I have the most cunning little white straw bag (trimmed in burgundy leather) from last year. But after a year in New York, it looks a bit, umm, worse for wear.
There must be a way to clean straw—I mean, people have been wearing straw hats and bags for centuries! Any suggestions?
I’ve had good luck cleaning such things with baby wipes. The “cloth” is very soft and the soap (or whatever it is) is gentle. They are also moistened just about the right amount.
My babies have outgrown the original use, but I keep a couple of boxes around anyway. You can get unscented ones, too, if you don’t want that weird baby smell wafting around. They also make pretty good spot removers for when you drop your lunch on your embonpoint.
Well, damn. I went through all my 19th-century household hints guides, and found instructions for cleaning silk, kid, wool, cotton, everything but straw. Which leads me to the unhappy conclusion that maybe you can’t clean straw.
I’ll get some Baby Wipes, cher3, thanks.
You throw it away and get a new one. For cripes sakes, it’s not a MINK purse! A new straw bag is what, $4 tops?
Well, this is an Etienne Aigner straw bag my mother gave me for my birthday. Plus, it’s cute as all get-out.
In THAT case. (Pardon my earlier rudeness, but I had a bizarre run-in with a blatant homophobe yesterday and it really got my dander up.) I don’t think you’d want to use anything damp on straw…maybe rub it with some cornstarch and a stiff brush, like you’d use to clean stuffed animals? Or maybe those dry carpet-cleaning granules?. I think Resolve makes some but there are other bands.