This method is not scientific but rather empirical, based on my long experience and on some twists and turns!

As most of things it s never a 100% guarantee, but at least it prevents of most of the incidents. 

Care of cashmere, wool & silk : washing

How much they can be delicate (cashmere, wool, silk and even if they have the tag “Dry cleaning, hand washing ONLY”)  in my house, all of them get a rollercoaster ride … eh eh … Are you now shaking , feeling a little bit underwhelmed?

I have to be truly honest, I consider myself as a hard-working woman but hand-washing this is just to horrific to me, almost like climbing the Everest mountain top in a bikini!  If I would be forced to hand-washed those clothes, I swear I would stop wearing them! You trust me now?

Only my wool coats and my Burberry trench coat deserve then trip to dry cleaner.

This said now about the Washing machine being awarded, there are some cautions to take though: 

All those precious clothes will be trapped in a net that is zipped up : zipper not string, as you know strings can sometimes be warlike, in our case they open quite easily during the washing. 

Also make sure not to wash 2 or 3 items at a time.

Wool and Cashmere 

I run a cold wool program (i.e. 30°C max) which I set precisely to 30°C.

The WOOL program is more appropriate than the DELICATE  program because it produces a slow pendulum movement that preserves the wool fibers, preventing felting or shrinkage. Set the spinning at 500 rpm.

I’ve read many times that you shouldn’t spin too low, otherwise the waterlogged sweater falls into the drum and the wool felts.

I promisse you that I’ve even heard that WOOL Program on washing machine is recommended over hand-washing because the motion is steadier and therefore the risk of knitwear getting twisted is less.

If you still want to wash by hand, do it in cold water without wringing or rubbing.

Sponge dry with a towel.

For washing, you can use a special wool detergent or baby shampoo which works great.

I use a special wool detergent from Ecover (French Brand) but it happened that I just used normal one when it ran out.

Soon I’m going to try “Laundress” products which look great. I’ll let you know then …

If your cashmere or wool sweater starts to shrink, soak it overnight in a washtub with warm water and a good amount of conditioner (1/3 bottle).

Rinse with lukewarm water, then towel dry.

Lay it flat on the towel until it is completely dry… No need to pull on the sleeves, it doesn’t work!

Silk 

Silk is not apart, it also has a washing machine rollercoaster ride DELICATE program.

It is a program that preserves the quality of the fabric and colors, with a moderate spin.

 I set a 30°C  cycle with a moderate spinning at 400 turns so that silk does not wrinkle too much.

Be careful with silk! Some silk can’t be washed, neither by hand nor by machine.

The silks we currently find in stores allows washing (special treatment upfront).

But if you come across an older, vintage piece or a scarf, it may not be washable.

You can tell by the way they look. They are often shinier than washed silks, which have an extremely soft matte appearance.

FYI: I’m not having a partnership but my washing machine is a Samsung Eco-Bubble.

Good to know, if your washing machine has the Woolmark Blue® label (and not Woolmark classic®), it means that you can wash your wool items in it even if the label mentions hand washing. It sometimes hard to find out the information, I did not for mine so far.

Care of cashmere, wool & silk : drying

Obviously, the tumble dryer is a complete disaster for those kind of fabrics.

The drying for me is mostly happening on padded fabric hangers.

Except for heavy sweaters that I dry flat.

Generally I do not defy clothes flat : it takes too long especially when it is highly mandatory to avoid any kind of heating sources like the sun or the heaters and I have the feeling that the knitwear looses a bit of its softness.

Care of cashmere, wool & silk: ironing

I do iron all my jumpers but on a soft iron setting without steam (to avoid crushing the fiber) and fold them.

When and if the wool pills (normal phenomenon after the first washings to remove the excess of fabric of a cashmere sweater), I use a comb out of Bompard Brand (but feel free to use any other brands as long as they are the same kind) : Do you ever use a razor, that would be your fatal mistake! 

Before ironing silk, I usually rub silk against silk, this will instantly rekindle the colors of those you looked a little tarnished and bring softness back to those you were a little rough.

Then I iron them on the reverse side with a  vertical steam crease recovery the ready to be on hangers in the wardrobe.

General advice 

If may use Delicatessen for describing our Nobles fabric clothes, know that there is an “apartheid” laundry in my house, they are never mixed with and in the Family laundry baskets … but deserve to go in a dedicated one.