The Household Staple That'll Leave Your Precious Silk Furniture Clean & Shining

Silk is an amazing material for household furniture and upholstery, offering a luxuriously soft feel that few other fabrics come close to. While lounging on silk furniture can feel great, however, you need to ensure that you protect it. Silk furniture will get worn, lose some of its brilliance, and become dull from regular use. Silk is particularly delicate and collects stains easily. It can also get damaged by too much heat, light, and water.

Because silk is so delicate, be careful of the chemicals and cleaners you use on it. Oxidizing agents such as bleach, for example, can cause damage and discoloration. Using too much water when cleaning can lead to water spots as well. Fortunately, there's an ingredient that you probably already have in your kitchen cupboard that will do a great job of cleaning silk and helping it keep its shine – without causing damage to it: vinegar.

Vinegar is a versatile cleaning tool that can be used around the house. It works on silk furniture as well. Although it's acidic, vinegar isn't too harsh and will help restore your silk's shine by ridding the fabric of dirt, oil, and dust. If diluted and used with a light touch, vinegar can help you get your furniture looking as good as new again in a small amount of time. Serious stains may require the help of a dry cleaner or professional, but vinegar does a great job of general cleaning and clearing up light stains.

To use vinegar to clean your silk furniture, start by vacuuming as much dust and debris from it as you can. Then, mix equal parts vinegar and cold water into a spray bottle. Once your solution is ready, lightly spray it onto the silk furniture. However, be sure to do a patch test first to ensure that your fabric doesn't react poorly. After spraying, let the vinegar solution sit for 10 minutes. Finally, use cold water and a soft cloth to go over the surface again and remove any remaining vinegar residue. You can then let the silk furniture air dry. Alternatively, you can use a hair dryer on a heatless setting to dry it a little more quickly.

Although vinegar and water do a great job of removing dust and grime, and eliminating lighter stains, the mixture has its limitations. If that doesn't do the trick, there's another simple DIY solution to consider. A mixture of mild laundry detergent and cold water can also be useful for cleaning silk furniture. As with using vinegar, you should vacuum the silk furniture first. Then, soak a soft cloth in the detergent and water solution. Wring out the cloth to ensure that there's not too much water, and wipe the silk furniture carefully using circular motions. Once you're done, let it air dry or use a hair dryer's heatless setting to help it dry faster.

Remember that silk is one of the fabrics that you should never actually clean with water alone. Avoid adding too much water to silk furniture when using this mixture. If you overdo it, you may create water spots. Additionally, it's a good idea to test the mixture first by doing a patch test on a small part of the fabric. Discoloration is possible when using this mixture on silk furniture, so you'll want to verify that it will be safe before you wipe the entire surface.