Silk fabrics require special care and cannot withstand harsh detergents and the rigors of most washing machines. Stains are particularly difficult to remove because many cleaning agents can dull or even dissolve the fibers.
A new product - Silk Saver - promises to remove ink, wine, coffee, food and other stains. Let's see how it performed.
•Silk Saver
Silk Saver is a specially formulated spot treatment for clothing and accessories made from silk fabric. It was developed by the Clean Laundry Group LLC in Alexandria VA and is available through Amazon.com and the Silk Saver website. Developed in the founder's kitchen, the stain remover is meant to be used on stains before dry cleaning or laundering.
The Silk Saver kit comes looking like a little gift. The 2 ounce spray bottle of the formula is packaged in a silk-like translucent drawstring bag along with a white cotton towel square and a small spoon.
While no product ingredients are listed, the website states that the ingredients are safe and non-toxic and no animals were used in testing. The solution has a light, fresh fragrance. It is produced in the United States.
The suggested retail price is $10.00 per kit or $15.00 for two bottles of the spot treatment.
•Treating Stains with Silk Saver
When I test a detergent or other laundry product, I do my best to recreate the conditions that most of us encounter at home. So, I decided to stain a 100 percent silk necktie with ballpoint pen (a workplace hazard), ketchup and olive oil (lunch and dinner) and then see if Silk Saver could save the day...and the tie. I began treatment of the stains right away.
The directions for Silk Saver say to place the included white towel under the garment and then saturate the affected area with Silk Saver. Before I sprayed the tie, I did use a dull knife to lift away some of the ketchup blob. As an added tip, never rub any type of stain deeper into the fibers!
After saturating the stained areas with the product, the directions suggest waiting 10 to 20 minutes to allow the formula to work. Then, tap the stained area with the edge of the provided metal spoon to break up the stain. Next, blot with a clean, wet cloth (I used the white towel) and repeat until the stain is gone; never rubbing or brushing the fabric (it can break the fibers). Next, launder or dry clean the silk item, if needed, according to care label directions.
•The Final Results
After blotting the tie with the wet, white cloth, I could see that the ink and ketchup stains were transferring from the tie to the white cloth. The ketchup stains disappeared after one treatment and the ink stain was considerably lighter; however the ink had spread. It also appeared that the oil stain was gone but it was hard to tell since the tie was still damp.
I allowed the tie to air dry for several hours. All traces of the ketchup were gone! The ink and grease stains remained, so I retreated, following the directions, before hand washing the tie.
After air-drying again, the traces of the ink and grease stains remained.