Tie care

[Flying Scotsman]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered, but I searched the forums and couldn't find quite the answers I'm hoping to find.

Couple of questions for y'all...

First, given that ties are so notoriously difficult to clean, how do you keep them clean in the first place? That is to say, how do you keep from getting spots on them, such as when dining, etc.? (Please don't say "eat carefully", as there are always accidents, drips, drops, etc., possible). I've seen napkins as bibs, ties inside of shirts, ties over shoulders, etc., and none of these "methods" really seem very acceptable to me (and maybe it's just me, but I've always found the tie-over-the-shoulder thing really uber-yuppified).

Second, how do you store them? I got sick of having scads of ties hanging in the closet, even with the tie hanger things, so I rolled them all and put them in a drawer (after having reconquered some dresser drawers from the SO). Is rolling them up the preferred method? How tightly rolled? etc....

I know this sounds all anal retentive and such, but I like my ties, and given that many of them were not cheap, I'd like to keep them nice...and also learn how to properly treat vintage ties, once I start collecting them.

Thanks so much in advance for all of your help!

Steve

 

[adamgottschalk]

Cleaning, I'm not too sure. I don't seem to have much trouble keeping food off my ties while eating; every other piece of garment is another story. Feraud just recommended a soaking in Oxyclean water, which I will try.

Storage is more difficult. I thought I'd found the perfect things in these hanging racks which spin and have padded arms, storing the ties vertically. I have since discovered, for many various reasons, they are far less than ideal.

I now have two nice vintage racks which store the ties horizontally. They don't spin or move, making it much easier to use them. One is a really nice metal job with stout chrome bars and little red buttons on the end of each tie bar. The bars are not as thick as I'd prefer, but they work just fine. All ties are now immensely visible and easily accessible by rotating the little bars. They must be mounted on a wall or something, but these are the best solution I've found.

I would say avoid storage solutions which store the ties vertically; you will probably lament, as I did, that you can't see any of your ties and pulling one out and putting it back is a pain. I don't have any trouble with dust collecting on my ties, but then I use them all frequently.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Thanks, Adam. Nice tie collection, by the way!

I'll be on the lookout for nice tie hangars, in the hopes of finding something that works. Yours look like a potential solution.

Is it better to hang them, or roll them? I've not heard a definitive answer, just bits here and there about "letting the slipstitch relax" and such.

I usually manage to keep the food off of my clothes and on my plate, but every so often, it fools me and jumps onto a tie or shirt! The last time it was juice from a (very good) steak on a really nice tie. Distressing.

ETA: I should add that one of the problems is just sheer numbers of ties. Hanging them on one of those twirly round tie hangars was okay, until I ended up with something like 5 dozen ties (and still growing...probably nowhere near the number some of you guys have, but I'm working on it). At that point, hanging them in the closet just stopped being a workable solution...

 

[Tomasso]

I hang all my ties with the exception of the knits, which are rolled. I've found that hanging a tie helps the knotted area to recover much better than rolling.

As for stain removal, I have not had good luck with home remedies or dry cleaners. I can only recommend Tie Crafters , who I have used to complete satisfaction.