Silk Scarves Are an Estate Sale Score—Here’s How to Clean Them

Beautiful and versatile, silk scarves are considered a must-buy at estate sales, vintage stores, and consignment shops. Whether you plan to wear them or decorate with them, you’ll want to clean vintage silk scarves when you get them home to remove stains and eliminate stale or unpleasant odors.

However, cleaning vintage scarves can be challenging. Silk is a temperamental fabric, and many vintage items do not come with care instructions that indicate how best to clean them. Our guide takes the guesswork out of cleaning vintage silk scarves so you can enjoy them for many years to come.

Test for Colorfastness First

Colorfastness refers to dyes that retain their hue without running or fading. Certain colors, such as red and indigo dyes, are particularly prone to running when exposed to water, and some fabrics, including silk, tend to be less colorfast than others. Before cleaning a vintage silk scarf, especially one that doesn’t have a care tag with washing instructions, always perform a colorfastness test.

To do so, dab the scarf with a wet white cloth. If dye transfer is visible on the white cloth, the scarf is not colorfast and should not be cleaned with water or with products that contain water. Instead, use a solvent-based cleaner or send the scarf out for professional cleaning. If no dye is present on the white cloth, the scarf is colorfast and can be cleaned using a spot treatment and hand-laundering.

How to Spot Treat Stains on a Silk Scarf

If stains are present and the scarf is colorfast, use the following method to spot treat the stains. If the scarf is not colorfast, do not treat stains with water or water-based products; instead, use a solvent like K2r or have the scarf professionally cleaned.

1. Apply Stain Treatment

Apply a small amount of liquid laundry detergent or mild dish soap to the stain. A gentle liquid laundry detergent is the best choice for washing silk. Avoid using detergents that contain optical brighteners, as well as heavy-duty detergent formulas.

2. Massage Detergent into Stain

Using the pads of your fingers, massage the detergent into the fabric. Allow the detergent 10 to 15 minutes to penetrate and break down the stain.

3. Rinse or Launder

Rinse the detergent out of the scarf with cool running water or hand-wash the entire scarf. 

4. Air-Dry Flat

Lay the scarf flat to air-dry, smoothing it with your hands to eliminate wrinkles.

How to Remove Grease Stains on Silk Scarves

Absorbent powders, such as cornstarch and baby powder, are highly effective at removing grease and oil stains from delicate fabrics like silk, including old and deeply set stains. 

To use an absorbent powder like cornstarch or baby powder to remove stains from a silk scarf, lay the scarf flat on a surface where it can remain undisturbed for an hour or up to overnight. Make an anthill-style pile of powder on top of the stain and allow it to sit so that it can slowly absorb the oil.

After allowing time for the absorbent powder to pull out the grease, dispose of it in the trash can and brush any residue away with your hands. If the stain has lightened but is not completely gone, repeat the process.

How to Hand-Wash a Silk Scarf

If the care tag or a colorfastness test indicates that the scarf can be washed, hand-washing is a fast and easy way to clean a vintage scarf to remove stains, dingy buildup, and odors.

1. Fill a Basin with Water and Detergent

Fill a basin with cool water and ¼ teaspoon of mild laundry detergent.

2. Submerge and Soak

Submerge the scarf in the detergent solution and gently swish it with your hands, allowing the water to penetrate the fibers. Allow the scarf to soak for 10 minutes. 

3. Drain and Rinse

Drain the detergent solution and wipe or rinse away any sudsy residue in the basin. Then, rinse the scarf by refilling the basin with cool water and swirling the scarf through it to release detergent or by rinsing it under cool running water.

4. Air-Dry Flat

Gently squeeze water out of the scarf, taking care not to wring or twist it, which can stress and damage the fibers. Place the scarf on a clean, dry towel and roll it up to squeeze out more water. Then, lay the scarf flat to air-dry, smoothing it with your hands to eliminate wrinkles.