Cleaning ties?

[John in Covina]

So far, I have found an article by Bob Cianci that says if they are silk they must be dried cleaned but only if not too fragile. It was suggested the dry cleaner put them in the delicates bag and remove before the extraction cylce hit it's zenith.

Rayon, crepe and satin ties can usually washed with Woolite and gently pressed with a warm (not too hot iron) and he said better clean and too flat than grungy and unwearable!

In NYC there is a place called Tie Crafters that does cleaning but it is a bit pricey, google / yahoo it to see.

Any one got some information?

John in Covina

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Resurrecting an old thread...

Well, my cheap vintage tie lot from eBay showed up... some interesting stuff, some hopeless junk, but the stains!

I wonder if there's anything I can do with them? I'll post some pictures. I paid about a buck a tie including shipping, so I can't really whine and I did leave the guy positive feedback. Some of the ties are really cool, but it seems the most interesting are also the most stained.

 

[Senator Jack]

I've been meaning to go over to Tie-crafters. I have a few that I'd like to get cleaned/repaired and now I have my excuse: I got kicked in the mouth by a hipster and now I've blood on one of my favorite ties. I'll report back after I find out what they're about.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Huh?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

It happens.

.

 

[Mad Molly]

Well, my cheap vintage tie lot from eBay showed up... some interesting stuff, some hopeless junk, but the stains!

You know, I never thought I'd "hear" you talking like this. Don't go gettin' all metrosexual on Molly.

John in Covina...may I just say...hi, neighbor! I live in the next city over.

 

[Mad Molly]

I've been meaning to go over to Tie-crafters. I have a few that I'd like to get cleaned/repaired and now I have my excuse: I got kicked in the mouth by a hipster and now I've blood on one of my favorite ties.

Wear it and just say "You should see the other guy."

 

[Tomasso]

In NYC there is a place called Tie Crafters that does cleaning but it is a bit pricey

They are the best, bar none. I've used and recommended them for years and I haven't heard a single complaint, only raves, except about their prices.

 

[Dalexs]

Well, my cheap vintage tie lot from eBay showed up... some interesting stuff, some hopeless junk, but the stains!

I wonder if there's anything I can do with them? I'll post some pictures. I paid about a buck a tie including shipping, so I can't really whine and I did leave the guy positive feedback. Some of the ties are really cool, but it seems the most interesting are also the most stained.

You could always do what I did... have your ties fall off the rack (by accident of course) into the laundry basket and get run thru a warm water wash and tumble dry (warm!)

It certainly came out clean!

 

[FedoraGent]

So gents are we sure that dry cleaning is the only way to clean a tie?

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

I'm wondering the same thing. I brought some ties to the dry cleaners and one of them was apparently too delicate. The owner said that because of it's age it wouldn't be smart to put it through the machine.

 

[John in Covina]

WOOLITE WASHING VS DRY CLEAN ONLY

The alternative was to do the hand wash or delicate cycle with a delicates bag using Woolite and pretreating stains very carefully.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

What about trying one of those Dryel home dry-cleaning sets, and skip the running the item through the dryer and just let it hang dry?

 

[onlyoneintown]

Oxyclean? I was going to try that and just let them dry I don't know now...

 

[thunderw21]

I handwash mine with Tide in lukewarm water. It's always gotten the stains out.

 

[onlyoneintown]

ok cool I'm sure oxyclean will work

 

[Johnnysan]

I recently washed all of my vintage ties ( a half dozen or so) using Woolite and cold water mixed up in a lidded plastic storage box. I let them soak about an hour or so, making sure to put like colors together, and gave the box a swish every fifteen minutes. I did my least favorite one first as a test, but they all came out fine.

All of these ties were rayon and most of them had yellowed a bit from age. Some had some spots on them and one had a distinct mildew smell. Where spots were noticeable, I did hand rub the tie against itself in the wash water. When they came out, all of the colors were brighter and the smell and spots were gone.

My wife pressed out the ties using the lowest heat setting with a non-fuzzy cotton towel over them to keep them from getting scorched and developing a shine. She ironed the backside first and then ironed the front of the tie.

The result? Six vintage ties that look like they were bought yesterday.

As for Oxyclean...beware on silk, according to advice from a fellow Loungers in another thread:

DO NOT USE OXYCLEAN ON WOOL . It's designed to break down animal based proteins. Don't use it on silk either, there are some cleaning threads that go into great detail on this.

Sadly, he also recommended against using Woolite. I guess mileage will vary! [huh]

 

[Tomasso]

The result? Six vintage ties that look like they were bought yesterday.

Can you post a photo?

 

[Johnnysan]

Can you post a photo?

Certainly!

First, my "high-tech" washing machine...

All six ties, as a group...

and a closer shot of them all...

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos - not a lot of set up time! I wish I had some "before" photos, but I wasn't thinking at the time. The Woolite bath did make a noticeable improvement.

 

[Feraud]

Here is s tie I washed in Oxyclean. The material feels like rayon.

There was a large stain down the front that is gone and the tie is clean and bright.