Washing silk in a washing machine

Washing silk in a washing machine Silk is a rather finicky fabric, especially when it comes to natural fabric. In order for your favorite item to last for a long time, you need to follow the basic rules for caring for this delicate material. Of course, in such a situation, manual cleaning would be preferable. If you decide to wash silk in a washing machine, you need to act very carefully and understand the possible risks. Let's figure out the safest way to refresh silk underwear.

General requirements

Having decided to “refresh” a silk product, you need to find out what specific material the item is made from. All information is indicated on the label. If it is natural silk, to clean it you will have to select special products with a neutral PH. When it comes to artificial fibers, you can use regular soap or transparent white shampoo for washing. You can preserve the properties and appearance of silk items for a long time if you wash them according to the following rules:

First, be sure to soak the silk for 15-20 minutes in a soapy solution. Due to this, stains are washed off without effort;
It is allowed to immerse silk underwear only in cool water heated to no more than 40°C;
it is advisable to rinse silk in boiled and cooled water;
It is better to add an antistatic agent and softener to the water;
spinning silk items is strictly prohibited;
Do not wash the fabric - the material may be damaged.

When washing silk, it is very important to observe the temperature regime. Usually the label of the item indicates at what degree cleaning is allowed. If there is no data on the tag, it means that the product cannot be immersed in water hotter than 40°C.

Bright silk items should be washed in water heated to no more than 30°C to prevent the item from fading.

Do not wash silk in hard water. It can be softened with baking soda - at the rate of 10 grams per 1 liter of liquid. You can add sodium bicarbonate directly to the basin during hand washing or to the powder compartment of an automatic washing machine.

“Introducing” silk to a machine gun

In fact, in most cases, both natural and synthetic silk can be washed in an automatic washing machine. It is only important to follow a few rules. If you strictly follow the recommendations, maintaining the appearance of things will not be so difficult.

Silk items should be washed in special mesh bags, which are sold in any hardware department. You can put the products in an old light pillowcase.
It is better to use gel-based cleaners designed specifically for delicate fabrics. Make sure that the gel does not contain bleaching particles or other aggressive components.
You need to choose the “Silk” program. When such a mode is not recorded in the intellect, it is possible to run the “Delicate” cycle.
Maximum heating of water to a temperature of 30-40°C.
Be sure to disable the spin option. Otherwise, the silk item will lose its shape.
After the cycle has completed, immediately remove the laundry from the drum. The longer it sits in the washing machine, the deeper the creases in the material will be.

You can also wash blankets and pillows with silk filling in an automatic machine. These products cannot be soaked; the material may deteriorate due to prolonged contact with water.

Pillows and blankets must also be first placed in a mesh bag and only then loaded into the drum.The program will be the same: “Silk” or “Delicate”. In this case, it is allowed to connect the spin at a speed of no more than 400 rpm. Afterwards, you can put a blanket with silk filling in a vinegar solution (0.5 teaspoon of essence per 5 liters of water). Using this procedure, it will be possible to restore the product to its former elasticity.

Preventing shrinkage

Natural silk fabric can shrink by approximately 5% after washing. This is an acceptable norm. Artificial fabric “shrinks” even more. Therefore, it is so important to observe the temperature regime, not immersing such clothing in water hotter than 40°C.

Therefore, if it is fundamentally important for you to maintain the size of the item, wash and rinse it exclusively in cold water. You also need to dry silk correctly - pat it dry with a cotton towel and lay it out on the countertop. Silk items should be ironed slightly damp.

Item needs to be reduced

If it is necessary for a silk item to shrink, you can wash it in slightly warmer water, at a temperature of 45°C. To do this, fill the basin with the required amount of liquid and rinse the laundry. Most machines do not have a program that provides for such heating, so you will have to clean the item manually. sat down silk item

Another way to shrink a blouse or dress is to hang the item to dry in direct sunlight. This method is not suitable for colored clothes - they may lose their brightness.

Traditional way of care

Most housewives still prefer to wash silk by hand. This cleaning method is more gentle. It is advisable to fill the basin with boiled water, cooled to 30-40°C. Dissolve the gel or soap in the liquid and mix the solution well so that the detergent does not settle at the bottom of the container.

When cleaning silk, it is prohibited to use detergents containing aggressive components and bleaches.

After diluting liquid soap or silk gel in water, immerse your items in it. The products should be soaked for 15-20 minutes, during which time the dirt will “move away” from the fibers. When washing by hand, it is forbidden to forcefully rub or crumple the fabric, much less twist it during spinning.

You can remove excess water from the material using sweeping movements. It is also possible to blot the silk with a cotton sheet. The item is dried in a horizontal position. There is one secret - it is better to wash colored silk in potato broth. Simply boil the peeled potatoes, then remove the vegetables from the pan and cool the water to 30-40°C. Place things in cool liquid and leave them for a couple of hours.

Then you need to remove the silk from the pan, pour 2 tablespoons of medical ethyl alcohol into the broth and immerse the products inside again. After finishing washing, rinse the laundry in cool water and lay it out to dry. Table vinegar helps colored silk items not lose their brightness. A spoonful of essence should be poured into the water when rinsing clothes. This life hack helps preserve the original “juicy” shade of the fabric.

What powder should I use?

For silk linen, it is better to use liquid cleaning compounds. Washing powder should not be used - the granules do not dissolve well in cool water and are not completely washed out of the fibers.

It is advisable to buy a gel for cleaning silk fabrics that does not contain chlorine and other aggressive components.

Excellent results are obtained by using the following compositions:

gel “Laska. Wool and silk." Designed for cleaning “cranky” fabrics.The special formula takes care of things in three directions at once: removing dirt, preserving color and preventing deformation;
liquid "Eared nanny". Suitable for washing children's linen and items for allergy sufferers. The gel very carefully washes silk products without harming the fibers of the fabric;
Silk. Prevents fabric deformation, softens the material, and effectively copes with dirt even in cold water. It is completely rinsed out of the fibers;
Balm “Prosept Crystal” for silk and wool. The product does not contain phosphates, is considered biodegradable, and retains the shape of fabric fibers.

If you don’t have a special product on hand, you can use regular clear soap or clear shampoo. It is important that the composition is non-alkaline. It is prohibited to use bleaches and stain removers when washing silk.