antimicrobial
Laundry, laundry and more laundry: the bane of nearly every parent’s existence. All that washing takes its toll, not just on you and your energy level, but on the planet too. Want to do less of it? Great. We did too. Which is one of the reasons when we started iksplor we did it with 100 percent, all natural, merino wool products.
Without the addition of any yucky chemicals, merino prevents the build-up of odor and bacteria, meaning that even if your kids wear it all the time – even if they practically refuse to wear anything else (because, duh) – you just don’t have to wash it all that much.
How merino manages this odiferous feat is not fully understood, although it’s surely something to do with merino’s complex internal physical and chemical structure. Still, some of the reasons are clear. For one, because merino is so breathable and moves moisture away from the skin, smell-inducing bacteria simply don’t have a chance to proliferate.
The surface of merino fiber is also hydrophobic, meaning it repels water (hydrophobic literally means afraid of water) and it is covered in tiny overlapping scales. These scales contain a fatty acid believed to have anti-microbial characteristics that prevent the growth of mold, mildew and bacteria. Finally, merino fiber is thought to bind odors, which makes them less noticeable.
As if that’s not enough, merino has a few other pretty incredible health benefits, like the fact that it’s naturally flame resistant, protecting your precious ones every time they wear it. How? It has a high ignition temperature, it self-extinguishes, it doesn’t melt or stick and more.
Incredibly, merino wool can even neutralize toxic gases found in our homes like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde, all created by cooking, indoor fires and the like. Merino absorbs these gases and bonds them to amino acid residues within the fiber, effectively – and irreversibly – cleaning the air. Pretty amazing, huh? Who knew your children’s clothing could do so much?
Well, we did, which is why we always call it magical.
