Unc and others,
Twice now I have splurged and purchased silk clothing. It’s nice stuff, except… It stinks. I mean aroma. I’ve tried cleaning it, rolling it in dirt, and letting the cats sleep with. Other than a query from the SPCA as to pet cruelty, I have made no progress. I know it comes out of the butt of a worm, but I would think the makers would be able to counter that. So… Anybody out there know why silk (mine anyway) stinks? And how, if possible, to eradicate it.
thanks
mountain
First of all, a big hearty WELCOME to The Dope! May your time here be merry and full of pie.
I own a few silk shirts, and they dont smell of anything strange. Do you buy all your silk clothing from the same store?
What particular aroma do you smell? Mildew? BO? Shit? More input will provide a better answer.
I know they are new articles of clothing, but have you tried taking them to a professional dry cleaner? There may be something put on new silk clothing, akin to sizing that is used on cotton clothing ( and some cotton/poly blends ) that you are smelling and might come out in the wash, so to speak.
Indeed, Welcome To The Straight Dope. Just keep in mind the bare essentials: The Adminstrators live for chocolate.
After that, everything else is kind of easy. 
Cartooniverse
According to this site, the odor is due to the gummy residue that originally bound the cocoon together. Plus, it comes out of a worm’s butt. (unverified opinion of this author)
Incorrect.
The raw silk thread that forms the cocoon is produced by the salivary glands of the silkworm. So it is effectively silkworm spit, and comes out of the mouth, not the butt. (In fact, I don’t think silkworms even have a “butt”. They have many pairs of legs after all, not just two legs that meet in a pair of buttocks.)
All that being said, it’s true that silk does have a distinct smell to it–it’s less noticeable in thin, “silky” fabric, but in rough nubbly thick fabric it is fairly noticeable. I wouldn’t call it a “stink,” though, it’s just a smell. I like it…
Oh, and silk is perfectly machine washable–I have shirts that have been washed and dried hundreds of times and they’re still just fine. Best way to dry them is to put them into a dryer at low heat for about ten minutes. They’ll be slightly damp, but won’t wrinkle so horrendously. Hang them to finish drying.
It’s not a normal smell. I can’t even describe it. But it’s none of the above. I bought two shirts from Wal-mart. Ended up throwing them away. The one I have now is Silk upper and lower long johns, for cold weather. I bought them at Cabelas. They were packaged in air tight celophane. It’s alot like Duponts exhaust, if you’ve ever been around a chemical plant or possibly the fish packers in San Diego. I’ll keep washing. I’m on my fourth.
Gummy residue? Hmmm that might be something. I think I’ll try washing them in Dawn dish soap. Might help if it’s a oil base.
I’d hazard a guess, then, that it’s from the packaging. Maybe you should get the items dry-cleaned, or pick up one of those do-it-yourself dry-cleaners; maybe try Febreeze?
YOu like it??? 
I’ll try the dryer though.
This is a common complaint with items made with minimally processed silk, such as that found in some yarns, or in silk noil. I’ve smelled this in garments made of nubbly silk, and in sweaters, but I’ve never smelled it in “silky” silk fabrics. I don’t think it’s a bad smell, but it gets on my nerves enough to keep me from buying things that smell like that.
I’ve never tried to wash the smell out, but found this helpful tip: