Silk Saree: How to Wash, Store, Care & Protect

An Indian woman’s wardrobe is incomplete without a silk saree. They are the best outfit to grace weddings or any formal occasion with your dazzling presence. Silk fabric enhances colours, making an outfit look more vibrant, graceful and elegant. For this reason, silk is a popular saree fabric, and unlike cotton and many other types of fabrics, it is very expensive because it’s one of the best natural fabrics out there.

Silk sarees are heavy in weight, so you ladies obviously don’t wear them on a daily basis. You pull them out of your wardrobe once in a while on special occasions. It is extremely important that you store them in your wardrobe in a proper way. If you don’t, silk sarees can develop defects sooner than you think. They easily develop wrinkles. The fabric starts fading. Sweating can damage silk substantially and if any liquid stains are ignored, your saree will lose all the sheen you are so proud of.

Here are some tips on silk saree washing, cleaning and storing:

How to wash and clean silk saree

Should you wash your silk saree? Well, the answer is – it depends. If it’s pure silk, you better get it dry-cleaned rather than washing it with regular laundry detergents. If your silk saree develops wrinkles easily, take it to the dry-cleaner before storing it. It’s particularly important if you have attended a big get-together such as a wedding function and wasn’t able to be careful about stains. If dry cleaning is not possible, always be gentle and careful when washing a silk saree. Before you start wringing your saree, run a quick test and dip it in water. If you spot colour leaving the cloth, you should immediately stop. Dry cleaning is your only option.

Avoid sweating when wearing silk saree

Perspiration is the biggest enemy when it comes to silk fabric. This will damage the fabric and make it fade over a period of time. Avoid pure silk if the weather is hot and you anticipate that the place where you are going to be won’t have proper air condition. Make sure to use sweat pads under your armpits.

How to iron silk saree

The answer is – it depends. You should avoid regular ironing at home if the fabric is pure silk. A safer alternative to professional dry cleaning is that you steam iron your saree before storing. If you absolutely have to iron it, you need to adjust the iron heat and turn it as low as possible. You can also a pressing cloth, put it on top of the saree and iron it with a medium heat setting.

How to store silk saree

Here are a few things you need to keep in mind when storing a silk saree:

• Avoid storing in a place exposed to light. Always store silk in a dark place. Light and silk fabric don’t go well together.
• Absolutely avoid storing silk saree in a place with humidity. The place should be dry and clean.
• You can wrap it carefully in a comfortable fabric cloth such as cotton.
• If you are hanging your saree, make sure that it’s not directly in touch with other clothes. The friction will other fabrics damages silk.
• At least once or twice a month, change the fold, so that the saree doesn’t develop permanent wrinkles or spots.

Final thoughts

Silk saree care is challenging. The fabric is delicate and expensive and requires utmost care. If you follow the tips outlined in this article, we are absolutely sure that your silk saree will stand the test of time.

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