When we talk about cleaning a silk tie, we’re actually talking about removing stains, because silk ties were never meant to be cleaned. Launder? Never! Dry clean? Not even that. These ties are extremely delicate and can fall apart easily. All you can do is keep the tie as clean as you can. If you’re good at that, the tie will be out of style and ready for the discard pile before it needs cleaning.
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There are commercially available fabric pre-treatment sprays which can make your tie stain-retardant. Though some neckties are manufactured with a blocking agent, you must still defend yourself. Use a tie restraint such as a clip or tack, and tuck a napkin in your shirt collar when you eat. Then you won’t need to worry about stains. Remember your necktie is a thing of beauty, not a bib.
Silk and Water Don’t Mix
Should an offending blob of something get past your defenses, act immediately. Remove the tie. Waiting any length of time will make removal of the stain virtually impossible.
Never, ever bring water anywhere near the tie.
- With a white paper towel, dab a small amount of stain remover onto the stain. If you are not in the habit of carrying paper towels or stain remover with you, get your wife or girlfriend to carry them in her purse or stash them someplace convenient.
- If you have no stain remover, try dabbing it with a clean napkin dipped in a little seltzer.
- Blot with the paper towel.
- For anything greasy, sprinkle a little talcum powder or corn starch on the spot as soon as possible and allow it to absorb what it can. After a few hours, brush off the remaining residue with a clean soft cloth. If the spot remains, repeat the process.
Caution: stain removers may discover your silk tie.
Methods of Last Resort
If it’s a soft silk tie, you can try this:
- Hang a towel over a hot radiator (not an automobile radiator).
- Take the silk tie and rest it flat on top of the towel while still on the radiator.
- Then, take a cold water vapor sprayer and evenly spray the area of the stain, being careful not to soak it.
- Use some very soft and absorbent bathroom tissue to blot the tie.
- Leave the tie on the radiator overnight.
- The next morning when you get up, check the tie. If the stain is still there, repeat the process.
If you should get butter or grease on your silk tie, which pretty much dooms the tie, don’t do anything until you get home.
- When you get home lay the silk tie on a flat surface with a towel under it.
- Sprinkle talcum powder or corn starch over the stain.
- Leave the tie on the towel overnight or for as long as you have to. This gives the stain a chance to be absorbed by the powder.
- Take a clean soft cloth or towel and gently brush off the powder. If it is still stained, repeat the process.
- This can take up to three applications before you know whether the stain is permanent.
f you haven’t gotten rid of the stain, which is very likely, then have the tie dry cleaned. They’re not meant for dry cleaning, and chances are dry cleaning isn’t going to get the spot out either, but this is your last resort. Ask the cleaner to use the gentlest chemicals he has. This is still not a guarantee that the tie won’t be ruined in the process.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I just read elsewhere on the web that some people have very successfully spot cleaned their silk ties using plain old alcohol, and a blow dryer to quickly dry the cleaned spot to prevent a ring. I have NOT tried it myself yet, so do not know first hand how it would work, but its worth a try on a tie that might just be ruined anyways! Here is the link to where I read this method…Best wishes!
http://www.creativehomemaking.com/articles/112803k.shtml
If you notice the grease stain on a fabric try to treat it within a few hours. One thing to try is table salt or baking soda to absorb the oil or grease for about 30 minutes. Then brush off the salt or soda then dab the spot with alcohol with a towel under the stain to prevent it from spreading. Let it sit for a few minutes then wash it right away. If the stain is still there try alcohol again then wash with Tide liquid detergent or Dawn dish detergent. If you still have a stain then use it as a dust rag. Hopefully this will work but only use this method on washable fabrics. If the fabric is not washable only us alcohol and a blow dryer to prevent water stains. This works well on linen and micro fibers. Good Luck!
Better than talc or corn starch is diatomaceous earth or attapulgite, a very fine silicaceous powder with a strong affinity for oil and grease. Simply blot the stain with a paper towel and then apply the powder to generously cover the grease stain. Gently pat the powder into the weave of the tie and allow it to sit overnight. The next day, gently brush away the excess powder, and then flick (not pick) at the fabric with your nail to dislodge the powder embedded in the weave. If the grease stain is still present reapply the powder and try again the next day. diatomaceous earth , and attapulgite are both in the class of substances known as Fuller’s Earth. Fuller’s Earth has been used for centuries to clean and degrease clothing. (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Fullo.html)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuller’s_earth)
I was looking for tips on how to remove stains from a silk tie tonight and came across this site. I tried the alcohol and blow dryer tip that Sonia posted and it worked perfectly. I purchased a Gucci tie from a thrift store that had a few small set in stains and they are now gone! Thanks Sonia.
I was skeptical, but Sonia’s tip above using alcohol and a blow dryer really worked for me on a milk stain that ran down the entire length of my son’s light colored silk tie. Click on that link and follow those directions! JUST KEEP REPEATING. After the first couple of applications it may not look like it’s working, but eventually it will. Hooray!
I thought this kind of sexism was dead....
“If you are not in the habit of carrying paper towels or stain remover with you, get your wife or girlfriend to carry them in her purse or stash them someplace convenient.”
Right. I’ll begin carrying around stain remover for “my man” when he starts carrying tampons for me.
cabernet demiglace out of an expensive yellow silk tie
I couldn’t get to this tie for 5 hours. When I got home I dabbed the stain lightly and repeatedly with spray and wash with plain white paper towel. Knowing that you can’t touch or do anything else with fine silk and knowing that this treated area would show a shadow where the spray and wash dried, I proceeded to spray the entire length of the front of the tie till it all was wet. In the morning I had a dry tie, stain perfectly removed and the tie was only slightly darker than original. If it were new you wouldn’t know the difference. Just a slight color change.