I steam my folds out before wearing and I steam the entire scarf before putting away.
Scarves Cleaning and Caring for Hermès Scarves
- Thread starter dianagrace
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Here's an interesting bit of information. Tonight I brought out the steam iron and was going to steam/press a few scarves for an upcoming event. I started with an old poly/blend scarf that's seen better days. First few minutes went fine, then suddenly the iron was spewing out brown rust liquid. It made a huge mess, leaking rust through the pressing cloth and onto the scarf, and even into the ironing board cover.
We have hard water, and though I always empty the steam chamber after use, probably some moisture and mineral build-up remained, leading to a rusty build-up.
I've read on sewing forums that many avoid using their iron's steam feature for this reason. They stick to using a spritz bottle and a dry iron.
Not sure whether that would be good for silk. Silk doesn't like to be ironed dry. And it doesn't like to be ironed wet. It likes a nice medium that steam provides. Ideally with a pressing cloth to avoid applying heat directly to the silk.
But I do know that from now on I'm going to be avoiding my iron's steam feature for whatever fabric I press.
I've been mulling buying a garment steamer, but worry that it's steam chamber might similarly start spewing rust some day.
We have hard water, and though I always empty the steam chamber after use, probably some moisture and mineral build-up remained, leading to a rusty build-up.
I've read on sewing forums that many avoid using their iron's steam feature for this reason. They stick to using a spritz bottle and a dry iron.
Not sure whether that would be good for silk. Silk doesn't like to be ironed dry. And it doesn't like to be ironed wet. It likes a nice medium that steam provides. Ideally with a pressing cloth to avoid applying heat directly to the silk.
But I do know that from now on I'm going to be avoiding my iron's steam feature for whatever fabric I press.
I've been mulling buying a garment steamer, but worry that it's steam chamber might similarly start spewing rust some day.
I should add that I only use distilled water in my hand held steamer and always cover the head with a cotton cloth. Never had a problem.
Wearing a scarf with folds? I personally can’t do it. lol
You can clean your steam iron with white vinegar. Just let it boil in there and wait for the rust to dissolve.
Always use distilled water to prevent rust. I have learn my lesson too!
Yes, ironing silk with steam seems to work better and it slides better.
But it needs to properly dry because storing after.
Thanks, Steph. I poured white vinegar into the iron's steam chamber and let it sit for the day, then rinsed it out.
I usually use distilled water, but sometimes not. Distilled water can cause a bit of mineral build-up too sometimes.
I think what happened is that my iron's steam chamber and steam holes developed rust in large part because of high humidity in my basement sewing room, exacerbated by the super-high humidity we've been experiencing the past months. I discovered that the pins holding my ironing board cover in place were rusted!
I've been sewing and pressing fabric for 50+ years and this is the first time I've experienced a steam iron exploding with rust.
Everything cleaned up nicely fortunately. I pre-treated the rust stains with Dawn dishwashing detergent, let that sit for a bit, then laundered with Tide. I handwashed the scarf of course. All stains gone. Don't know whether the Dawn pre-treating regimen would be recommended for silk; it can pull up some fabric dyes. I know I would never use Dawn on one of my vintage Gucci scarfs that are prone to bleeding.
I would have freaked if this happened to one of my Hermes scarves. From now on when I iron I'm going to pre-iron other fabric first before ironing a scarf. And I think I'm going to buy a hand-held steamer.
Thanks for all the advice, guys!
I use a freezer size ziplock bag or a lingerie bag.
If wearing a silk scarf on the head/hair, how do you protect it against oils? Like natural oils in the hair, not necessarily hair products.
Actually, silk in itself is resistant to fungi and bacteria growth, also it’s hypoallergenic, and is breathable, basically it shouldn’t encourage excess oils to be produced due to irritation, dryness or hyperthermia. Unless your scarves start to show signs of staining, I would take it to the dry cleaners for routine cleaning, even then I wouldn’t clean it too much, as it is a natural fibre, any excessive exposure to solvents and water will start breaking down the protein.
That’s why you should make sure you don’t get your silks wet too, oils are fine as long as you air them out and not keep them in the boxes as the tissue paper and cardboard are prone to growing mould!
I have silk drawstring bags that came with some Ashley Ashoff scarves I have so use them when traveling and when carrying a shawl or scarf in my handbag.
Echoing other members. Ziploc bags are the best - as they protect your scarves in suitcases or bags. You can you either quarter size for 90 (which fits 90 perfectly) or jumbo size for shawls.
Where do you store them then, if you don't keep them in the paper / boxes?
I usually travel with just one scarf and tend to wear it, but should I take a second one or not wear it for some reason, I think I would put it together with my clothes in a Muji organiser or a nylon pocket inside my luggage or inside a purse if I'm bringing one