Saving Your Silk - Proper Care For Mens Ties

Silk is widely recognized as one of the finest, most precious and most prized fabrics known to mankind. It is used in nothing but the priciest and most exquisite shirts, ties and pants, and silk articles of clothing are often thought of as investments instead of merely purchases. If you have any silk items yourself, it won't be surprising if you want to take care of them and make them last as long as possible. Here are a few tips that should come in handy when making this most delicate of fabrics last decades.

Sweat vs. Silk
You may not realize it, but one of the worst enemies of silk is actually produced by your very own body. Aside from being slightly unhygienic and embarrassing, sweat can permanently ruin your silk shirt by leaving behind a stain, a sour smell or worst of all both.

Don't ever dare to wear your silk shirt without a protective undergarment (like a medium or thick undershirt) or sweat pads for your underarms, which is where the worst of sweating happens. If you will wear an undershirt, applying antiperspirant (and not just deodorant) would be a good idea as an additional preventive measure. The important thing isn't necessarily to stop your body from sweating, but just to keep the sweat from coming into direct contact with the fabric of your shirt.

Silk Care 101
Although silk is always classified as a luxury fabric, there's a very different protocol for taking care of it than the one you'd typically use for other expensive textiles. Whereas luxury items, designer pieces and premium clothing usually have to be dry-cleaned, the dry cleaner's is the last place where you'd want to send your silk items. The special chemicals they use for dry cleaning is very potent, too strong for the delicate threads of silk. Dry cleaning your silk items will just leave them permanently ruined.

If you are going to have your silk items cleaned, request that they be hand washed in lukewarm to warm water with mild detergent. Hand washing is much gentler than machine washing, and so should help maintain the shape and form of your silk items for longer. The temperature of the water will also aid in keeping the fabric from getting stretched or warped.

Storing Silk
Even in storage, silk is one of the most delicate and finicky fabrics you could handle. Silk items are not to be hung for long because it will tend to stretch and warp over time. It is recommended that you just fold your silk items and then store them in a drawer or closet, taking care not to place any heavy items like wool on top of them.

Once you are ready to wear your silk items, don't use a flat iron to prepare your silk items. Direct heat tends to make the fabric warp easily. Besides, silk is a relatively thin and delicate fabric which can be easily burned by the direct heat applied by flat irons. If you have the equipment, steam your silk items down to get out all the wrinkles from storage.

When you are buying anything made of silk, be sure to ask the maker or the retailer about the proper method of caring for the item. For all its beauty, silk is very, very delicate, so you should treat it accordingly.

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