How to Wash Silk

Silk has a reputation for being difficult to care for. That is not entirely accurate.

Most of what people believe about washing silk comes from an era when dry cleaning was the default answer for anything that was not cotton. Silk is a protein fiber, closer in behavior to hair than to linen, and it responds well to the same things hair responds well to: cool water, gentle detergent, and no rough handling. Treated that way, it lasts for years.

Here is how to wash it, and what to leave alone:

 

Before you wash

Check the care label first. Some silk is finished or dyed in ways that genuinely require dry cleaning, and the label will say so. Everything below applies to washable mulberry silk, which is what most silk accessories are made from.

If a piece is new and deeply colored, test for colorfastness once. Dampen a hidden corner with cool water, press it against a white cloth, and check for transfer. This takes a minute and saves a great deal of regret.

Wash silk with silk. Keep it away from zips, hooks, denim, and anything with a rough weave, all of which will pull threads.

 

Hand washing

Hand washing is the gentlest method and the one worth using for anything you care about.

Fill a basin with cool water. Cool, not warm. Heat is what shrinks silk and dulls its surface, and there is no washing task that requires it.

Add a small amount of a gentle, pH-neutral detergent. Detergents made for wool or delicates work well. Avoid anything containing bleach, brighteners, or enzymes, all of which break down protein fibers over time.

Submerge the piece and move it through the water with your hands for three to five minutes. Do not scrub, twist, or wring. Silk is strong when dry and weaker when wet, so wet silk should be handled as little as possible.

Rinse in clean cool water until no detergent remains. If the piece feels slippery, rinse again.

 

Machine washing

Machine washing is acceptable for most silk accessories.

Place the item in a mesh laundry bag. This is not optional. The bag prevents the piece from wrapping around other items or catching in the drum.

Use the delicate or hand wash cycle, cold water, and the lowest available spin speed. Add a gentle detergent, and keep the load small.

For a silk pillowcase, this is worth doing regularly. A pillowcase is a functional item, and the point of it is that you actually use and wash it, rather than treating it as something precious.

Drying

Never put silk in a tumble dryer. Heat and mechanical action together are what destroy it.

Press the water out gently between your hands, or lay the piece flat on a clean towel and roll the towel to absorb moisture. Do not wring.

Then lay flat or hang to dry, out of direct sunlight. Sunlight fades dyes over time, and this is the most common reason a deeply colored silk piece looks tired after a year. Shade and airflow are all it needs.

Silk dries quickly. A scrunchie is usually dry within a few hours.

 

Ironing

Most silk accessories do not need ironing. If yours does, iron it on the reverse side, on the lowest heat setting, while the fabric is still slightly damp.

Never press a dry crease at high heat. That is how you get a permanent shine mark, which cannot be undone.

 

A short list

Do wash in cool water. Do use a gentle, pH-neutral detergent. Do use a mesh bag in the machine. Do dry flat, in shade. Do iron cool, on the reverse.

Do not use bleach. Do not tumble dry. Do not wring or twist. Do not dry in direct sun. Do not wash silk with heavy or rough items.

 

Notes for specific pieces

Scrunchies. The elastic core is not silk. Cool water protects the elastic as well as the silk. Hot water is what makes elastic go slack.

Eye masks. Wash by hand where possible, and always dry flat rather than hanging, so the shape stays true.

Pillowcases. Wash roughly as often as you would wash a cotton pillowcase. There is no benefit to washing silk less; there is only a benefit to washing it gently.

 

Why the material rewards this

Grade 6A mulberry silk is made from long, even threads with few joins. That long, continuous structure is what gives silk a smooth surface, and it is also what makes it durable when handled well and vulnerable when handled roughly.

At 22-momme, a considered middle weight, silk has enough substance to hold up to regular washing. Thinner silks wear out faster because there is simply less material to work with.

Cared for this way, silk softens over time rather than wearing out.

 

For the full care guide, see Caring for Your Silk.