The First lessons learned

The mill is getting busier and busier. I've had lot of beautiful Alpaca that I've been working on and a lot more that was dropped off in the last week. When we were opening we were told to be prepared that people were going to test me with their worst fiber before dropping off there good stuff. So far I don't feel like this has been the case at all. All of my customers so far have given me some really nice fiber to play with.

Since the mill has been open there have only been a few issues I've had and a few lessons learned. The first thing is how different fleeces are even among the same breed. The next is learning what grease content to soap ratio are needed. There were a couple of fleeces that appeared to be washed and grease free until the were dry and picked and then they all felt greasy again and needed to be re-washed. Finally the newest lesson which has not been completely solved is the static issue. The mill has dried out so much in the past few weeks that the static is out of control. We ordered a misting system, but I'm not sure that this has solved the problem completely. It is increasing the moisture content, but at the same time is not completely evaporating before it is falling and then makes everything that is below the misting heads all wet. I need to find a middle ground where there is moisture in the air, but doesn't get the equipment all wet. Hopefully this week we will have this sorted out.