The snoods had a pungent chemical smell straight out of the bag, so I put them in the washing machine on the handwash cycle. I typically would let things like this air out for as long as necessary/actually wash them by hand, but because they were so cheap, I took the risk. To my surprise, they didn't fall apart. The snoods are as soft as they were prior to washing, and they aren't matted or showing any signs of shedding. I am very pleased with my purchase and even placed a second order to get mo