Oh dear, now you’ve gone and done it… you’ve dropped coffee on your lovely cashmere scarf! Or something equally stain inducing – yikes!

But it’s okay, fear not – we’re here to help by giving you top tips on how to get any nasty stains out of your delicate cashmere items.

Some of these might surprise you, but trust us – they really work! Of course, if you’re nervous about using home remedies, then please take your products to the dry cleaners. Just remember the sooner you act the more likely it is no trace of the stain will be left behind.

For General Stains

For most stains, running them under a bit of cool water and then using a laundry stain remover such as Zout is a good idea.

But DO NOT rub the stain remover in. It might cause a hole in the cashmere. Just leave it to penetrate for a while and then wash the whole item under cool water again.

If there’s still a little trace of the stain left, use a mild shampoo to hand-wash the item and again don’t focus on the stain. Just hand-wash it as normal.

Tannin stains – such as coffee, wine, fruits or vegetable stains

For this, you’ll need to wash the garment under cool water and then use some PH-neutral dishwashing liquid.

Sponge the area of the stain very gently – don’t rub or scrub – and keep running it under cool water for a rise till the stain has vanished.

Chocolate

First things first, gently remove any chocolate that is still stuck to the clothing using your fingers, a spoon or dull knife. Make sure you aren’t rubbing in or spreading the chocolate any further.

Then turn the item over so that you can wash it from the back of the mark with cool water.

Finally, if there’s anything left, leave it to soak in mild shampoo or PH neutral dishwashing liquid and cool water. Make sure the stain is soak in the liquid and leave it for 15-20 minutes before very carefully rubbing the stain to try and loosen it further. Then rinse it clean and the stain will hopefully be gone!

Greasy products/Make-up

For greasy products and make-up such as butter or lipstick, first of all dab up what you can, blotting away any excess make-up. Be gentle and make sure not to rub it in or spread the stain.

The next step is to use baking soda on the mark. It won’t effect your cashmere – just leave it on for 20 minutes so that it can absorb as much of the grease as possible and then shake it off. You probably want to do that over a sink.

Most of the stain should hopefully be gone but if there’s a little bit left, best thing to do soak the garment in a mild shampoo before hand-washing it.

Make-up with no grease

We’re talking about eye-shadow, blusher and bronzer type products here. The powdery stuff. For these types of stains, skip the baking powder and go straight to pre-soaking the garment in a mild shampoo. Then hand-wash in cool water and it should look good as new!

Remember:

– Do not wash and dry a cashmere product with stains as this will set the stains and then you’ll never get them out.
– Never use bleach. It will remove the colour and damage the fabric of the item.  
– Don’t ever wring cashmere to dry it – the product will lose its shape. Gently squish out excess water and then place the garment on a towel, roll it up and again gently press the water out. Then, take a fresh dry towel and place the item onto it and leave to dry.
– The best thing to remember is try never to do it again. Failing that – come back and use our helpful tips once more! Good luck!