Silk bow tie is made from a natural protein fiber that is extracted from the cocoons. Silk is a delicate material so it must be handled gently. The ultra violet ray from the sunlight will cause discoloration on the silk bow tie. A substance that contains alcohol also has a damaging effect on the silk bow tie.
If the bow tie is stained, you must first clean it before washing it. For light stains, you can use a washcloth to clean them away. You can use any waste cloth as a washcloth. You should dampen the cloth with tepid water. After you have wet the cloth thoroughly, you can use it to rub the dirty area. You must not rub against it too harshly because it will damage it. On average, rubbing 2 – 3 times will be sufficient to clean the stained area. If the stain is still not removed, you can consult your dry cleaner. Like other materials, you cannot use bleach on the silk because it will cause the color to fade away. The discoloration caused by the bleach will not recover no matter what detergent you use.
Hand washing is the recommended mode for washing silk bow tie. If you use the washing machine, there is a tendency that the silk bow tie will shrink. The water should not be hard. To solve hard water problem, you can add borax to the water. Lukewarm water is suitable for washing silk fabric. The detergent must not be too strong otherwise it can ruin the fiber of the fabric. Some of the mild detergents which you can use include ivory liquid, and soap that does not contain alkali.
During rinsing, you can add a few teaspoons of hair conditioner to the water. The hair conditioner will make the silk bow tie have a silkier feel. Brighteners can damage silk so you should avoid it. When it is washed, you can wrap it in a dry and clean cotton towel. The cotton towel will absorb the water on the dampened silk. You should never wring the silk bow tie.
If you want to use washing machine, make sure you adjust it to delicate cycle. The spinning option should be set to the shortest spin cycle. You can use a mesh bag to protect the silk fabric. You can wash different colors of silk bow ties in separate wash. For example, if you have white and black bow ties, you should wash them in separate washing machine cycle. If you wash them together, the color of the black bow ties will have an impact on the white bow tie.
After rinsing the bow tie, you can hang it overnight to let it dry. Sometimes, there are wrinkles on the washed silk. Normally, the wrinkle will disappear when it become dried. If it does not disappear, you can use an iron to press on it. The iron should be set to cool setting. If you have a dryer, you can put the silk bow tie in it. The heat in the dryer can damage the silk so you have to adjust it to the heatless air fluff setting.
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The Bow Tie Lady is the author of this article on Bow Ties .
The Bow Tie Lady is the author of this article on Fraternity Bow Ties .
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