Did you know? - you CAN hand wash Hermes silk scarves

....and save on those dry cleaning bills!

Hermes do recommend that you only dry clean your scarves.  But several people have asked about washing their Hermes scarves.  So here are some basic instructions on how to hand wash your scarves. First, all the usual disclaimers about taking absolutely no responsibility for you spoiling your scarf by following these instructions!  But having said that, you should know that literally thousands of Hermes scarf collectors all over the world regularly wash their scarves, and are delighted with the results. 

It makes sense to build your confidence by testing this method on a scarf that you don't really care about or has been damaged beyond repair already.

Import points

1) The older vintage scarves sometimes have very unstable dyes.  The vintage (pre-1970's) burgundy, black and greens run very easily and should not be washed.

2) Do not let two layers of wet silk stay in contact as you may well get dye transfer between them.

Basic wash

a) Get a large white towel laid out on the floor, ready to dry the scarf and use as an under blanket when ironing.

b) Make sure that the sole plate of your iron is absolutely clean.

c) Run a few inches of tepid water into your bath for use as the final rinse. 

d) Fill up a clean bowl with tepid water. 

e) Use a very small quantity of any delicate fabric hand wash or dishwashing detergent in the bowl.  Dishwashing detergent is recommended by many as a lot of stains on scarves are from skin grease or make-up and these detergents are specially designed to remove grease.

f) Swish the scarf around in the water and keep it moving at all times for a couple of minutes.  Do not be alarmed if the water changes colour. Scarves can collect a lot of grime from every day living, smoke and exhaust fumes and such, in a very short time. 

g) Gently squeeze out the excess water...DO NOT WRING IT!

h) Tumble the scarf loosely in your cupped hands while running water from the cold tap over it.  You will feel when the detergent is all out.

i) Open the scarf out into the final rinse bath of cold water, swish it about a couple of times, then lift it out by the two top corners and lay it out flat on the towel. 

j) Roll them up into a sausage. The excess water is quickly removed from the scarf in the roll. Lay them back out flat again and switch the iron on to the cotton setting.

k) It is easiest to do the ironing straight onto the scarf lying on the same the towel on a table, or even back on the floor if you are short of space, but you can use your ironing board or whatever is comfortable for you.

l) You do not need to press hard, just let the heat and steam do all the work. Start ironing the water out from the centre and towards the edges and up to the hems, making sure not to go over them.  You will find as an added bonus, that the washing process will also plump up the hems.

m) You can apply a small amount of spray starch to the back of the scarf before the final ironing on the front side. Doing it this way prevents the starch sticking to the iron base plate.  Try not to pull out the corners otherwise you will pucker the hem stitching...iron straight up to the hem, not along it.

n) Leave the scarf open flat or folded once over an airer overnight to ensure that the hem is quite dry before storage.

Other useful tips

1) You can use a small quantity of ordinary table salt in the wash water, which helps prevent colour run.

2) A small quantity of white vinegar in the final rinse is reported to brighten the light colours and dull vintage whites.

3) You can rub a small amount of dishwashing detergent direct into a particularly dirty or stained area, prior to placing into the first wash. 

4) There are a lot of proprietary fabric cleaners and stain removers.  These should be used with caution as many contain bleaches which will remove the dye as well.  They are particularly risky to use on large single coloured areas of the scarf as small amounts of dye loss with the stain will show.

5) Never EVER even think about using biological  detergents or soaking your Hermes scarves!

6) Many collectors use boiling water to remove dye colour runs.  The affected area is stretched over a basin and the boiling water poured through the dry scarf....definitely not a method for the fainthearted!  This method works particularly well where dye has transferred into white areas as you do not risk fading the base colours as well.  This should not be attempted where colour runs onto other colours.

7) You can wash really old scarves with fantastic results.  By really old I mean the two or three colour pre-1950 scarves.  But if the silk appears to be much thinner than normal then you must treat them much more carefully in the water, as the weight of the water can be enough to tear the silk if you are too rough in your handling. (Yes I do know this from experience!)

Further help on specialist stain removal can be obtained from collectors groups, for instance those on Yahoo. 

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