# How To Restore "Silkiness" To Washed Silk?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-silkiness-to-washed-silk/663364>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 12, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-silkiness-to-washed-silk/663364 "2013-07-12T22:05:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-silkiness-to-washed-silk/663364/1 "2013-07-12T22:05:01Z")

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I was given a couple of nice silk shirts a month ago-they had a very nice slippery “silky” feel to the material. After washing, the material now is rather rough.  
Can I restore the former feel of it? Is there a special softener I should use when washing silk?

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**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-silkiness-to-washed-silk/663364/2 "2013-07-13T00:03:08Z")

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Uh-oh. What did you use to wash them? They really should have been dry cleaned if they were real silk. If you just threw them in with the regular laundry they may be beyond help. If you ran them through the dryer there is no hope. Try [this](http://www.wikihow.com/Wash-Silk-Garments) and see if maybe you can revive them.

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**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-silkiness-to-washed-silk/663364/3 "2013-07-13T01:27:55Z")

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Do they have the care tags on them? Did they say you could machine-wash the shirts? I’ve seen some machine-washable silk, but it’s not got that sheen to begin with.

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**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-restore-silkiness-to-washed-silk/663364/4 "2013-07-13T10:55:06Z")

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Toss them in the dryer with a fabric softener sheet. Low heat. Check them after 5 minutes or so.