Advice about hand-washing dry clean only fabrics?
Asked by
Facade (
22937
)
December 10th, 2009
I have some scarfs which have been packed away since this time last year. They kind of smell. They’re all coincidently made of rayon and are dry-clean only. I’ll be damned if I’d rather not pay to have them dry-cleaned. I read that washing rayon can make it shrink.
Do you think there’s any way around dry-cleaning my scarves?
If I wash them by hand, I’ll be using Dr. Bronner’s soap.
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21 Answers
I throw Rayon in the washing machine all the time. I just let it drip dry. Usually you can get a feel for if it’s okay to get something wet by what the fabric feels like. If it feels like something you would normally wash, as opposed to feeling like what a suit or a fancy dress are made out of, you’re probably fine.
You make consider getting one of those mesh dealies on which people used to dry sweaters. That helps the scarves from stretching out of shape, which can happen if you hang them up. Then, if they are wrinkled, you might try placing a damp cloth over them and ironing with a cool iron, as if they were made of silk.
Then there is also that product you can buy that lets you “dry clean” in your dryer. However, I would tend to avoid that because I don’t know what chemicals they are using.
@La_chica_gomela They feel fancy :(
@Darwin Yea, I don’t want those chemicals
So it’s the drying process which would cause them to misshapen? If so, I can handle that. Most of my clothes have to be dried a certain way.
The weight of the water draining out of the lower edge can often stretch the fabric. You solve that by drying them flat, or “blocking them.”
@Facade: Hmm, that’s not a good sign. Are they shiny? I have had rayon stuff lose its shininess by washing it, but I’ve never had anything else bad happen.
If it’s just that they smell kind of stale, you could try just misting them with some febreeze.
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I do not recommend washing rayon. It can shrink and wrinkle up. If you try it, don’t put it in the dryer. If you need to iron it place a sheet in-between the scarf and the iron.
Other fabrics that are dry clean only many times can be washed, like silk, but rayon is tricky.
Can you hang them outside to air out? I find that works great on musty-smelling stuff.
@Facade: I had a weird feeling, I don’t know. Yeah, I have two of those, a pink one that looks almost exactly like the photo and a purple one. They’re both rayon and I’ve washed them both in cold water before, but let them air dry. They got a little less shiny and a lot softer, which was unexpected. They didn’t change shape, shrink, or change color.
@JLeslie: Interesting, I’ve had the opposite experience! Hmm.
I should add that if it is not 100% rayon it might be fine to wash, depending on what else is in there.
It will work fine if you air wash them.
There shouldn’t be bugs, it’s winter! And it might only take an hour..
@JLeslie They are 100% rayon, and thanks for the link
@Facade: your scarves have human oils and scurf in them, smell like molds living upon and digesting the human effluent, and you won’t put them out in the clean air because you’re afraid of BUGS?
The kind of bugs you’re scared of can be dislodged with a little whipping action outdoors.
Fresh air is good.
OooOooo.. Scurf, new word.. thanks for the vocab lesson. :)
@Facade, sorry, I don’t mean to make fun of your bug worry.
Meh, you’re not the only one.
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