Some search results

This is an attempt to improve the quality of the web by showing the best results I got for searching for some things, as well as to inspire people to share their results with me in cases where searching has not made me much wiser.

Washing silk

28 April 1999

I have some silk shirts, and my attempts to wash them haven't been totally successful. The main problem I have is that the collar gets dark with fat from my neck. The information I found on the web was somewhat contradictory. Some say to do it one way and to definitely not do it another way. Others say the exact opposite. Or maybe I'm just not reading this right?

Any suggestions would be appreciated (e93-vkn@sm.luth.se).

• All About Silk
  A page about Indian silk. I only read the tips for washing at the bottom, suggesting not to use detergents, just "a few drops of lime".
• Caring For Silk And Leather
  Warns about the effect of different chemicals (sweat, alcohol, sugar, etc) on silk. Also repeats the old advice to take care of stains immediately.
• Au Ver à Soie - Maintenance of silk
  Recommends drying silk by rolling it in a towel and not to leave silk crumpled. Warns about dark clothes losing colour.
• Silk
  Recommends using shampoo (is that ordinairy hair shampoo?) to "remove oil" (is this what I'm looking for?). Also a long list of descriptions of different types of silk.
• How to clean and take care of your silk products
  This pages is very short and seems a bit weird. It says "Please wash in warm water?" which surely must be not one but two, typos!?
• Sewing with Silk
  Lots of tips on how to make new things out of my shirts if I finally just give up and decide to recycle the parts that haven't been ruined. Also a section about cleaning silk.
• Dry Clean Only: Do you have to?
  A test of washing vs. dry cleaning. What I get from it is that some colours are more sensitive than others (apparently red was more sensitive than blue in the test).
• [broken link]Fabric Care
  Ad for some detergent. Naturally suggests to use this specific product, but also gives the advice to never iron silk completely dry.
• [broken link]Points To Keep In Mind When Caring Silk Products.
  Warns against chlorine in tap water. Step-by-step instructions that include spin-drying (a no-no according to some of the other pages). Recommends softener and, if you like, starch. Recommends ironing silk dry. Includes cross-section sketch of silk fiber.
• Anjoorian Silks
  Makes distinction between two types of silk, cultivated and wild. Says "Wash silk frequently where applicable. Dry clean only if you have to". Warns against old perspiration.
• A page about silk stockings
  Not really related to my search, but contains plenty of tips and tricks. I wonder if it is really about nylon stockings.