Silk shirts

[Trevor]

I recently bought two short-sleeve silk shirts and hadn't thought laundering them short of paying for dry-cleaning would be such a problem. How best can I do them myself? I am told to hand-wash them using shampoo. Also to put them in the automatic washer and dryer and iron them like an ordinary shirt. What is best for them?

[Ginbottle]

Into the normal auto washing machine with washing powder/liquid (don't overdo it) a light wash with no zips or things to catch on the silk. Careful of the iron temperature, better to drip dry on a hanger.(Homer Simpson philosophy on the ironing: "If a job's too difficult, it's not worth doing".)

[jdavies]

I'd agree with Ginbottle - I've a few silk shirts that I wash on a "delicates" programme then hang out to drip dry. My mother doesn't even use clothes hangers for this, she threads an old pair of tights (pantyhose) through the sleeves and pegs the tights to the line. If it needs ironing, try and do it when the shirt is still a little damp. Iron on the inside of the shirt As for the washing liquid, there are a couple on the market suitable for machine washing of delicates but do unscrew the cap and smell them before you buy - one of the brands is very, very sweet and sickly smelling and lasts until you wash the shirt again... Good luck!

[Janetx]

And pop them in the freezer before ironing