How to wash a silk scarf by hand
Most silk scarves survive hand washing perfectly well. The damage people report almost always comes from one of four things: hot water, wringing, direct sun, or a detergent with enzymes or bleach. Avoid those and the rest is easy.
The four steps
- Cold water, gentle detergent. Fill a basin with cold water — genuinely cold, not lukewarm. Add a few drops of a detergent made for silk or wool. Never a biological detergent: the enzymes that break down protein stains also attack silk, which is a protein fiber.
- Two minutes, no rubbing. Submerge the scarf and move it gently through the water with an open hand. Do not rub the fabric against itself, and do not soak for longer than a few minutes — prolonged soaking is what makes printed colors bleed.
- Rinse, then press — never wring. Rinse in clean cold water until it runs clear. Lift the scarf out supporting its whole weight, lay it on a clean towel, roll the towel up with the scarf inside and press. Wringing breaks the filaments and leaves permanent creases.
- Dry flat, out of the sun. Unroll and lay the scarf flat on a dry towel, away from radiators and direct sunlight. Sun fades silk dye faster than anything else in a home.
Marks that need a different approach
- Makeup on the edge. Very common on a neck scarf. Blot, never rub. A tiny amount of detergent on a cotton swab, worked from the outside of the mark inward.
- Perfume and deodorant. Alcohol can dull silk and set a ring. Wash the whole scarf rather than spot-treating, and spray perfume before you put the scarf on, not after.
- Water marks. A drop of water on silk can leave a ring. The fix is counter-intuitive: wash the whole scarf, so the whole surface dries evenly.
- Anything oily. This is the one case for a professional cleaner. Oil needs a solvent, and home solvents will strip the dye.
Ironing
If you need to iron, do it while the scarf is still slightly damp, on the lowest setting, on the reverse, with a cotton cloth between the iron and the silk. Never use steam directly on silk — the water droplets mark it.
How often
Less than you think for a neck scarf: silk is naturally odor-resistant and airing it overnight does most of the work. A hair or night scarf is different — it sits against the scalp and should be washed every few wears. See silk scarves for hair.
One thing worth checking before you wash
A scarf with a rolled hem takes hand washing far better than one with a glued or fused edge, which can lift in water. If you do not know which you have, look at the edge: a rolled hem is a small round bead of fabric with visible stitches on one side only. More on reading an edge in silk or satin.
A scarf you can wash by hand. Printed silk, with the fiber and the size listed on every product page. Shop silk scarves — free US shipping from $50.
