Scarves Cleaning and Caring for Hermès Scarves

[marietouchet]

On small greasy spots , I pre treat with. A stain remover like shout , pour some on the spot , mush around a bit , let sit for no more than 5 min
If you try hard and are careful , you can then rinse just the spot , not the whole scarf
Greasy Makeup often will not come out tho
If not a valuable find try ito wash out or send to cleaners if a valuable treasure

 

[marietouchet]

Alternate approach to avoid makeup stains is to fold along the other bias so the makeup does not show

 

[marietouchet]

I retread my last post which I can no longer edit ... That sounds like such a stupid suggestion on my part but I recently suggested that to someone else , she had not thought of that and was eternally grateful for the idea ...

 

[dhfwu]

I think a lot depends on how old the scarf is. There are issues of dyes running on the older ones. Also, I read here recently that when all else fails, a mixture of Dawn and hydrogen peroxide (not sure of proportions) can fix just about anything. I can vouch for resiliency after a balsamic vinaigrette splatter (naturally on the white parts) and some serious cleaning with Dawn. It's like new.

But I defer to the real experts....

Thanks, Pirula. The scarf is only a few years old so the dye probably isn't an issue, but the makeup stain is on a navy blue region. Any mistakes would show. Maybe it would be fine, but as a newbie, I'm paranoid about the unknown.

On small greasy spots , I pre treat with. A stain remover like shout , pour some on the spot , mush around a bit , let sit for no more than 5 min
If you try hard and are careful , you can then rinse just the spot , not the whole scarf
Greasy Makeup often will not come out tho
If not a valuable find try ito wash out or send to cleaners if a valuable treasure

Alternate approach to avoid makeup stains is to fold along the other bias so the makeup does not show

Thanks, marietouchet. I played with the scarf and found some ways to fold it to hide the stain. I'm also asking a fellow local H lover for referrals to dry cleaners who won't flatten the hems flat. Hopefully something will turn up.

 

[dooneybaby]

I suspect that at least some of the current dyes are still water soluble but run less than the old ones say 1970s or earlier
But a lot depends on how you wash it ... No extended soaking

Even the newer scarves can be a problem if you're not careful. I ended up slightly damaging my purple Tendresse Feline by trying to rub out a slight oil stain along the boarder. Even though I used The Laundress gentle wash, I rubbed out some of the color.
I'll never rub again!

 

[Mininana]

Even the newer scarves can be a problem if you're not careful. I ended up slightly damaging my purple Tendresse Feline by trying to rub out a slight oil stain along the boarder. Even though I used The Laundress gentle wash, I rubbed out some of the color.
I'll never rub again!

I'm sure this has been suggested/written already but the Sa at FSH told my friend to never rub. Just fill the sink with cold water, add baby shampoo, put the scarf in, gently move the scarf around, let cold water run to rinse and hang as is to dry. I've done this with my non H scarves (some equally as expensive, just non H lol) and it worked just fine...


One of my stains refused to go away so I had to wash a couple times, even by applying the baby shampoo directly onto the stain and it eventually went away.

 

[marietouchet]

On small greasy spots , I pre treat with. A stain remover like shout , pour some on the spot , mush around a bit , let sit for no more than 5 min
If you try hard and are careful , you can then rinse just the spot , not the whole scarf
Greasy Makeup often will not come out tho
If not a valuable find try ito wash out or send to cleaners if a valuable treasure

Agree with everyone else , minimize - avoid mushing around stain treatment just let it sit for as a short a time as possible

 

[Mininana]

My twillies were looking filthy after using the bag about 10 times. It's a surprise because I don't even hand carry that much. On to the car, park at work, bag stays in a chair the whole day and back home.

Anyway, I used baby shampoo and they are drying right now. No color bleeding and waiting for them to dry

 

[undeuxtrois]

Who has ever washed a giant silk scarf (140)?
Some special issues to keep in mind or tips?[emoji3]

 

[purplepoodles]

Who has ever washed a giant silk scarf (140)?
Some special issues to keep in mind or tips?[emoji3]

Same way as with a 90 cm scarf. I spread mine flat to dry on a long wide chrome drying rack. There is a bit of an overhang on the narrower sides so I turn the shawl 90 degrees when it is partially dry. GENTLY pull the seams back into shape maybe a couple of times. Then when it is almost dry press on both side to get the sheen back. Don't iron the hems.

I do the same with my scgm shawls.

Good luck and please report back.

 

[undeuxtrois]

Same way as with a 90 cm scarf. I spread mine flat to dry on a long wide chrome drying rack. There is a bit of an overhang on the narrower sides so I turn the shawl 90 degrees when it is partially dry. GENTLY pull the seams back into shape maybe a couple of times. Then when it is almost dry press on both side to get the sheen back. Don't iron the hems.

I do the same with my scgm shawls.

Good luck and please report back.

Thank you very much - I will give it a try soon...!

 

[purplepoodles]

Thank you very much - I will give it a try soon...!

If you have washed a regular sized scarf you will do just fine. Try to dry your gm so no parts of the silk are touching. It's unlightly that there will be any dye transfer with current Hermes dyes but it always smart to be cautious.

 

[Pautinka]

Just FYI for anybody interested. I took delivery today of a 1967 Les Roues du Canon in burgundy. A beautiful scarf with sumptuous deep colouring. It came with a stain in the lower right corner, which I knew about but oh God! The smell!!!! It stank of stale perfume to the extent that I was gagging. Anyway, I tried to get rid of the stain first and stupidly used a cotton bud which wore a tiny hole into the fabric. Grrrr! So, I thought to myself that I had nothing to lose by washing it as I would never wear it with a stink like that to it. I don't think fresh air would have helped or, if it could, it would have had to hang outside for weeks! I filled a clean basin with coolish water, added a little baby shampoo (apparently silk is protein, just like hair) and swirled it round and round. As soon as I saw the tiniest bit of pink in the water I pulled it out and plunged it into a bucket of cold water with a tiny bit of ammonia in it (the ammonia was to neutralise any remaining odour) then swirled again in pure cold water. I rolled it in a bath towel and then gently ironed it on the lowest setting (not touching the edges). It has worked wonders, doesn't smell and didn't run at all. It didn't get out the biggest stain but it has reduced it and I think that, for a fifty - year old scarf it doesn't look bad at all. All I would like to know is should I repair the hole? I have posted a couple of pics. I am hust delighted that I can wear it!

 

[EmileH]

Just FYI for anybody interested. I took delivery today of a 1967 Les Roues du Canon in burgundy. A beautiful scarf with sumptuous deep colouring. It came with a stain in the lower right corner, which I knew about but oh God! The smell!!!! It stank of stale perfume to the extent that I was gagging. Anyway, I tried to get rid of the stain first and stupidly used a cotton bud which wore a tiny hole into the fabric. Grrrr! So, I thought to myself that I had nothing to lose by washing it as I would never wear it with a stink like that to it. I don't think fresh air would have helped or, if it could, it would have had to hang outside for weeks! I filled a clean basin with coolish water, added a little baby shampoo (apparently silk is protein, just like hair) and swirled it round and round. As soon as I saw the tiniest bit of pink in the water I pulled it out and plunged it into a bucket of cold water with a tiny bit of ammonia in it (the ammonia was to neutralise any remaining odour) then swirled again in pure cold water. I rolled it in a bath towel and then gently ironed it on the lowest setting (not touching the edges). It has worked wonders, doesn't smell and didn't run at all. It didn't get out the biggest stain but it has reduced it and I think that, for a fifty - year old scarf it doesn't look bad at all. All I would like to know is should I repair the hole? I have posted a couple of pics. I am hust delighted that I can wear it!

Beautiful scarf. I think you are just going to have to tie it so that corner doesn't show. Since its symmetric that should be easy to do right?

 

[Pautinka]

Beautiful scarf. I think you are just going to have to tie it so that corner doesn't show. Since its symmetric that should be easy to do right?

Yes I should be able to hide it easily enough. I am just worried the hole may grow if I don't attend to it. Thank you - I am so happy it is now clean and not smelly!! [emoji4] [emoji4]