It's always a shame when an accident leaves a delicate material like silk or lace ruined by oil or another hard-to-remove liquid. Luckily, a solution lies on TikTok, with a hack that will keep you from having to say goodbye to that seemingly ruined silk skirt.
The scoop
If you've been preparing to say a permanent goodbye to your favorite piece of silk clothing, stop right there and check out this hack from Juliet Maria (aka @julietmariaj on TikTok). She demonstrates how to use this technique to get oil out of silk, but the same process can apply to any oil-based liquid on delicate materials.
@julietmariaj If oil gets on your delicate material here's what to do. 1. Immediately apply cornstarch to the damaged area. 2. Let sit for a few hours so that it can absorb the moistness of the oil. 3. Remove the starch by brushing. 4. Gently wash off the article of clothing with dishwashing liquid. 5. Wash alone in machine. 6. Let airdry…. Should be good as new! #clothinghack #howtoreels #whattodowhen #trendtok ♬ Zou Bisou Bisou - Gillian Hills
To start off, immediately apply cornstarch to the damaged area and leave it to sit for a few hours. The idea is that the cornstarch will start to absorb the moistness of the oil.
Next, brush the starch off the material and wash the whole thing gently with dishwashing liquid, and then on a gentle cycle in the machine. Leave it to dry, and you're ready to re-wear it.
"Should be good as new," Maria wrote in her caption.
How it's helping
It's always sad when you have to throw away a favorite skirt or item of clothing, so using cleaning hacks like this one to rescue a beloved item from the trash is nothing to turn your nose up at.
What's more, getting more wear out of delicate items extends the lifecycle of our clothing and means we won't have to spend to replace it for longer. The average American throws away 70 pounds worth of textile waste each year and buys roughly 68 new garments a year. In fact, the average garment is only worn seven times before being discarded.
This is a shockingly short lifetime for any piece of clothing, which often costs a huge amount of energy, textiles, and water to produce and transport to its future owner. Extending this lifetime by properly cleaning them means getting more value out of the same amount of resources, and it reduces how much people need to consume to replace "ruined" items.
What everyone's saying
One commenter was amazed at the new hack, writing, "Omg not me learning something newww."
With over a hundred likes, the TikToker is gradually teaching more and more people how to save their beloved silk or delicate items.
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