Wool is remarkably resilient, as proven by the more than 100 year old carpets in my home. Last June, while attending a dinner at the Greenvile Highland Games, the lady next to me managed to dump most of her dinner down the side of my kilt ("Oh dear.. well accidents happen" then back to eating--the cow). I scraped off most of it (and returned it to her plate) then went to the gent's and got the rest off with cold water and paper towels. I did have the kilt cleaned when I got home, but it was in good enough shape to make it through the evening after Miss Piggy dumped food on it. My point is this: if you tend to the odd drip or spill WHEN IT HAPPENS things usually work out okay. For mud and such I usually let it dry and brush it off the next day. Never try to get mud off when it's wet-- you will only grind it deeper into the fabric. Finally, wool is pretty forgiving of cool water and very mild soap if you need to "spot clean" something.