More than any other fabric, silk is shrouded in myth about its supposed delicacy and difficult upkeep.

Even our advice errs on the side of caution: Treat silk with care, especially the finer fabrics, and to take your really special silk clothing to a good dry cleaner.

Some silk fabrics are fairly easy to wash and care for.

In fact, if you follow a few simple rules, you can care for the bulk of your silks at home. Even fine silk satin and silk chiffon came through the wash unscathed. For most of the silk fabrics we tested, washing softened them and shrank them just a bit – par for the course for more pedestrian fabrics like cotton and rayon. Here are a few general tips before you get started.

Silk care basics

Silk changes when you wash it
Nearly all types of silk fabric change after soaking in water. Most of them soften, some may shrink slightly or become less glossy, or stray filaments may rise from the surface.
Of course, laundering changes any fabric. It's just that when it's a cotton t-shirt you kind of expect that the seams will creep and it will start to pill up. A silk blouse is different – you want it to look good for a long time.
That's one reason we recommend treating your special silk pieces with care and having them professionally cleaned.
Silk is more delicate when wet
Reduced tensile strength when wet is a general characteristic not just of silk, but of all protein-based materials (wool, cashmere, alpaca, etc.). For plant-based materials the opposite holds true. That's why you can put cotton and linen in the high spin cycle and hang them on the line to dry.
Wet silk is only 80% as strong as it is when dry, so its fibers can break more easily and stretch out of shape. That's why you need to be so careful when washing, wringing and drying silk.
The garment itself may be delicate
You can't judge the washability of a garment just by what fabric it's sewn from. Washing (or even soaking) can also damage interfacing, ornamentation, and embroidery.
Tailored items like blazers or formal dresses with complex cuts, are often shaped with an iron while sewing and interfacing of any number of woven or non-woven materials may have been stitched in. Even if the outer fabric came through the wash without any change, the garment itself may lose its shape for good.
Can you wash silk?
Can you hand wash silk? And can you wash silk in the washing machine? Let's look at the chemistry first. Since different fabrics are made of different materials, their pH value (their level of acidity) varies accordingly. You may have noticed that laundry detergents come with a variety of pH values. They can be alkaline or acidic. Most ordinary detergents are alkaline because most of the things we wear are made of plant-based materials like cotton and rayon.
What detergent is best for silk
Protein-based fibers like silk are sensitive to alkaline detergents. Most powdered laundry detergent is alkaline, as are washing soda, chlorine bleach, and some soaps. Alkalis weaken the silk filament, causing it to soften, lose its shine, and release stray fibers.
Never wash silk in an alkaline detergent!
Use only laundry solutions meant specifically for silk or wool.
In a pinch, you can use a gentle silicone-free shampoo. Before using any laundry product, even those meant for hand washing, make sure that it is marked safe for silk and wool.
To test your laundry detergent, you can use litmus paper (pH indicator), which is available at most pharmacies and drug stores.
The bluer the litmus paper turns, the higher the pH (more alkaline and thus worse for washing silk). Ordinary laundry powder is highly alkaline (pH 11) whereas shampoo and laundry gel for silk both have a neutral pH (around 6). Classic laundry gel and hand laundering products are slightly alkaline (pH 7–8).

How to wash silk by hand
Be as gentle as possible when caring for silk – that means gentle detergents and gentle handling.
Hand washing is best. Find a basin (or a clean bathtub) that will hold the garment with room to spare. Mix a bit of silk-safe laundry solution in tepid water (around 80°F / 25–30°C), submerge your garment and let it soak for 15 to 30 minutes. Then gently stir it around with your hands – don't scrub or twist it.
Drain the dirty water and add clean, fresh water (also tepid) and gently stir to rinse. Don't use fabric softener – silk doesn't need it and the film that it leaves on the surface will reduce the natural breathability and absorbency of your silk clothing.
How to wash silk by machine
Most modern washing machines have a gentle cycle that mimics hand washing, sloshing your clothes around in a fair amount of water. Go ahead and use it. Just make sure to set the temperature to a low setting (80 °F / 30 °C) and fill the machine to no more than half.
Turn off the spin cycle entirely.
If your washer has an extra water setting, use it. Water acts as a buffer between your silk clothing and the sides of the washing drum, so the more water, the less contact.
When machine washing especially delicate pieces, such as scarves and blouses, put them in a lingerie bag.
How to dry and iron silk
Never, ever, wring silk out. Don't forget that silk loses much of its strength when it's wet and wringing it out will damage it.
Lay each wet piece on a clean, dry towel and roll it up. The excess water will soak into the towel. To finish drying, lay the garment flat.
Press it while it's still a bit damp. Damp silk is much easier to iron.
Try airing it out
Because silk has a natural self-cleaning property, sometimes hanging it out is enough. A dress or blouse worn for three hours to the theater may only want a couple of hours on a hanger – ideally out of doors (summer or winter but sheltered from rain and sun).
A good airing can even get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke or strong perfume.
The great silk washing test
we put our silk fabrics to the test. In several weeks of rigorous testing, we hand washed samples of all the basic silk fabrics we carry. Some of them we really put through the wringer – submitting them to harsh chemicals and rough treatment. Here's how it turned out.
Silks in test
Chiffon
Georgette
Organza & crepeline
Habotai
Crêpe de Chine
Crêpe georgette
Charmeuse & satin
Duchesse satin
Dupioni
Taffeta
Serge
Noil
Matka
Muga wild silk
Eri wild silk
Silk cotton voile
Silk jersey
Spun silk jersey

Washing silk chiffon
Chiffon is one of the finest silk fabrics around, prone to rips, tears, and snags even when it's dry.
The white chiffon we tested seemed to melt away the second it hit the water – you could just barely see it was there. Once it dried and had been ironed, however, it looked just the same as it had before, but had softened slightly. The camera didn't capture this very well, but it had a noticeably softer hand and a tiny bit more drape than before.
Take extreme care when washing chiffon. As our second test showed, if you handle chiffon too roughly (scrubbing it, wringing it dry) the weave will loosen in some spots leaving blemishes that can't be fixed. On the other hand, however, we have to take our hats off to the toughness of silk – the weave may have loosened, but the fabric did not tear. And it's not as if we didn't try!

Samples of silk chiffon: on the left, an unwashed sample, on the right, chiffon washed by hand. After washing, the silk chiffon softened and became more flowing.

Scrubbing hard damaged the chiffon, leaving visible blemishes.

Washing silk georgette
Georgette washes up much the same way as crêpe georgette or crêpe de Chine. The twisted threads that it is woven from tend to twist even more with washing, which makes the fabric seem to shrink. The result is an enhanced crêpe structure, as you can see on the unpressed left edge of the laundered georgette in the photo below.
Ironing smooths out the fabric and restores its original size. Because georgette is matte already, there's no worry about loss of gloss. However, do be gentle when washing, as with any delicate fabric.

ashing silk organza and crepeline
Organza is a fine, yet stiff, fabric. We were curious whether it would lose its typical stiffness after washing.
It does have a loose weave though, and repeated washing can make it lose its shape. After soaking it also loses any pleats or folds that have been ironed in and you'll have to press it over again.
Crepeline is similar to organza but has an even looser weave and is not quite as stiff. It won't soften with washing either.

When we tried wringing out these two materials, both developed slight fractures that we couldn't iron out. You can see how our attempt to correct the situation with a warm iron (wool setting) and steam turned out on the crepeline sample pictured. We managed to smooth out the puckered strip but its fractured outline remained in the fabric sample for good.

Washing silk crêpe de Chine
For crêpe de Chine, as for other fabrics in the crêpe family (crêpe, georgette, crêpe georgette, crêpe back satin) a good wetting brings out the crêpe structure.
Our sample went a bit wavy and shrank, in both directions, when we washed it because the water made the twisted crêpe yarns twist even more.
The good news is that ironing smoothed things out and the fabric even returned to its original size because the twisted silk yarns relaxed to their original state.

Washing silk crêpe georgette
Matte crêpe georgette with its noticeably pebbly structure delivered similar results in our washing tests – it shrank a bit and its twisted threads we more noticeable.
Matte crêpe fabrics like crêpe georgette have the advantage that they haven't got any shine to lose. The only thing to worry about is an increased pebbly texture and a loss of shape.

For crêpe fabrics it also holds true that you should avoid scrubbing and wringing out when washing because the resulting fractures may not iron out.

Washing silk charmeuse and satin
Silk charmeuse is a lightweight and silk satin a medium weight glossy fabric that at first glance seems like it would be tricky to wash. To our surprise, it came through our hand washing test with flying colors – the only change was a slight softening.

Washing silk dupioni
Dupioni is sought after for its brilliant colors and the papery stiffness that makes it so great for sewing full, stiff skirts and gathered dresses.

Our sample softened considerably with washing, giving this stiff fabric an almost supple drape. So, unless you want to intentionally soften it, we don't recommend getting it wet. Even steam will have a softening effect on it, so it's a good idea to use a dry iron on this fabric.

If you decide to go ahead and wash your silk dupioni anyway, note that its deep, brilliant colors may bleed. So wash it separately.