Hi, I hope someone can help me as I was literally in tears when this happened.
On Saturday night I was in a restaurant and a waiter spilled sauce onto my treasured Chasse en Inde cashmere/silk shawl.
There were only a couple of small spots and they immediately fetched a clean damp teatowel which I used to dab it gently to remove the residue. You can just about see where it was, mainly on the black border. The restaurant manager told me to send him the drycleaning bill.
The scarf isn't ruined aesthetically but I'm now paranoid about moths being attracted and until it's cleaned I won't feel happy to wear it. It's not been cleaned before, as it was pristine until this happened.
I phoned H New Bond Street and they told me not to tamper with it further myself but to take it to a trusted drycleaner: the one in London which they specifically recommend is Mr Steeds who say "We use hydro carbon fluid which is much softer and more forgiving than perchloroethylene (the Industry Standard) which gives a gentler clean and keeps your garments fresher and looking like new".
BUT ... I've read the scarf cleaning thread which is pretty against drycleaning, and I'm unsure what to do for the best. I do hate that drycleaned smell and I've also found that silk scarves lose their liveliness when cleaned. But there's no specific advice in that thread about these cashmere shawls.
Would I be better handwashing in cool water with a Colour Catcher and either gentle hair shampoo or a specialist dark wash liquid - would have to be in the bathtub as it's so big. It has black and white, as well as gold, olive and orange so there's a lot of potential for colour runs.
Does anybody have experience of handwashing a shawl, or has anybody used Mr Steeds and can report their experience?
I'd be so grateful for any advice - I'm anxious to do the right thing and I need to act as soon as possible.
On Saturday night I was in a restaurant and a waiter spilled sauce onto my treasured Chasse en Inde cashmere/silk shawl.
There were only a couple of small spots and they immediately fetched a clean damp teatowel which I used to dab it gently to remove the residue. You can just about see where it was, mainly on the black border. The restaurant manager told me to send him the drycleaning bill.
The scarf isn't ruined aesthetically but I'm now paranoid about moths being attracted and until it's cleaned I won't feel happy to wear it. It's not been cleaned before, as it was pristine until this happened.
I phoned H New Bond Street and they told me not to tamper with it further myself but to take it to a trusted drycleaner: the one in London which they specifically recommend is Mr Steeds who say "We use hydro carbon fluid which is much softer and more forgiving than perchloroethylene (the Industry Standard) which gives a gentler clean and keeps your garments fresher and looking like new".
BUT ... I've read the scarf cleaning thread which is pretty against drycleaning, and I'm unsure what to do for the best. I do hate that drycleaned smell and I've also found that silk scarves lose their liveliness when cleaned. But there's no specific advice in that thread about these cashmere shawls.
Would I be better handwashing in cool water with a Colour Catcher and either gentle hair shampoo or a specialist dark wash liquid - would have to be in the bathtub as it's so big. It has black and white, as well as gold, olive and orange so there's a lot of potential for colour runs.
Does anybody have experience of handwashing a shawl, or has anybody used Mr Steeds and can report their experience?
I'd be so grateful for any advice - I'm anxious to do the right thing and I need to act as soon as possible.
