Washing/Cleaning Cotton Ties?

[brendanm720]

Hi!

What's the best way to clean up a new-to-me vintage cotton tie? It has a bit of a musty scent to it.



I was thinking about hand-washing or dry cleaning.

Does anyone have any experiences they would be willing to share?

Thanks!

 

[Edward]

You could give it a rinse in cold water with Woolite; I'd be wary of anything more in case the colours run. If it's only a little bit of musty smell, though, and no visual staining or yellowing, I'd first try just airing it for a few days - ideally on a line out side - and see if that shifts it. Then Febreze...

 

[Metatron]

I leave it in a container with some dish soap water, then drain it and rinse it in some clean water without pouring directly on the tie from the tap.
I have a question- how do people iron ties? do you use an ironing cloth, low temperature etc?

 

[esteban68]

Well I've washed loads of cotton, rayon and wool ties and rarely use anything other than washing machine soap powder non bio a level desert spoon in a sink/bowl of warm/ hand hot water and non have ever run and all have come clean......however with silk I've had some problems so now I won't buy silk unless they're mint, I have hand cold washed the odd silk tie with some success but it's at your peril!

re ironing wool on wool setting and cotton and rayon halfway between wool and cotton with a pressing cloth, silk on silk setting again with a pressing cloth and all with a cardboard tie blade shoved inside to stop seam marks coming through though you won't need it on thicker tweed type ties in my experience.

 

[Annixter]

Hi!

What's the best way to clean up a new-to-me vintage cotton tie? It has a bit of a musty scent to it.

I was thinking about hand-washing or dry cleaning.

Does anyone have any experiences they would be willing to share?

Thanks!

I'm with Metatron. Dawn liquid dish soap is a PH neutral detergent and best for washing vintage anything--cotton, wool, rayon, etc. Woolite, while largely advertised as the gentle fabric cleaner, in fact has a higher PH than an ideal cleanser for natural fabrics, and most general-purpose laundry detergents are even worse. You'll find me repeating myself here from other tie threads, but here's what I do:

-Clean the sink and fill with cool water (always use cool water, especially with silk and wool).
-Add a healthy squirt of dish soap (not too much)
-I fold the tie in half and dip and remove a small area that would wrap around the neck into the water. Wait a couple minutes and then press a piece of toilet paper to this wet area to test for colorfast. If the tie is dirty, the paper might look brown/yellowish. If it's colorfast, I place the tie in the bath, but watch for running.
-Let the tie soak for approx. 15 minutes, checking to make sure it stays color fast. If it's really dirty, let it soak for up to 45 minutes. After 45, even colorfast fabrics might try and run.
-Drain the sink and fill with fresh, cool water. Let the tie soak for a couple minutes. At this point, I gently cradle the blade in my hands and swoosh it back and forth in the water to rinse out the muck (so with the front of the blade acting like a sail in the water). I work from one end of the tie to the other. Be sure not to force water up into the fold or you could wrinkle up and even twist the liner, and be gentle with the swooshing.
-Drain the water, refill, and soak the tie in fresh water again. At this point, if the tie isn't too dirty, I stop rinsing, but for dirty ties I will rinse three or four times so that the water clears.
-If the tie has remained colorfast, gently remove it flattening out the blade while it's in the water as you remove it, hang it on a hanger, let it drip dry a little, and then lay flat on a towel to dry. If at any point the colors start running in the washing process, immediately rinse in cold water (colder the better) and fold into a towel to quickly dry.
*Warning: Silk and cotton seem to be the most delicate when it comes to washing, both for colorfast and wrinkles. Also, if the tie manufacturer used cheaper liner material and/or construction, the liner will twist up in the shell and make for a horrible sewing experience. I've simply given up on some such ties, giving them away to get rid of them.

As for ironing, light pressure, an ironing cloth, some sort of an insert, and a little steam go a long way--that and patience.

 

[brendanm720]

Thanks, everyone for the advice!