How to Clean and Care for Your Luxury Silk Garments
Lightweight and lustrous, it's easy to see why silk is the fabric of choice for shirts, sheets, dresses, and many other luxury garments and home items. As is the case with many high end fabrics, such as suede, silk requires a fair amount of care whether you are wearing, sleeping in, or storing it. That said, keep these tips in mind when using, cleaning, or storing your garments, bedding, or other luxury silk items: Silk can be easily damaged by . . .
Chemical and alcohol based products: Hair sprays, nail polish remover, perfume, aerosol deodorants, etc. can all stain your silk items beyond repair. Silk is a very absorbent fiber and as such, will absorb even the finest mist from personal care products with ease. If you must use alcohol or chemical based products, do your best to not let them come into contact with your silk items (i.e. put your products on before dressing, or place a cover over your silk garment when using such products while dressed.)
Sunlight: Like a fine painting on canvas, silk is prone to damage from constant sunlight. Too much sunlight will easily fade and/or yellow even the best silk. As such, you may want to hold off wearing your best silk shirt until the evening, if possible.
Perspiration and deodorants, especially when combined, are also dangerous to silk fibers. The combination of moisture in perspiration and chemicals in deodorants (particularly Aluminum
chlorohydrates found in many deodorants and antiperspirants,) can weaken silks to the point of fraying under certain circumstances, and may also lead to discoloration of fabrics. To avoid this, try to use some type of fabric guard in the underarm area of your silk garments.
Now that you know what to avoid, how do you properly care for your silk products? For most silk garments, taking them to the dry cleaners is usually the preferred method of cleaning. However, many silk garments may be carefully washed by hand in warm water with small amounts of mild detergents, such as Woolite. However, if you do decide to hand wash your silk garment, be sure to test it for color fastness, and only wash same/similar colors at the same time as some silk is prone to bleeding. Some cleaners also suggest using a bit of vinegar when rinsing to retain color and restore shine. About two ounces for every gallon of water should be more than enough. To dry, roll your silk item in a towel to remove any excess water, and air dry away from sunlight.
If you happen to spill anything on your silk item, take it to a professional cleaner as soon as possible. Do not spot treat with water as that will help to set the stain rather than remove it.
Finally, when it comes time to store your luxury silk item(s), as with suede you will want to store them in a breathable location (do not store in plastic.) However, moths like the taste of silk, so be sure to store your items with cedar or mothballs to prevent damage from unwanted pests.
While silk is definitely a high maintenance fabric, (even more so than suede!) it is without a doubt worth it as there is no better feeling on your skin than a well kept silk shirt, dress, or set of sheets.
This post was contributed via Seed.com, AOL's new platform for freelance writers.
Now that you know what to avoid, how do you properly care for your silk products? For most silk garments, taking them to the dry cleaners is usually the preferred method of cleaning. However, many silk garments may be carefully washed by hand in warm water with small amounts of mild detergents, such as Woolite. However, if you do decide to hand wash your silk garment, be sure to test it for color fastness, and only wash same/similar colors at the same time as some silk is prone to bleeding. Some cleaners also suggest using a bit of vinegar when rinsing to retain color and restore shine. About two ounces for every gallon of water should be more than enough. To dry, roll your silk item in a towel to remove any excess water, and air dry away from sunlight.
If you happen to spill anything on your silk item, take it to a professional cleaner as soon as possible. Do not spot treat with water as that will help to set the stain rather than remove it.
Finally, when it comes time to store your luxury silk item(s), as with suede you will want to store them in a breathable location (do not store in plastic.) However, moths like the taste of silk, so be sure to store your items with cedar or mothballs to prevent damage from unwanted pests.
While silk is definitely a high maintenance fabric, (even more so than suede!) it is without a doubt worth it as there is no better feeling on your skin than a well kept silk shirt, dress, or set of sheets.
This post was contributed via Seed.com, AOL's new platform for freelance writers.
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