Yes, you can safely wash silk scarves. Yes, you can even wash Hermès scarves. There's no need to pass out at the very thought.

I'll put in this disclaimer: I don't do this rather nervewracking kind of laundry more often than I have to. But sometimes (like when you're at dinner and somebody manages to get food or drink on your scarf), you simply have no choice. You must do something quickly to save your scarf. And at other times you notice that a scarf simply needs freshening up, but you can't be bothered taking it to the dry cleaners' just for that.

At such times, yes, wash your scarf -- with care. There is one good online guide to this art on eBay: geoff.clarke's scarf- handwashing guide. (And I will second something that he mentions: in older scarves, especially pre-1970's scarves, the darker dyes can be dangerously volatile, and may run if water gets anywhere near them. So be warned Also, avoid brand-name spot removers: there's no telling how they'll react with your scarf's silk or dyes.)

And here let me add the inevitable general disclaimer: If you take any advice I give you here, and something goes wrong, you are the only one responsible, and the State Department (as they say on Mission: Impossible) will certainly disavow any knowledge of your actions. And so will I. So think before you act.

As I said, Geoff's advice about general washing is good, and I've followed it numerous times without any ill effects (I have quite a few Hermès scarves, almost all of post-1970's vintage). But let's also consider those emergency moments that may strike, say, at the restaurant (since for the moment I'll assume that you're not wearing a really good scarf while you're out  gardening or doing the dishes). These emergencies tend to break down into (a) stains without grease and (b) stains with it.

Group (a) stains are bad enough. Why is it always the red wine that splashes on a light-colored scarf, and not the white? ...Never mind. Make your excuses, get to the ladies' room and rinse the scarf very very well in cold water. Squeeze the water gently out of it and then get it as dry as you can. If paper towels are present, pat the scarf as dry as you can and press the water out of it. If there's one of those cloth roller-towel machines, fold the scarf up, place it between layers of hte cloth towel, and press more water out. Don't wring! Then fold the scarf up, wrap it in some more towels and stow it somewhere safe until you can get it home and give it a full wash using Geoff's instructions. (While you're thinking of it, ask the restaurant for a plastic bag to put it in. They might have one.)

If you've been hit by sauce or something else that fits into group (b), head for the ladies' room just as fast, and this time -- being careful about your rinsing so as to keep the grease from spreading -- after carefully wetting, use a liquid hand soap sparingly on the stained spot. Don't rub it too hard, just try to soak it well in and rinse it well out. Then put the scarf away as suggested above and give it your full attention as soon as you get home.

In both cases, if you move fast enough, you can get the stain out completely. But do move fast. This isn't one of those things you can put off until later.

One other word (which also has a little to do with that hand soap in the ladies' room). Do NOT NOT NOT use bar soap, indeed any soap, on a silk scarf. And take a close look at the stuff in the little pumpy jar or whatever in the ladies' room to see if it's soap or detergent. Ideally, it's detergent you want. Soap is going to damage silk, no matter how many cute babies the soap company puts on its packaging, no matter how many times they write "delicate" or "gentle" or "kind" on it. Remember the phrase "soap scum"? Remember the phrase "bathtub ring"? That's what's going to wind up on your scarf -- either leaving an unremovable thin scummy skin on the fibers, or otherwise damaging them (remember that all soap is, at the most basic level, an unholy marriage between something fatty and something caustic. The caustic element will attack the dyes). If you're in the OMG spaghetti sauce on my white Hermès!! situation, and you have no choice, all right, use the stuff in the pumpy bottle, and then rinse rinse rinse like crazy. You will probably be OK. But the best cleaning agent for these emergencies (and the stuff you should use when you get home and gently wash the whole scarf according to Geoff's instructions) is the kind of liquid dishwashing detergent that most people have by their kitchen sink.

And possibly most importantly: don't let this kind of thing scare you off wearing your scarves in the future. (Next time just put that scarf inside your purse and out of the way of that flying sauce...!)