I both handwash and machinewash my scarfs. Depending on the stain. Sometimes I only apply some handdishwasher with a Q-tip to a little spot. No problem at all.Happy washing to all!
Scarves Cleaning and Caring for Hermès Scarves
- Thread starter dianagrace
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
It does look like it came from (not so good) washing technique since the fold (wrinkle) lines go in to the white areas. Do you know just how vintage this is? Pre 1980? Does it still have a care tag by chance? Without knowing more about the age, I'd be inclined to caution.
I know I have gotten some uneven areas like this when I washed Dip Dyes, and then have to start all over. I think it is color moving around and drying patchy, but not *quite* color run (yet). On my DDs I just started all over and dried faster (ironing). But I'm inclined to more caution in this case since it's not a DD and you do have that black to white area.
If I had this scarf, and depending on how desperate I was, I might try laying it flat and spritzing the border damp and ironing to see if that helped at all to even it back out.
I'd try that too - spritz the border (that particular area) and blot before ironing.. it looks a little like soap that wasn't completely rinsed out?
Yes! definitely spritz and blot and try to get the border evenly damp where you want to fix. Iron on silk setting. But you want to get it dry as fast as you can to keep it from making water marks.
How old is the scarf and what kind is it Pampelmuse? You can easily spot clean a CSGM and sometimes a mousse, but silk twills usually have to get a full dunk. Getting a spot out without making a watermark is hard to do on twill ( at least for me).
Not really sure how old it is, I belive the 80s. I just received it. I washed it in cold water and ironed it while still moist, hoping that would help but it looks the same, didn''t help. I could imaging that the preowner washed it in the washing machine and didn't lay it flat straight after.
Thanks, bunnycat. It is a preloved scarf that I might buy. I haven’t seen it irl.
I have not washed my "wash" scarf yet, but I have washed many of my silk twill 90 scarves. When I do wash my "wash" scarf, I will follow the same steps:
I thoroughly clean my sink, then fill it with cold water and a bit of gentle detergent for delicates.
Submerge the whole scarf (one at a time), then swish, swish swish.
Rinse under cold running water, and gently wring excess water.
To dry, lay a clean bath towel out, and lay the scarf flat on top, smoothing to reduce wrinkling. Roll the towel and the scarf up, and hang it over a stair railing or clothes horse overnight. The scarf will come out dry and fairly smooth. Iron on low heat, being careful not to flatten the hems.
Thanks @Toronto Carre , your description is how I normally wash my scarves. I will fall back on the tried and true, if I don't feel brave enough to put it in the washing machine
I have to say: I have been washing my scarves with the advice you all gave in this thread. I use Laundress detergent, sausage roll the scarves in a towel and let them air dry. I purchased about five vintage H scarves (including an old Ex Libris!) at a Paris auction recently. Each had some issues: smudges, perfume smell and, in general, washing in this manner worked.
Thank you, all, for the great advice!
Thank you, all, for the great advice!
If it's any use, I can only say I've machine-washed my dip-dye, it's similar to the Wash but thinner material. I washed it that way is because it's light grey and hand-washing didn't get some makeup off it repeatedly. I just put it on wool/silk at 20C (no idea in Fahrenheit). It was 100% fine (looking at it on my bed right now) although I had to repeat twice to get the stains out properly.
The Wash (like DDs) have already been through a washing machine anyway. My theory is, although the process makes them washing machine friendly, the process 'bruises' silk fibres and makes them more susceptible to grease, dirt or dust and then the stain adheres. Because of this, DDs and Wash scarves of any shade, should be washed more often anyway to avoid the drama I went through.
If there are no stains on your Wash, of course still better to to hand wash
.
I've found this thread super helpful! For slightly stubborn stains like makeup I use Dawn dish soap and gently coax the stain out (I've only done this for silks though, they've all come out as long as I treat them right away)....I put my iron on steam mode to iron when the scarves as still a bit damp. I do like the Laundress soap for my silk and CSGMs.
Agree with bunny - dye leached out during cleaning ?
Lots of people - there are photos of their endeavors - see gray rinse waters, think dirt , and wash again
That is dye not dirt - loss of dye can make black grayish
Lots of people - there are photos of their endeavors - see gray rinse waters, think dirt , and wash again
That is dye not dirt - loss of dye can make black grayish
Thanks! Good to know. Nervous about the machine tho ... I’ll probably try hand washing first.If it's any use, I can only say I've machine-washed my dip-dye, it's similar to the Wash but thinner material. I washed it that way is because it's light grey and hand-washing didn't get some makeup off it repeatedly. I just put it on wool/silk at 20C (no idea in Fahrenheit). It was 100% fine (looking at it on my bed right now) although I had to repeat twice to get the stains out properly.
The Wash (like DDs) have already been through a washing machine anyway. My theory is, although the process makes them washing machine friendly, the process 'bruises' silk fibres and makes them more susceptible to grease, dirt or dust and then the stain adheres. Because of this, DDs and Wash scarves of any shade, should be washed more often anyway to avoid the drama I went through.
If there are no stains on your Wash, of course still better to to hand wash