What went wrong

Cashmere

1 August 2007



Richard Neale explains how drycleaners should approach cashmere garments


Cashmere just needs care

Cashmere is a natural hair fibre from the fleece of the cashmere goat. It demands exactly the same degree of care as a soft lambswool or mohair.

It is very sensitive to moisture and mechanical action and as the garments are often knitted under low tension to produce a very soft handle and drape, they are particularly sensitive to felting and the accompanying shrinkage, thickening and matting.

If you follow the rules, cashmere should present no more stain removal difficulties than any other fabric. Test the stain remover on a hidden area to ensure that it does not take out the colour. Leave the remover on the fabric for long enough to soften or decolour an imaginary stain, then flush and feather dry. If the test area is unmarked it should be safe to tackle the stain.

Feather drying is essential to eliminate the risk of localised felting where you have applied a water-based reagent. Finish off with a light smear of neat pre-treatment soap to reduce the risk even further.

Cashmere garments have plummeted in price, but that does not necessarily mean that they are going to fall to pieces in drycleaning. The average garment ranges should perform well. Garments should be wrapped in a net bag, cleaned on a delicate cycle with a proper detergent charge and then lightly steamed to finish. A good detergent will contain a cationic fabric conditioner which helps to replace the smooth silky feel which is sometimes lost when the drycleaning detergent dissolves the original spinning oils.


A fine meal for moths

Fault: Several small holes could be seen after this garment was drycleaned. The owner said they were not there before and they were not spotted at the counter.

Cause: When viewed using a 30x magnifier with side lighting, clean cut fibre ends could be seen around the hole. There was no discolouration or charring so this was not a burn or spill and there were too many cuts for a nick or for entrapment. The hole is typical of damage from a clothes moth or carpet beetle grub and has developed over a period of time.

Responsibility: The owner is probably to blame as the damage stems from the way the garment has been stored.

Rectification: A high value garment might justify re-weaving, otherwise a professional darn will make it wearable.

Shrink with haste

Fault: This cashmere jumper shrunk so much during cleaning that it no longer fitted its owner.

Cause: The cleaner knew the drycleaning machine’s still condenser had a pin-hole leak, but wanted to get the work done before the engineer came to replace it. However, the water separator cannot handle the water droplets getting into the solvent flow from the leaky condenser. As a result, the droplets are swept into the distilled solvent tank.

The jumper was cleaned on a delicate cycle that used only distilled solvent and the water droplets were quickly absorbed by the cashmere. The scales on the cashmere fibres rose and took on the appearance of barbed spears.

They were pushed together and interlocked but would not then release and hence the shrinkage.

Responsibility:The cleaner is to blame. This fault could have been avoided if they had waited for the machine to be repaired

Treat ink before cleaning:

Fault: A blob of fountain pen ink spoilt the sleeve of this cerise sweater. The cleaner refused to pre-treat a cashmere sweater, but the stain did not come out in drycleaning.

Correct approach: If ink remover is applied directly to the stain, the mark is likely to spread out rapidly and become several times larger. The best approach is to surround the stain with glycerine, working this well into the fabric. When the ink remover is applied the glycerine will stop the stain spreading and keep it small enough to be pulled away through the vacuum gauze and blotted off with clean white cotton cloths. If cleaners are patient, they can usually remove all the ink.

Responsibility: The cleaner should have treated the stain as described, or directed the customer to a business with a qualified stain remover. The drycleaning process set the stain making it difficult if nor impossible to remove.


HUNGRY MOTHS: This hole,which has clean-cut fibre ends is typical of damage from a cclothes moth or carpet beetle grub Cashmere moth hole JUST A FEW DROPS: Water droplets have shrunk this cashemere jumper Cashmere Shrinkage BARRIER: Use glycerine to prevent the stain spreading when remover is applied Cashmere ink stain

Cashmere ink stain Cashmere ink stain
Cashmere Shrinkage Cashmere Shrinkage
Cashmere moth hole Cashmere moth hole


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