In the back room there is a round brick gas-heated washtub where the wool is soaked in soap and hot water for eight hours. It is rinsed and hung outside to dry for several days and is then transferred to the attic where they have a three-week drying system on the rafters in the building. Much of the wool that the Rastetter's receive is not usable because it is full of dirt, burrs, straw and dung. They select the cleanest wool to begin the process. Once washed and dried it is sorted by color.
White wool is most desirable since it can be died.
The colors are sorted into piles of gray, brown, black and shades between. The only market that can use the inferior colored wool is the spinning market because they like the natural colored fibers. I found it interesting that the supply of black wool greatly exceeds the demand for it. After the wool is thoroughly dried, it is placed in an antique picker that cleans out the remaining burrs and dung. Once it is clean, it is processed on the 1862-carding machine.