Caring For Silk

How to care for silk beddings for long usage

Silk is an investment. It’s a fabric that should be bought with a long term relationship in mind. Picking timeless styles and avoiding quick trends will help keep your investment pieces relevant beyond a season. And how you store, wear and wash your silk beddings will also help the longevity of your silk’s life. That’s why, when talking about caring for your silk we’re talking about the whole 360° approach.

Hand Wash

You’ll want to make sure to do colours separately and read the detergent label before using it on your silk. Words like “suitable for silk” and “delicates” are your best friends when it comes to washing silk by hand. Bleach will damage your silk’s fibres so it’s always a big no.

Wrinkles and Creases

Most wrinkles in silk can simply be steamed out, but not everyone owns a steamer. A great steamer hack is to hang your silk in the bathroom and let it steam while you take a hot shower.

If you can’t steam the creases out then here are a few tips on how to safely iron your silk:

  • Flip your garments inside out and set the iron to low heat (or the silk setting).
  • Iron silk only once it’s dry and be sure to put a cloth between the silk and the iron.
  • Do not spray or wet silk while ironing, you may get water-stains.

Hanging and Storing

To avoid ironing, the best solution for your silk is to store it by hanging it in a cool dry place. Silk creases so it’s best not to fold or leave it bunched up for long. If you’re storing your silk sheets for a long period of time then make sure it’s clean and stored in a breathable fabric bag (avoid plastic ones because they lock in moisture). Another tip for long term storing is to store your silk away from the sun to avoid fading the colour and weakening the fibre. Silk is a protein, this means it can attract moths so, if you add a natural moth repellent into the bag your silk will be sure to thank you.

How do I dry my silk?

The recommended way to dry silk is by hanging it in a place with good air circulation. Air drying silk best allows the silk to retain its shape afterwards. Avoid contact with direct sunlight, as prolonged exposure to direct sunlight can damage silk fibers as well as cause colors to fade.

Drying machines and hair dryers can also be used, however these are not recommended as they may cause permanent damage to the silk.

  • For machine drying, leave the drying machine on cool setting and tumble dry. Keep drying time as little as possible, as the friction involved may cause breakage in silk fibers or white streaks.
  • For hair dryers, make sure you use a heatless setting. Continuous heating from a hair dryer would cause brittleness in silk fiber and dull the perfect luster.

How to care for your silk bedding & clothes

Although we recommend that our pure silk product be dry cleaned, cleaning and washing silk at home is surprisingly easy if certain precautions are observed.

I.Silk Sheets and Clothing

This category includes silk pillowcases, fitted sheet, flat sheet, bed-skirt, duvet cover, sleepwear, lingerie, sleep cap and shirt.

Hand Wash At 30℃
Use lukewarm water: 30C/86F is the ideal temperature for silk to be hand-washed
No Heat
Heat ruins the fabric structure of silk
Mild Cleaning Agents
Use Special Detergent for Silk. We recommend TENESTAR as the brand of specialized silk cleaner agent for our products. Woolite and other mild detergents can also be used but not recommended.
Do Not Use Bleaches 
Avoid detergents with enzymes, bleaches, and brighteners at all cost.
Rinse with a few drops of vinegar
A few drops of distilled vinegar can help dissolve the chemical traces (e.g. sweat/soap residue) on the silk.
Rinse quickly and don’t over soak.
Do Not Tumble Dry 
Never tumble dry silk. Hang dry if possible, however, avoid direct sunlight exposure.
Cold Iron As Needed
Irons should be set on the lowest possible heat setting, and if the iron has a particular silk setting, that is even better. Moving the iron back and forth can stretch and pull the silk out of shape. The iron should never rest on any spot for too long, in case of burning silk fabric structure.

For those without the time, patience or just physically unable to hand-wash silk, our products can withstand machine washing as well. Of course, there is more risk involved, and certain precautions must be taken to minimize them.
Machine wash in lukewarm water (30°C) on most gentle cycle available.
Most washing machines should have a “delicate” setting. Some machines even have a silk setting specifically for cleaning silk.
Minimize spin time
Spinning can be very dangerous for silk fabric as the forces involved can shear weaker silk fibers.
Use protective casing
To best avoid shearing and tearing of silk fibers, it is recommended that you use some cloth casing that could let water through and yet keeps the silk fabric in one piece.

Machine-wash tends to be the most practical way to clean silk as it is fast and requires little attention, but in fact, you should be even more careful than when you hand-wash, as there are many ways the machine can tear your silk to pieces if you do not treat the wash cautiously.

II.Silk Basics

For washable duvets or pillows, we recommend machine washing. And you can follow the rules above. To keep them warm, please don’t do the washing too often. Just air in well-circulated areas 2~3 times every month (avoid direct sunlight exposure).

For those basics that couldn’t be washed, always protect them with a removable and washable cover. You can also do spot-clean with lukewarm water and hang dry after spot-cleaned. If in need of thorough cleaning, please use professional dry clean only.

Tip: For daily maintenance, simply turn your comforter over towards the end of the bed instead of after you get up and let the fresh air or the sunshine in (if your bed is near a window) for 10-20 minutes.This helps freshen your comforter considerably.

III.Silk Blanket

We recommend professional dry cleaning for silk blanket as silk blanket needs to avoid direct touch with water. And please store it in a cool, dry place.

Correct care will help your silk products will last for years without losing their quality. Learning how to wash silk in the washing machine or by hand is simple-just observe these considerations and you will enjoy your silk products for a very long time.

How to wash silk sheets?

How to wash silk sheets?

There are several different ways in which our silk products can be washed, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. We recommend hand-washing to everyone as it is the method that keeps our silk lustrous and “in-shape”, but pick whichever way that suits your needs the best.

HAND-WASH:

For silk products of any kind, hand-washing is the optimal way to clean without causing damage to the material. Proper hand-cleaning can prolong the the life of the silk as well as keep it lustrous even after long periods of usage.

Some tips for hand-washing silk include:

  • Use lukewarm water: 30C/86F is the best temperature for silk to be hand-washed in.
  • Use mild cleaning agents: We recommend TENESTAR as the brand of specialized silk cleaner agent for our products. Woolite and other mild detergents can also be used but not recommended. Avoid detergents with enzymes, bleaches and brighteners at all cost.
  • Rinse with a few drops of vinegar: A few drops of distilled vinegar can help dissolve the alkaline traces (e.g. sweat/soap residue) on the silk. Rinse quickly and don’t oversoak.

Things that should be avoided when hand-washing silk:

  • Soaking silk in water for too long: soaking silk in water for too long may cause the silk threads to unwind, causing deformation in the fabric.
  • Harsh detergents: avoid any cleaning agents with enzymes, bleach or brighteners, these will make short work of the silk fibers.
  • Twisting: Put silk on towel and roll to extract water as twisting too hard can shear silk fibers.

Hand-washing, however, can take a long time, especially if you are washing bed sheets/duvet covers. Another problem is that you need to stay focused for the duration of the wash, as leaving silk in water unattended for too long may cause deformation. Hand-washing multiple pieces of silk is no easy task and requires quite a bit of stamina to complete.

MACHINE WASH:

For those without the time, patience or just physically unable to hand-wash silk, our products can withstand machine-washing as well. Of course, there is more risks involved and certain precautions must be taken in order to minimize them.

Tips for machine washers:

  • Use the mildest cycle there is: Most washing machines should have a “delicate” setting. Some machines even have a silk setting specifically for cleaning silk. Do NOT use heavy load settings.
  • Use the shortest spin cycle: Spinning can be very dangerous for silk fabric as the forces involved can shear weaker silk fibers.
  • Use specialized silk cleaner agents: We recommend TENESTAR as the brand of specialized silk cleaner agent for our products. Woolite and other mild detergents can also be used but not recommended. Avoid detergents with enzymes, bleaches and brighteners at all cost.
  • Use protective casing: To best avoid shearing and tearing of silk fibers, it is recommended that you use some sort of cloth casing that could let water through and yet keeps the silk fabric in one piece. A cotton pillowcase or duvet cover should serve this purpose just fine.
  • Do NOT forget about your silk: Some people like to throw their load into the washing machine and leave, then forget about the wash completely. If you do this with silk, chances are the silk is going to change shape and lose lustre prematurely as the residue water can cause deformities in the fabric.

Machine-wash tends to be the most practical way to clean silk as it is fast and requires little attention, but in fact you should be even more careful than when you hand-wash, as there are many ways the machine can tear your silk to pieces if you do not treat the wash cautiously.

DRY CLEAN:

For customers who wish to clean their pillows or duvets/comforters, dry cleaning must be used to preserve the structure of the silk floss filling inside. Usually dry cleaners know how to handle your silk, but it should be noted that some dry cleaning agents are highly toxic and carcinogenic, it is recommended that you hang your silk pillow/duvet in a well-circulated area for a day or two after dry cleaning to prevent possible residue fumes harming your health.

Of course, it is also possible that your dry cleaner uses non-toxic dry cleaning agents too, so it is best if you ask before getting your items back.