Silk Care

Washing instructions

With the right care, your silk products will last for years without sacrificing quality. There are a few important tips to keep in mind, as silk, as a natural fibre, cannot be treated as carelessly as a man-made fibre.

Please note:

• Never spray the silk with perfume or deodorant
• Avoid exposing silk to direct sunlight for long periods of time
• Do not remove individual stains with water
• Never wring silk

Silk care

We recommend hand washing silk (in the sink or in the washing machine) at max. 40°C.

• It is best to use our special silk detergent tenestar.
• Soak the silk in lukewarm water for about 3-5 minutes.
• Wash dark silk only briefly in COLD hand bath, do not soak!
• Gently move the fabric back and forth during this time. Do not wring!
• Once the silk is wet, be more careful as silk is more delicate when wet.
• After a maximum of 5 minutes of hand bathing, remove the silk and rinse the fabric with cold water and a teaspoon of vinegar to remove any soap residue.
• Drain the fabric well.
• Do not dry in the sun or in the dryer
• Spray with cold water before ironing
• Iron at level 2 (••) and without steam

Moth protection

The moths Tineola biseliela (also called clothes moths) are pure material pests. With their powerful mouthparts, the larvae eat wool, jute, skins and other animal products containing keratin in textiles and upholstered furniture, as well as cellulose-containing textile fibers of plant origin.

Natural and artificial silk and fully synthetic fabrics are also pierced by the larvae, although these materials cannot be digested. The larvae only use the fibers of these tissues to build their web tubes. In addition to the pure feeding damage, the textiles are contaminated by the cocoons firmly adhering to the fabric.

Moths do not tolerate a number of scents at all, which is why they can be used as an effective home remedy against moths.

Dry sweet clover or orange peel and place in a thin cloth bag. You can simply hang the bag in the closet with your clothes and the moth protection is ready. Alternatively, you can also use dried herbs to repel moths. Camphor, sage, thyme and lavender have a particularly deterrent effect on moths. You can also hang scented sachets with lavender blossoms, thyme or sage in the closet as a preventive measure.

The natural extract of the tropical neem tree in an alcoholic solution is also effective: firstly, its fragrance has a repellent effect on moths. Secondly, the development of the voracious larvae is interrupted so that they die.

There are a large number of items available on the market to protect your clothing against moths. The best known are the cedar wood rings that you simply place on the bottom of the closet or fasten to the hanger. A simple piece of cedar will of course achieve the same effect. The essential oils present in this wood act as a deterrent to clothes moths. The scent of cedar wood does not penetrate the clothes.

Parasitic wasps are a natural weapon against clothes moths. The 0.4 mm long beneficial insects are available in the form of small cards on which around 3,000 fresh parasitic wasp eggs are attached. In the apartment, the tiny parasitic wasps lay their eggs in the moth eggs. The developing larva feeds on the moth egg, and instead of the clothes moth, another moth killer hatches. When the parasitic wasps can't find any more moth eggs, they disappear of their own accord and the household is rid of insects.

Sources: Healthy Living, Helpster, The Moth Shop