Are there any products on the market that can safely lighten white wool that is stained?
In washing wool, you must beware of agitation, which will cause felting, and of too much heat, which will cause shrinkage. Use lukewarm water, and avoid the use of washing machines. Wool can be “bleached” only with non-chlorine products, never with ordinary household chlorine bleach, which contains hypochlorite and will destroy wool. In the unlikely event that you need and want to try this step, you must use either hydrogen peroxide or a sulfur-based dye-reducing discharge chemical. These generally require heating, however, which is impractical for use at home without industrial-sized machines, in treating a large rug. See, for example, PRO Chemical & Dye’s recipe for Bleaching Wool using Hydrogen Peroxide or their instructions for using thiourea dioxide to make a discharge bath for wool. I do not recommend that you try either of these procedures on your rug. (Please help support this web site.
