Silk Lingerie
When it comes to silk, satins and synthetic lingerie, you should always dry clean them if possible, as this lingerie is very delicate material. Dry cleaning also protects the material from shredding or losing its color. If you are courageous or daring enough to risk washing your silks at home then you should be very careful and please use only mild detergents. Silk lingerie should be soaked in cold detergent water for about 20 to 30 minutes, to remove any stains or dirt particles. Only cold water should be used, as it protects the color of the garment. If there are any stains or marks on the lingerie, you should rub it very gently, to remove them. Silk should be dried flat and then ironed very gently on minimum heat.
Cleaning Leather Lingerie:
Cleaning and conditioning leather lingerie is very simple. Leather can be thought of as a type of skin. The way you need to clean and moisturize your own skin, leather needs to be maintained in the same way to stay beautiful, supple, pliable, and resilient.
-Cleaning Leather Lingerie at home
In most cases all that is necessary to clean leather lingerie is a damp cloth or a store bought leather cleaner. There a variety of leather cleaners you can find at the store to choose from that will do a reasonably good job. This will remove any surface dust or dirt. Always follow the manufacturers instructions when using a cleaner specifically for leather lingerie.
-Hand Washing Leather Lingerie
Prepare, treat, and remove any stains on the leather before washing it. Using warm soapy water made with an gentle cleanser like baby shampoo, Dove or Ivory (unscented), or soap flakes rub the leather with a soft cloth to produce a lather in any area you want to clean. Wipe away excess lather with a clean cloth. Rinse leather lingerie thoroughly either by running through warm water or wiping several times with a damp cloth. Pat leather dry with a clean towel to remove excess water and moisture. Allow leather to dry flat in a warm place out of direct sunlight and away from any strong heat source (oven, fireplace, heater, stove, etc.)
-Professional Leather Lingerie Cleaning
Very special or very delicate leather lingerie items may require professional cleaning, or if you do not want to take any chances with cleaning it yourself, there are a variety of professional leather cleaners that can do it for you. Many dry cleaners offer leather cleaning services through which your leather lingerie is sent off site to a professional cleaning company and then returned to the dry cleaners. Although this process is done by professionals, slight variations in color, hue, texture, feel, and shape may result; so make certain to clean all matching lingerie items together even if only one piece requires cleaning.
-Washing Leather in a Washing Machine
It’s been mentioned that leather can be washed using a washing machine set on a very gentle (wool or delicate cycle) setting with warm or cool water. However, this does come with some risk. The preferred method if you choose to do it yourself is hand washing.
Vinyl Lingerie
Vinyl Lingerie is perhaps the easiest to clean as this is a very strong and resilient fabric. You can use mild soap and warm water, but you’ll want to hand wash it. You may not want to trust your vinyl lingerie to a machine, even though the material is strong and does not absorb water at the same rate as the other garments. To get the most wear out of your lingerie, washing by hand is best. Vinyl is not very porous, though, so it will be much easier to handle it on your own with just the soap and water. Let it air dry unless the instructions on the label tell you otherwise.
