A retail-ready reference for the care of silk bedding. Free to reproduce on your store's product pages (please credit House of Ranjit).
Silk is more durable than its reputation suggests. The reason silk bedding sometimes fails within two years is rarely a quality problem — it is almost always a care problem. The good news is that the right care routine takes no more time than caring for cotton, and a well-cared-for 22-momme pillowcase will outlast a high-thread-count cotton set by a factor of three. Here is the short reference.
Fill a clean basin with cold water (no warmer than 30°C / 85°F). Add a small amount of silk-safe detergent — Heritage Park, Eucalan, or any neutral-pH wool/silk wash. Submerge the piece, agitate gently with your hands for 2–3 minutes, then rinse thoroughly in fresh cold water. Do not wring.
Place silk pieces in a mesh laundry bag. Machine setting: delicate / silk cycle, cold water only (≤30°C), spin speed set to the lowest available. Use silk-safe detergent only. Wash silk only with other silk pieces — do not mix with cotton, denim or anything with zips, hooks or velcro.
Roll the wet piece in a clean white towel and press gently to remove water. Do not wring or twist. Lay flat on a fresh dry towel, or hang on a padded hanger in shade. Air-dry only — never tumble dry, never direct sunlight (which fades dye and weakens fibre).
Pro tip for retailers: the single most common cause of silk fading is drying in direct sunlight. Mention this in your product care card — it doubles the customer's perceived lifespan of the piece.
If ironing is needed (most silk does not need it after careful drying), use the iron's silk setting (≤110°C / 230°F) on the reverse side of the fabric. Iron while the piece is still slightly damp — dry-ironing silk creates the small shine marks that are very hard to remove.
Treat stains immediately with cold water and gentle blotting (never rubbing). For oil-based stains (makeup, body oils), apply a small amount of mild dish soap diluted in cold water, blot, rinse. For wine, ink or coffee — get the piece to a professional dry cleaner with silk experience the same day.
For statement pieces (Banarasi brocade duvet covers, embellished cushions, antique throws), dry cleaning is preferable to hand washing. Use a cleaner specifically experienced with silk, and request perchloroethylene-free solvents where possible.
Store silk in a cool, dry, dark place. Wrap in unbleached cotton (a pillowcase works well) — never plastic, which traps moisture. Avoid hanging silk on wire hangers for extended periods; the weight of the silk will deform around the hook. For long-term storage, add a cedar block or lavender sachet as a moth deterrent (silk is a natural fibre and is a target).
| Piece | Wash frequency | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Pillowcase | Weekly | Cold hand wash or gentle machine, silk wash |
| Sheet set | Weekly | Gentle machine wash, mesh bag, silk wash |
| Duvet cover (plain) | Monthly | Gentle machine wash, mesh bag, silk wash |
| Duvet cover (Banarasi) | Twice a year | Dry clean only |
| Silk quilt insert | Annually | Dry clean only · spot-clean cover between |
| Throw (jamdani / kantha) | Twice a year | Dry clean preferred · cold hand wash if needed |
| Cushion cover | Quarterly | Gentle hand wash or dry clean for embellished |
Retailers may download the printable one-page care card from our trade portal (a PDF version is supplied with every wholesale order). It is sized to slip into a cellophane pillow-pack and is designed to read like a care label rather than an instruction manual.