This guide was written by the Rinse team with fabric care expert Dan Eisen.
Introduction
You spent more time than you care to admit this morning picking out the perfect outfit. At the center of your ensemble is that silk top you just bought after eyeing it for weeks. You're on the way to the office, coffee in hand, and ready to face whatever the day brings… uh oh... you spilled coffee all over yourself… the day is officially over.
If the above is a recurring theme in your life, or you just happen to have silk clothes that you want to take care of properly, this guide is for you.
Silk fabric is a luxury – a delicate one. This means that it requires special care and attention when cleaning and removing stains. Doing so ensures odors don't set in and the fabric's integrity and shape are kept – ensuring garment longevity.
Fabric care expert Dan Eisen makes the case that prompt, careful cleaning does not shorten a silk garment's life but extends it, because it removes the things that quietly degrade the fiber. The chloride salts in perspiration, deodorant, food, and many drinks break silk down over time, and alcohol spills oxidize and cause permanent color loss. A stain left sitting on silk is not only a cosmetic problem, which is why acting quickly and gently matters so much here.
5 Tips to Get Stains Out of Silk
Here are a few important practices to employ when removing stains from your silk clothing:
Use Gentle Cleaning Methods
Water stains (juice, coffee) require mild solutions – laundry detergent or gentle soap diluted in water will suffice. There is no need for harsher methods or chemicals (don't use bleach) at this time. Keep ammonia, alcohol, and household bleach away from silk too. Any of the three can strip color or damage the fiber.
Test in an Unseen Area
Start any cleaning method (whether you're using a stain remover, laundry detergent, vinegar, etc.) in a small, unseen part of the garment as a test. Known as a colorfastness test, check for any discoloration, fading, bleeding, or damage to the fibers. A reliable way to run it: press a damp cloth with a little mild detergent onto a hidden spot and see whether any color lifts onto the cloth.
Treat Tougher Stains with Vinegar
If detergent or soap were a no-go in removing stains, try white vinegar. Create an equal parts mix consisting of water and vinegar. Dab the stain, leave it for a few minutes, and then blot with a clean cloth (more on this technique below).
Using Talcum Powder for Oil Stains
In the unfortunate scenario that your silk shirt is stained with oil, try applying talcum powder (or cornstarch) to the stain. Let it rest and absorb for a few hours (ideally, leave it overnight). Make sure to gently brush it off afterward.
Seek Professional Cleaning Services for Stubborn Stains
Think of your immediate reaction to the stain the equivalent of a paramedic. The dry cleaner will be the hospital to get your garment back to full health. Chances are your stain is small and comes off with your quick actions (if so, great!). However, it is more likely that the stain will be stubborn and not want to leave.
If this is the case, a visit to your professional dry cleaner is in store.
How to Get Stains Out of Silk in 4 Easy Steps
Armed with the above tips, we will go through the actual step-by-step process of removing stains from your beautiful silk:
Wipe, Don’t Press
Use a damp cloth or towel to gently wipe or blot the stain. Be careful not to apply too much pressure to the stained area, as this may cause the stain to set faster by pushing it further into the silk fibers. Eisen adds two refinements the pros use on silk: work from the reverse side of the fabric, and blot or dab rather than rub, since rubbing chafes the silk fiber and can leave a permanent loss of color.
The faster you act, the more efficient the treatment will be – try to avoid having the stain set.
Keep the Garment Away from Heat and Sunlight
After you're over your "oh crap" moment, the next thing to do is reduce the stain's exposure to natural and artificial light and heat until you can get it to the dry cleaners. Ideally, you’d want to take the garment off as quickly as possible, because even your body heat can further set the stain.
That said, if you’re in public, we recommend toughing it out until you find a suitable place to change into your second outfit choice. Once you’ve changed, the best thing you can do is hang the garment up. If that isn't possible, place it gently into a laundry bag and try to avoid allowing the stain to come in contact with the clean portion of the shirt or other garments.
In addition, make sure to use cool water – hot water will likely damage the fabric (lukewarm water is okay).
Bring the Garment to a Professional Cleaner
Silk isn’t something you want to attempt to clean at home. A professional cleaner works with a range of targeted solvents, tannin removers, vegetable-based products, and hydrogen peroxide among them, and with the right information can lift a stain without the heat, pressure, or harsh detergents that would compromise the fabric. Some silks should not be washed at all. Eisen points out that silk crepe shrinks because of its tightly twisted yarns, and bright, vivid colors can bleed in water.
Give Your Cleaner as Much Detail as Possible
Information is power for your cleaner. It is critical for the cleaner to know what type of stain is on the garment (what and when it happened). Your dry cleaner removes stains based on what specific substance was introduced into the fabric.
While it might seem like unnecessary information, the treatment is different if you spilled plain coffee vs. coffee with cream and sugar. Specifically, since creamers contain dairy and coffee alone does not. The cleaner would use a protein stain remover for the milk and vegetable tannin stain remover for the coffee. Even the slightest detail can help the cleaner remove the stain completely. The more specific you are about the source of the stain, the better chance the cleaner has to remove the stain entirely.
Keep Stains Away from Your Silk Clothes with Rinse
Let us leave you with one final recommendation. After the initial shock of discovering a stain on your silk clothing, recovering from that, and following our guide to treating it, the last part is taking the garment to a professional cleaner.
Sure, you can go to a local dry cleaner, or you could try a proven professional service, Rinse. We have methods built up over years of handling silk, so a stained piece is treated with the care the fabric needs.
We also pick up and deliver right to your home, 7 days a week, and you don't even need to be home. Beyond dry cleaning, our Wash & Fold service can handle the rest of your laundry, so caring for your silk stays a part of how you keep your wardrobe ready.
Contact us at Rinse today to see our skill in action.
About the expert: Dan Eisen
Dan Eisen is a fabric care expert with more than 35 years in garment analysis and stain removal. He founded the International Independent Garment Analysis Service and served as Chief Garment Analyst for the National Cleaners Association from 1968 to 2001.
He co-founded the East Coast School of Dry Cleaning and was Assistant Director of the New York School of Dry Cleaning. He has lectured at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Marymount College, and has consulted on textile care for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Elliott Museum in Florida.
His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsday, and he has appeared on David Letterman and CNN. He has cared for garments belonging to public figures including Barbra Streisand, Glenn Close, and Colonel Harland Sanders, writes regularly for National Clothesline and Korean Monthly, holds two patents, and continues to consult on commercial, industrial, insurance, and legal cases worldwide.
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