Silk

Q. How do I get a stain out of a white silk blouse?

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
04/20/17 • 1263

Need your help. I accidentally bleached a white silk top and it turned yellow. I didn’t realize it’s not suitable for silk. How can I turn it white again? That’s too bad about your silk top. I wish I had better news for you, but unfortu...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
09/14/10 • 1117

This might sound rude, but I have a real problem with fly poop on my silk curtains and chair covers. They all look like little black “plus” signs (+), and I don’t know how to get them out. I am scared about ruining the silk. If it ...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
09/24/09 • 1070

Q: How can I get glue out of my silk dress? What an interesting combination: glue on silk!  I would start by checking the care label on the silk dress.  Some silk garments can be hand washed or machine washed on the delicate cycle, and if that’s the...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
01/15/16 • 620

I have a white satin blouse that ended up in my load of white & beige wash load. I had added bleach, and when I took the clothes out of the washer my white satin blouse had rusty-looking or scorched stains all over it. I think the bleach removed ...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
08/13/09 • 405

Can I use Clorox2 on silk? This is a simple question that actually benefits from a somewhat involved answer.  Usually, any garment or fabric that can be safely washed with detergent can also be washed with Clorox2®.  But I hesitate to say that this a...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
11/01/15 • 16

I have a light gray silk outfit and the washing instructions for the top shell say wash by hand. (It is 100% silk).The instruction on the pants, however, say to dry clean. (Pants are 97% silk, 3% spandex.) The fabric in both seems to be the same. I a...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
12/23/09 • 28

What should I do about tomato sauce on silk? Silk is such a problem to properly clean.  While some silks are treated in a way that makes hand washing them possible, others are not.  Not knowing what type of silk item your stain is on, it makes the mo...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
12/30/15 • 164