Silk sarees were seen as a precious treasure by our mothers. Nowadays silk sarees are back in vogue. All actresses from Shilpa Shetty to Deepika Padukone have been seen wearing silk sarees. Caring and maintain the glory of a silk saree is a tedious task, so we at AAW decided to list out the proper care and instructions to maintain that pretty silk saree:
Maintaining Silk Sarees
To retain the glory of silk sarees gentle care is required at every stage and your saree can be maintained for years.
Washing the silk:
- Avoid using soap and detergent on silk sarees. If the saree is not dirty wash with plain cold water.
- Use a mild detergent like Ezee or a soft shampoo.
- Wash the saree alone. Never wash it with inferior quality material or bright colours.
- Use cold to lukewarm water to wash silk sarees.
- Avoid using chemicals as they damage and reduce the lifespan of the silk.
- Do not brush the silk saree; it might lead to tearing the zari.
- Preferably hand wash your saree.
- Avoid machine washing or tumble drying that precious silk.
- Do not bundle and keep wet for long durations.
Drying the silk saree:
- After washing, the saree needs to be dried immediately.
- To remove excess water blot the saree in a dry clean towel.
- Hang the saree on a plastic or padded hanger. Avoid the iron ones as they can rust and leave stains.
- Never hang the silk saree in direct sunlight.
Dry-Cleaning the silk saree:
- In dry-cleaning, fluids are used to remove stains from the fabric. These fluids contain little or no water and do not penetrate the fiber as water does.
- Dry-cleaning is the best way to care for silk.
Ironing the silk saree:
While ironing, keep the iron on medium heat only.
Iron silk while it is still damp. Use a warm iron or a steam iron.
Storing your silk saree:
- Store your silk in a cool, dry place.
- To avoid tear or fade lines, unfold your silk sarees and change the folding preferably every month.
- Wrap your silk in a muslin cloth
- Ensure minimal friction between the cloth and the embroidery.
Dealing with stains on silk:
Firstly, the moment you see the stain wash with cold water.
Stained silk must be dry-cleaned as soon as possible.
Greasy stains can be removed by dabbing talc. Once this is done, the talc should be brushed off and stain remover applied. The stain can then be washed off in the hottest water possible.
For treating food stains like milk, ice-cream, chocolate, gravy, etc., use a dry-clean solvent. B
Protein stains like sweat can be cleared with detergent. They should be soaked in cool water and laundered. If they persist, rub a mixture of a few drops of Nh2 with hydrogen peroxide.
