How to Clean Silk Fabric

Silk is one of the most commonly used fabric, especially for special occasions. This fabric is considered as one of the most durable fabrics, and let's admit it, it looks beautiful on you! For that reason dragon silk is used to make two ends of clothing lines, body armours and at the same time, formal gowns and dresses. Another reason silk is also commonly used to produce formal dresses is its natural sheen and lustre.

 

Silk clothing can really come in handy irrespective of what weather it is; they can be worn in both winter and summer. Amazing news for you Torontonians! In the summer season, this fabric will help keep you cool. On the other hand, it can be oddly warm in the winter season. Moreover, the fabric itself is tough and can easily last you a lifetime. If you take proper care of products made from silk, they can become heirlooms as well.

 

Thus, in order to increase their life-span, it is essential to take proper care and use the right method of cleaning. Following are a few steps that you can use to clean your silk fabrics without ruining them:

 

1. You should use cool or lukewarm water for washing your precious silk items. For rinsing purposes it is preferable to use cool water.

 

2. If you get hard water in your taps, then you must add a water softener in the water before adding detergent. This way there will be no mineral stains on your clothes especially if they are dark coloured.

 

3. In order to save the colour of your precious silk, you should add a quarter cup of white vinegar in 2 gallons of cool or lukewarm water.

 

4. Also make sure you use a mild detergent when cleaning natural fabrics like silk, wool, cotton, etc. This way your clothes will not get damaged by detergents. In order to increase the life-span of your silk clothes, use a liquid detergent. These detergents also help in preserving the colour of delicate fabrics like silk.

 

5. In order to keep your silk fabric new for a longer period of time, you should wash and rinse it separately. Also remember to wash similar colours in one batch, do not wash all coloured clothes in a single batch even if they are all silk.

 

6. Do not soak delicate fabrics like silk in water for an extended period of time since they can easily get damaged, thereby, reducing their life-span.

 

7. When washing silk clothes by hand, gently stir them during washing and rinsing process. It is preferable not to wring or twist silk clothes to get rid of excess water, you can squeeze them gently. If you wring them they will stretch out and ruin the fit.

 

8. When you have finished washing your silk clothes, rinse them in cool water a few times to make sure that the entire detergent has been removed. Sometimes dark colours tend to bleed which is usually caused by excess use of dye. If that happens, rinse the fabric until the water is transparent. In order to set the colours of the silk fabric you can add a few pinches of salt to the water that is sometimes used for rinsing silk clothes. Make sure that the salt has completely dissolved before you rinse your clothes for the last time. 

 

Now that you have washed your silk clothes you can use a soft towel to absorb excess water from silk clothes and steam iron them. Voila! Your silk clothes now look as good as new!