What to use to clean raw fleece and yarn?

I recently learned about another bit of disturbing fiber nerdery: the issue of protein-eating enzymes in various cleaning supplies. The theory is that these enzymes are great when they are used to (say) clean the stuck-on egg off your plates. But not so great when you are using them to clean wool fleece and yarn, which are after all made of protein (in the form of keratin) themselves.

The tricky thing is figuring out which detergents have these magical enzymes, because most manufacturers are very close-lipped about the specific ingredients in their cleaning products. I found a Ravelry post which listed which forms of Dawn do and do not have the enzymes:

Has enzymes:

• Dawn + Bleach Alternative
• Dawn + Oxi
• Dawn Advanced Power (only the version sold at Costco)
• Dawn Hand Care

Does not have enzymes:

• Ultra Dawn
• Dawn Advanced Power (sold in stores other than Costco)
• Dawn Foam
• Dawn Essentials

Why pick on Dawn specifically? Because standard blue Dawn is frequently suggested for use in scouring raw fleeces. All marketing claims aside, Dawn really does seem to be best at removing grease, and that is what you're doing when you clean a raw fleece. And many of us, having Dawn sitting right there on our kitchen counters, end up using it often to clean other wooly things as well.

This is one of those issues that I agree with in theory. In theory, no, you wouldn't want to use a protein-eating enzyme to clean your wool made of protein. But in practice, I feel like the amount of enzymes in any given detergent is so infinitesimal that it won't actually make a difference.

After all, if there really was that big a danger of protein dissolving in certain formulations of dishwashing liquid, there would be big warning labels that "YOU MUST USE RUBBER GLOVES WHEN USING THIS PRODUCT." Otherwise your hands (which are also made of protein) would dissolve always along with the stuck-on egg.

If you're worried, you can always do what one Ravelry user did: soak a lock in a concentrated solution of the detergent in question, and check it the next morning. There's no substitute for first-hand experience!

Image courtesy Flickr/temptressyarn