Caring for Your Silk Home Throw Pillows

The home throw pillows at PillowsandPillows.com come in a wide variety of fabrics. This is great when you think about all of the decorating options. But different fabrics require different kinds of care. If you want your pillows to look their best for a long time, it's definitely a good idea to learn how to keep the different fabrics fresh. This can be especially tricky when you're dealing with silk home throw pillows.

Silk is probably one of the most beautiful fabrics. It's also pretty durable. After all, Genghis Khan's army used silk as an under-armor. The tensile strength of silk fabric was able to withstand the initial impact of a spinning arrow. But when the soldiers got home from battle, they didn't have to worry about getting the stains out, did they?

Removing Stains from Silk Home Throw Pillows

• Blot any stains with a clean cloth soaked in a little rubbing alcohol. Then blow dry the areas with a hairdryer set on “cool.” This should remove most general stains.

But if it doesn't work...

• You can also mix a 50/50 solution of white wine vinegar and water. Test the solution out on a small, out-of-the-way area of the fabric first.
• Once the white wine vinegar solution has dried, drizzle some baking soda on your test site. Then drizzle a mixture of one cup hydrogen peroxide and one teaspoon mild non-alkaline soap over the baking soda and work it into the spot. Once you've done that, vacuum up any residue.
• If the last two steps didn't bleach out the fabric in the test area, you can go ahead and clean the stain out of the home throw pillow.

This cleaning method will work for spot-cleaning your pillows.

If all of this makes you nervous, you can go ahead and get your silk pillows professionally cleaned.

General Silk Care Tips

• Even if you've managed to keep your silk home throw pillows stain free, you still need to be extra careful. Silk pillows can be luxurious and beautiful, but you need to know the proper way to care for the fabric to keep them looking their best.
• Don't use chlorine bleach. That will damage the fabric.
• When you start decorating, try to put silk pillows out of direct sunlight. The sun can damage and discolor the silk.
• If you need to wash the pillow, do so in a sink or bathtub. Use lukewarm water and a mild non-alkaline soap or baby shampoo. Add a few tablespoons of distilled white wine vinegar to remove any soap residue. Don't over-soak the pillow.
• Hang silk pillows on a clothesline to dry. Clip it on either end and in the middle, and rotate it every 30 minutes.
• If it looks like it needs pressing, use your iron's “silk” setting.
• Never use perfume sprays on silk home throw pillows!

If you love the look of silk, but you don't feel like you can take care of it, you can always go with a synthetic silk home throw pillow. Whatever you need to decorate your space, PillowsandPillows.com has an option for you!