need it before depositing the cover in the water. Soak the cover for about an hour. Occasionally swirl the cover around in the sink to fully incorporate the lanolin into the wool fibers. Remove the cover from the water without rinsing. Do not twist or wring. Lay the cover flat in an absorbent towel and gently roll the towel around the cover. Press lightly to remove excess water. Lay flat to dry. When you feel the cover is dry on one side, turn it inside out and let the opposite side dry.

You can also find specially formulated lanolin soaps like Eucalan to lanolize your covers, but I find that they do not work as well as the method described above. Using real lanolin really helps the cover hold in moisture longer than a lanolin-enriched soap will. However, lanolin-enriched soaps like Eucalan are great to use as the soap additive for the method above or to spot clean the cover when food or a small amount of poop has gotten on the cover that doesn’t require a full re-lanolizing.

When Should You Lanolize?

It’s time to lanolize when you find the cover isn’t holding moisture as it should and is wicking before the diaper is in need of changing or if you notice the cover has an unpleasant smell or when you have a leak involving poop that gets onto the cover.

A Tip:

One nice way to keep the covers looking their best is to give them an occasional shave with a sweater shaver to remove wool pilling from repeated wear. It is a good investment of time to properly care for your wool covers because they can be handed down from one child to the next.