Can You Wash an Hermès Scarf? - Les Armes de Paris

 

I found a scarf on eBay and the price was right.  Hermès, "Les Armes de Paris".  I knew it was dirty, and now I could test the hypothesis that silk can be carefully washed and will keep a lovely scarf in use.  Will it work?  Will the spots come out?  Will it be possible to block it and iron it to make it a lovely scarf?

Here it is:  

The spots are quite obvious, so this cannot be used without cleaning.  There is no longer a dry-cleaner in our little town, and I'm not sure I would trust a dry cleaner with this anyway.  There are lots of horror stories out there about careless drycleaners who pin tags to the scarf, making holes, who iron the hems flat, who iron folds into the scarf, and so it goes. . . 

The bottom left corner has a large spill on the bottom and the side - coffee?  tea?

Spilled liquid on the bottom center and a couple of splotches.

The bottom right looks like it may be makeup near the top needle.

The side is not as bad as other areas.

The top right has spilled liquid at the top and at the side and a smear of something toward the corner.

The top-center has the spots visible in the picture above, as well as a couple of other spots.

Top left has a serious spot.  I would guess meat dripping, but who knows?  There is also another spot to the side.

Here's what the seller said in the description: 

"The scarf is a 34 inch square. There are two make up marks on the scarf, other than the smudges it is in good condition It belonged to a family member and was purchased in the 1980s in France. The pattern is les Arme de Paris. I am quite sure it has never been washed or dry cleaned."

Here's my take:

This scarf is much dirtier and stained than that description.  The four photos showed two spots, not the multitude here.  It has been cleaned, and the hems are flattened.  If I had known how stained/dirty it was, I probably would not have bought it.  Caveat Emptor!  Now we get to try to clean it.

It was truly filthy.  There were so many spots that I decided not to use woolite but to use dish soap, since dish soap will cut grease effectively.  I spot-treated the spots:

There were a lot of spots!!!

I added the scarf to luke-warm water in the kitchen sink.  Then I swished it around for a while.

I rinsed it five times until I was certain there was no soap residue.

Then I laid it out on beach towels to dry.

I no longer have an ironing board.  I had to buy an iron for this project, too. (I decided years ago on the solution to ironing.  If a shirt or other item needs ironing, I put it in a pillowcase.  I wait until the pillowcase gets full, then I give the pillowcase to a charity shop.)  So, here I am ironing a slightly damp scarf on a beach towel placed on a cutting board over the bathroom sink.  

To insure it was fully dry, I again laid it out on a beach towel overnight.

There are still a few spots, but they are much less noticeable, and I know the scarf is clean.  Now I feel free to wear it.

Bottom lines:

• It is possible to wash an Hermès scarf, but it is  time consuming and may not work perfectly.
• In retrospect, I should not have bought that scarf (but, in my defense, it was not clear just how dirty it was).  And I definitely should not have paid as much as I did.  But I now have a scarf I can wear.
• In the future, I will not spend that much on a scarf that is dirty, and even then, only if it is one I am desperate to have.  
• It's been a learning experience.

To see the other Hermès scarves I have blogged, click here.