Washing silk rugs?
 

I found a small, handmade Chinese silk-on-silk mat in a thrift shop. It's decorative piece in good condition. Chrome dyes, ?1990s?. I've washed many handmade wool rugs. Can I safely wash a silk piece? Technique has been "dust with vibration; long soak in cool water plus Orvis; rinse ten times; de-water with a shop vac; drip dry on a rack with fan for air circulation." Paid $4 for it, doubt that it's valuable or collectable. I normally wash new finds, however, and this is first encounter with all-silk. Other than being especially gentle, what do I do differently?

Steve Pendleton

That's basically how we do it in the shop where I work, except we don't use the shop-vac. We use a hand squeegee instead.
Are you sure that it is silk and not mercerized cotton or bamboo silk? In those cases the shop-vac is fine.

PS: Don't use the beater bar when vacuuming.

Thanks Marvin
 

Marvin, thanks. Per your suggestions, approach will be to dust by vibration, cold-water soak with Orvis, light agitation, rinse, no squeezing/compression, squeegee with a light touch, de-water with towels instead of shop-vac, air dry with fan circulation. Like washing a wool rug, but gentler mechanical steps.

It's silk. I burned foundation and pile threads. Both smelled like burned hair. Not cotton.

Again, thanks

Steve Pendleton

"Dewatering" is easier with a window squeegee on a rod that allows one to stand up instead of using towels on your hands and knees.
Have fun!

Squeegee vs MechaGodzilla
 

For durable wool rugs, first squeegee, then shop vac. Consider trying the shop vac thing! It's a wee bit o' work, Laddie, but it will suck gallons out of a squeegeed rug quickly, reducing the risk of color run and the air-dry time. After good wash and rinse, you'd think the water would be clean--but No!--you'll also remove yet-more suspended dirt. Alternatively, commercial wet carpet cleaners typically have a suction feature to de-water vacuum-cleaner style a foot at a time. I haven't tried that, but it should be equivalent, and less work.

Again, thanks

--SRP

We've been using a shop vac on wool rugs for decades

For a squeegee, I have had good luck with a length (ca. 10-12 inches) of hardwood flooring. Maple is the best, but I have used other woods. Go over the straight, sharp edge with a fine sandpaper. Plane it along the top of the (wet, soapy) pile in the direction of the pile, maintaining steady, controlled pressure. It pushes a lot of dirt-laden water out of the piece while avoiding the tendency of many squeegees to grab at and pull fibers.

I have never tried it on silk.

Good result, memo of method
 

Good outcome! For reference, the method was a day-long, passive soak in cold water and Orvis, light-tough squeegee after rinse, air-dry on a rack open and supporting underneath. No issues. Increases the silky sheen, probably because the squeegee aligned the fibers. Thanks to all!

Steve

I've used the shower on its powerful setting on small wool on wool flatweaves, followed by a quick soak in mild detergent and a final powerful showering until the water runs clear, then dry outdoors over the back of an uptilted garden chair. Works fine.