How To Clean Silk Curtains? Choosing the right way to clean silk curtains can be a complicated task. This type of drapes is delicate and falls easy prey to damage. A recommended solution is dry cleaning, but the high price makes it unaffordable for many homeowners. The good news, you can easily wash the silk curtains by hand at home.
Follow this guideline to avoid ruining your drapes and make them spotlessly clean.
1. Prepare the tub
Place the curtains into the tub and fill it with lukewarm water. Make sure the water covers the drapes fully. Add a mild detergent into the tub and spread it with your hands to ensure it reaches all fabric edges. Allow a few minutes for the soap to form suds and remove the dirt.
2. Hand wash
Once the detergent has thoroughly soaked in the fabric, start hand washing. You should avoid machine washing, as it may damage the delicate fabric. Rub gently the curtains, adding a pinch of extra detergent on tougher stains. Keep yourself from putting much pressure while scrubbing to avoid silk stretching and tearing. Better rub gently repeatedly to exhaust the stain and force it out.
3. Rinse
The next silk curtain cleaning step is rinsing. Drain the soapy water and refill the tub with lukewarm water. Allow the water to cover the entire fabric to ensure it gets as many suds out as possible. You can gently squeeze the drapes to force the soap out, yet don’t exaggerate with the pressure. Your wise choice is to refill the tub with new water again and again until no suds come out anymore.
4. Treat with vinegar
Give your silk curtains a vinegar treatment. Fill the bathtub with lukewarm water and add two tablespoons of vinegar. Agitate the water to allow the vinegar to travel all over the tub. The vinegar has a role in removing bad odors and preventing drapes from discoloring. It is a light and safe substitute for bleach, which would be too harmful to silk.
Gently rub the curtains to allow the vinegar to soak in and take its effect. Do not keep the drapes in water for more than 10 minutes. This will help to prevent overbleaching. Drain the vinegary water and refill the tub with pure water. Rinse the drapes to allow the vinegar smell to go out.
5. Dry
The drying consists of a few steps. First of all, ball up the curtains and squeeze them with motherly care to remove as much water as you can. Do not wring and force the fabric, as it can stretch and ruin it. Since some water has definitely remained inside drapes, you should take an additional step. Place the curtains on large soft towels and roll up the towels so that they can absorb the moisture.
Once the towels get wet, unroll them and remove the silk drapes. Hang the drapes on a washing line to allow them to air dry. Try to choose a shady place to avoid direct contact with the sunlight in case it’s intense. Sunlight can discolor and shrink the delicate fabric, so it’s wiser to stay away from it.
6. Iron
The final step in silk curtain cleaning is ironing. While you can iron them dry too, you are better off doing it when they are slightly wet. This will make it easier for you to remove wrinkles and reshape the fabric. The silk fabric tends to be a bit more versatile and responsive while wet. Iron only the inside of the drapes and avoid iron contact with the silk.
You are good to err on the side of caution and set the device to the lowest temperature setting. This will prevent fabric damage and unwanted accidents.
How To Clean Silk Curtains? – Conclusion
Washing silk drapes is a difficult task due to their delicate nature. While cleaning them at home is possible, you have to be extremely careful and gentle. Make a point of washing only by hand in the sink or in the bathtub depending on the curtain size. Avoid hot water, vigorous rubbing, and wringing, as these practices can damage the fragile material.
When air drying, avoid drapes direct contact with the furious sun. Bring the iron to the lowest heat setting and work only with the inside of the curtains. These tips will help you clean your silk drapes properly without ruining them.