Silk has long been one of the most sought after fabrics in the world, with many different uses from silk scarves and clothing to home decor, with the fabric even proving to be a good addition to your beauty sleep routine.

While silk holds the status of being one of the strongest natural fibers in the world, the fabric itself is incredibly delicate and requires special attention when it comes to cleaning, drying and storing to ensure it stays in pristine condition. Learn how to clean and protect silk in this simple guide.

1 Wash

Silk clothing is woven from delicate protein-based health-care fibers. Washing should not be rubbed on rough items or washed in a washing machine. The clothes should be soaked in cold water for 5-10 minutes, and then synthesized with special silk detergent or neutral soap. Gently rub, then rinse the colored silk garments in clean water repeatedly.

(1) Dark-colored clothing or silk fabrics should be washed separately from light-colored ones;

(2) Sweaty silk garments should be washed immediately or soaked in clean water, and should not be washed with hot water above 30 degrees;

(3) When washing silk, use acidic detergent or light alkaline detergent, preferably special detergent for silk;

(4) It is best to wash by hand. Do not rub hard or scrub with a hard brush. You should rub it lightly and pour it with clean water. Squeeze out the water with your hands or a towel and dry it in the shade;

2 Drying

After washing, silk garments should not be exposed to the sun, let alone heated by a dryer. Generally, they should be dried in a cool and ventilated place. Because the ultraviolet rays in the sun tend to yellow, fade and age silk fabrics. Therefore, after washing silk garments, it is not advisable to twist them to remove water. They should be gently shaken, and the reverse side should be aired outside, and then ironed or shaken flat after drying until 70% dry.

(1) It should be ironed when it is 80% dry, and it is not suitable to spray water directly, and the reverse side of the garment should be ironed, and the temperature should be controlled between 100-180 degrees;

(2) When storing, it should be washed, dried, stacked, wrapped in cloth, and placed in a cabinet, and camphor or sanitary balls should not be placed.

3 Ironing

The wrinkle resistance of real silk clothing is slightly worse than that of chemical fiber, so there is a saying that "no wrinkle is not real silk". If the clothes are wrinkled after washing, they need to be ironed to be crisp, elegant and beautiful.

When ironing, dry the clothes until they are 70% dry, then spray water evenly, and wait for 3-5 minutes before ironing. The ironing temperature should be controlled below 150°C. The iron should not touch the silk surface directly to avoid aurora.

4 Preservation

Preserve silk clothing, thin underwear, shirts, trousers, skirts, pajamas, etc., first wash clean, iron dry before storage.

For autumn and winter clothes, jackets, and cheongsams that are inconvenient to remove and wash, they should be cleaned by dry cleaning and ironed until they are flattened to prevent mildew and moths. After ironing, it can also play the role of sterilization and disinfection.

At the same time, the boxes and cabinets for storing clothes should be kept clean and sealed as much as possible to prevent dust pollution.