barbaral@tekig1.UUCP (03/30/84)
I have 2 silk blouses from China, and am not sure how to launder them, etc. Do you wash them by hand? If so, what kind of soap? How about ironing? What setting? Is a presscloth necessary? Will a teflon "iron shield" do?
akl@wbux5.UUCP (03/30/84)
(for the almighty line eater)
There are different kinds of silk, hong-kong silk, silk
batiste, etc. I don't know what kind of silk your blouses
are made of, but I have always had good luck with the following:
1. Handwash, using mild detergent. I use the old
standby, Woolite.
2. Carefully squeeze out most of the water. Do not
wring or twist. Silk becomes quite weak when wet.
I then roll up the blouse in a towel and let sit
until it's damp, not dripping.
3. I iron some of my silk blouses; some of the more
casual silk tops I leave "natural." When ironing,
the blouse should be damp, and iron inside-out.
4. I use the lowest setting possible on my iron.
I keep the steam off (see below) and I don't use
a teflon cover. I have a "no-stick" finish on my
iron. If you're in doubt, test a patch where it won't
show, like the inside cuff or neck.
5. Don't sprinkle on extra water! I did once; this
causes water spots that won't go away until the
item is washed again.
Good luck!
--
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From the musical keyboard of: **
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Anita K. Laux wbux5!akl * *
Bell Communications Research ****
West Long Branch, NJ 07764 * *
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****ariels@mako.UUCP (Ariel Shattan) (03/31/84)
These are the instructions that came with my silk blouse from Nordstroms: Wash by hand in cold water with a very mild soap -- they recommend Ivory Soap flakes, I used the suds that I rubbed off a bar of Ivory. Rinse in cold water. Fill sink with cold water and add 3-5 Tbls of WHITE VINEGAR (I used about 4 capfuls, I think) (to cancel out the alkalinity of the soap). Rinse blouse in this solution. Drain sink and rinse blouse again in cold water. Squeeze (don't wring) the excess water out of the blouse. Press while still damp with a cool (as opposed to hot or warm) (non-steam) iron until dry. Pressing cloth isn't necessary. Wash different colors separately. If this is too much trouble, or if you don't trust it, I've had good luck with those $1.50 per garment dry cleaners (TLC) that are springing up like mushrooms all over the Portland area.
bev@hlexa.UUCP (Beverly Dyer) (04/05/84)
I'm also interested in other peoples experience - Mine is that silk may shrink drastically if washed by hand, particularly a loose weave. It also wrinkles alot. I'm not sure about iron heat. The safest option is to dry clean.