# Is it safe to dry clean a tie?



## Sgt_Strider (Oct 10, 2006)

I just did a quick search on Google and it was mentioned that dry cleaning a tie is bad. Have anyone of you guys tried to dry clean a silk tie?


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## PedanticTurkey (Jan 26, 2008)

The consensus seems to be that it's not a good idea unless your dry cleaner knows what they're doing.

Honestly, I don't see the need unless the tie is stained. Then I'd just throw it away, or if I _really_ loved it, send it off to someone like tiecrafters.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I hope you don't mind.

I moved your thread here because it will get more discussion here.

It's dangerous. The dry cleaner may ruin the tie; certainly it is difficult for them to avoid pressing it flat.

Turkey is right; if it is really worth saving, it needs to go someplace like tie crafters, although when a tie is stained, I will sometimes give a dry cleaner a shot at it (knowing that I will throw the tie away if it comes back unwearable.) Sometimes it works okay.


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## chatsworth osborne jr. (Feb 2, 2008)

*they'll press it flat anyway*

I have one silk tie that suffered extremely dirty water damage, and was left to dry mangled...for over a year. I was washing a sweater in the tub with Woolite and threw it in too. Rolled it in a towel, then laid it out to dry (a little stretching and straightening by hand). It turned out pretty well.

I swear that Ben Silver's catalog used to say that you should just dab stain with water, but their website is now claiming that you should just buy a new tie


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## ToryBoy (Oct 13, 2008)

I have used a steam iron and it worked really well, although there was only a small stain.


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## Blueboy1938 (Aug 17, 2008)

*Out, out, damned spot!*

I've had ties dry cleaned with no problem. If the sides are too flat or creased, I just use my handy-dandy steamer to loosen it up.

If you have just a spot or two of something oil based, you can sometimes blot it out with the backside of the small end of the tie. Because you are using the tie material on itself, there is a lot less likelihood of damaging the weave. All you're trying to do is get it blotted to the point it can't be noticed, and it won't leave a ring. A water based spot, on the other hand, may leave a ring if you don't catch it before it dries. Blotting it can still work, and >ahem< a little spit may help dissolve the stuff, usually food, that got on there with the water.

Those chalk-like substances can work, but you should test it on an "inconspicuous part" first, mainly to see if you can get the "chalk" dust out.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

chatsworth osborne jr. said:


> I swear that Ben Silver's catalog used to say that you should just dab stain with water, but their website is now claiming that you should just buy a new tie


They'd probably prefer that you buy another tie... especially from them. :icon_smile_big:


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## Macleod (Feb 15, 2008)

There is a really good and reputable dry cleaner here in Houston called Twin Oaks who have always given me impeccable service and take exceptional care of your clothes. It is because of there history of outstanding service that I took a favorite tie to them to be cleanedafter a waiter at a family function dropped an asaparagus spear on it. Had I known ahead of time of the dangers, I might have been a bit reluctant to go that route, but they got the stain out and the tie looked as good as new. As Turkey stated, if you really love the tie and you have been with your dry cleaner long enough to hav enough confidence in them to try to take care of it, then by all means give them a chance.


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## logicalfrank (Oct 16, 2008)

I sometimes get ties I buy at the thrift store dry cleaned if I like one a lot and it's not in ideal shape. Probably taken in around ten and they've all come back fine. One might have been a little bit flattened but I think it might have been like that to begin w/. That said, these are ties that I spend fifty cents to a dollar on (it is always a bit of a thrill to find an expensive tie for a buck) so no big loss monetarily if it doesn't come out.


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

ToryBoy said:


> I have used a steam iron and it worked really well, although there was only a small stain.


Just to expand on this a bit try using brown wrapping paper over the stain and then iron it, works well with oil stains as the paper tends to absorb the stain as its heated.

Aside from that many years ago I came into possession of a number of ties dating back to the 1950's they were a little bit worse for wear so I took them to a dry cleaners and the results were good.


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## dfloyd (May 7, 2006)

*I have removed stains from ties several times with ....*

ordinary soda water. Put club soda on a clean cotton dish towel, then blot the stain. Keep blotting until it is dry. This will remove most stains without water spotting. I keep a bottle at home and some is always available at a restaurant. The stain removal needs to be done as soon as possible after soiling the tie.

We have an excellent dry cleaners which specializes in ties within a few miles of me. A dry cleaner must have experience to be able to properly clean a tie. I use them for stains which have set where the soda water technique is not effective. Ties are held together by a thread which is secured to the tie with a slip knot. This is undone by the cleaners, then the tie is cleaned and steamed before being put back together. The cost is usually under ten dollars.... a small price to pay for a Robert Talbott or Duchamp of London which can run well over a hundred dollars. I have never lost a tie in recent years.

About ten years ago, a waitress spilt a cup of mushroom soup on a silk tie. She was mortified, and I told her to quick get me a clean dish cloth abd a small glass of club soda.
It took about 20 minutes of blotting, but without getting up from my table or taking off the tie, I successfully cleaned it until the stain had disappeared. Never throw a stained tie away. Clean it yourself or take it too a dry cleaners who knows how. Just ask them if they have staff which can disassemble a tie. If they don't, your wasting your time and your tie.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

If you drip gravy or butter sauces on the tie, you either have to clean it or throw it away; so the question of whether it will be (further) ruined by the cleaner is often academic. I've had cleaners, including my current one, who do a great job. I've had others that just slapped the thing in a steam press and left an intaglio print of the reverse of the tie on the front. The trick is to find someone who does it right ... this may be a good opportunity to remove the LED and sound chip from the Disco Santa tie you got in the office Christmas grab bag, and shop around.


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## Orsini (Apr 24, 2007)

Sgt_Strider said:


> I just did a quick search on Google and it was mentioned that dry cleaning a tie is bad. Have anyone of you guys tried to dry clean a silk tie?


It is best to avoid dry cleaning any tie as much as possible. They might come back pressed flat and with a nasty shine.

In the not too distant past, there were cleaners that maintained a specialty in ties and did a reasonably good job of it, but there are hardly any of those establishments to be found these days...


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## Jim In Sunny So Calif (May 13, 2006)

I have never had a problem with the cleaners not getting a tie clean; the problem I had a long time ago was in the pressing. The tie would come back looking like it was run over by a steam roller. 

A long time ago my cleaners would, if asked, send a tie out to a different cleaners that specialized in ties. After a few more years they were able to do them in-house and make them look pretty good. I am not sure they ever look quite as good as new though.

Cheers, Jim.


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## msphotog (Jul 5, 2006)

I do try to dry clean my ties as little as possible, but I recently dipped a brand new BB tie, just the tip, in a plate of food. Water didn't get it out, so I was forced to send it to the cleaners. It came back looking perfect, but the tag in the back side is almost falling off, the threads are coming loose, and the threads holding the folds together under the tags, are also unraveled and coming loose. Brooks said they would repair it, but I haven't sent it back.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Accidents like these = good excuse to wear a tie clip. I usually do if I know there will be food involved.


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## Xhine23 (Jan 17, 2008)

I think you have a fifty fifty chances with the tie. If you take it to the dry cleaner and it they ruin it you can through it away just as well as if you don't take it to the cleaner.Unless you want to clean it yourself drycleaner is your option.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

I have sent a few favored ties, that have gotten stained through my carelessness, to the local cleaners and while the results were not spectacular, the stains were successfully removed and the ties remained quite usable. However, should I require such services in the future, I am actually quite anxious to ship the next one off to a vendor such as Tie Crafters, so as to be able to compare results.


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## Buffalo (Nov 19, 2003)

Try www.tiecrafters.com ---they are great.


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## wgb (Mar 2, 2007)

Or wear bowties -- it's usually quite difficult to spill on them.:icon_smile_big:


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## rgrossicone (Jan 27, 2008)

*My Tie Experiences*

When I had the fire in my apt, all of my ties (over 100) were sent out to a fire cleaners. About 20% of them came back destroyed (the material on the inside became bunchd up) and all of them came back flattened. The ruined ties were sent to a tailor to repair (at the cleaners expense) and the flat ties seemed to loosen up a bit upon wearing (although I have not gotten to wear them all yet). i also had a problem with the fact that in the middle of the summer the cleaners hung ALL of my ties over glue hangers which pulled and stretched the silk, but that came out after rolling them properly, for the most part.

Needless to say, the insurance company paid out well over $10,000 to clean and fix my clothing damaged by smoke, and I was subsequently dropped...effin d-bags.


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## Sgt_Strider (Oct 10, 2006)

Orsini said:


> It is best to avoid dry cleaning any tie as much as possible. They might come back pressed flat and with a nasty shine.
> 
> In the not too distant past, there were cleaners that maintained a specialty in ties and did a reasonably good job of it, but there are hardly any of those establishments to be found these days...


Here is an update to this story. The tie was cleaned by my dry cleaner and for the most part it's good. However, I notice a bit of a shine if I were to look at the tie from an angle. 

On a related note, can someone here tell me if it's ever safe to iron a tie? If so, is there something that I need to keep in mind as I iron a tie?


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

You would certainly want to avoid creasing the sides. You may want to put something between the tie and your iron. Could you steam the tie? That could be a lot safer.


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## Penang Lawyer (May 27, 2008)

Sorry, I have never had any luck in cleaning a tie. Tried many dry cleaners and Tiecrafters was the worse.


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## Infrasonic (May 18, 2007)

I've ironed ties (Silk) when new to take out some of the storage creases. 
A damp thin cloth over the top of the tie and just enough heat and pressure to do the job has worked without flattening the tie at all.

Err on the side of caution and work up to an effective level seems to be the safest bet :icon_smile:


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## jdl (Dec 13, 2008)

Infrasonic said:


> I've ironed ties (Silk) when new to take out some of the storage creases.
> A damp thin cloth over the top of the tie and just enough heat and pressure to do the job has worked without flattening the tie at all.
> 
> Err on the side of caution and work up to an effective level seems to be the safest bet :icon_smile:


Best to place the face down and irone from the back (with a cloth), you are less likely to get the shape of the tie back imprinted on the front.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

The real problem with tie cleaning isn't usually the cleaning itself; it's the pressing. If the cleaner just slaps the thing into a steaming press, you'll end up with a mess. My cleaner does a very good job. I think they put it onto a form and steam it without pressing. I've had others that did a terrible job. 

Take an inexpensive tie around to several places and see how they do.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Penang Lawyer said:


> Sorry, I have never had any luck in cleaning a tie. Tried many dry cleaners and *Tiecrafters was the worse*.


Please elaborate.


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## The Louche (Jan 30, 2008)

Buffalo said:


> Try www.tiecrafters.com ---they are great.


+1. I actually have a load with them right now - my first. I am confident though as I have heard about them for years. Local places simply can't be trusted. I don't know if its been mentioned here yet, but half the trouble with this whole pressing issue is that 9 times out of 10 the local guys not only press the edges too flat, but parts of the tie get a shine that wont go away. Think about how wool shines if you iron it yourself or wear it for too long...

Tie Crafters baby...


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## eyedoc2180 (Nov 19, 2006)

Not great luck here, either, I am afraid. I just got a badly stained BB#2 stripe back from the cleaners. The stain is gone, but the tie is, well, not the same. They pressed it so firmly that the underlying seam now shows through, and the whole thing feels flat and smooth, as opposed to the texture that I like. Hmmmm.......well, they are on sale now...... Bill


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## the law (Sep 16, 2008)

I recently nailed a favorite pink tie with ketchup a few weeks back. Nice, large stain. I decided to roll the dice and have my cleaner take a shot at it. 

When it came back, I was pleasantly surprised. It was clean and unflattened. 
My past experiences with cleaners and ties has mirrored the previous comments (disaster).


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## Delmarco (Jun 1, 2008)

I just dry cleaned four ties (2 silk and 2 acrylic-blend) at a local cleaner and everything looks good.
If anything one of the food stains (which I tried to remove with a Shout-stain removal spray) 
is still present as a light fade spot. it is a royal purple color woven in a pebbled (grenadine-like) weave with an acrylic blend fabric so it is hard to see under most lighting. 
The two silk ties were light weight light colored summer ties (Lime green and Nantucket red) which tends to get dirty at the tie knot.

Over all at $4 a tie I am happy with the work.

I had no idea there was much confusion and controversy regarding tie cleaning.

Even in my own office my co-workers were ridiculing me (since I picked up my dry cleaning before coming into work and had to march thru my office with ties on dry cleaners hangers). They assumed people just threw ties away when they got worn-out and dirty.

My thing is I place the value on the rarity of my ties. I have rare colors and patterns that if I threw some of my ties out I would NEVER be able to replace them. 

So I am all for the dry cleaning.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Many dry cleaners press them too flat, but I have a local one I trust and use for ties. They are able to clean many (not all) ties without flattening and creasing them. It's worth a shot on a favorite tie.


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

^ Davis Imperial Cleaners locally, and tie crafters in NYC, know what they are doing and I've used both before with good results. 

As long as the merchant knows what he's doing, dry cleaning a tie is safe and depending on the nature of the soiling, necessary.


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## JBierly (Jul 4, 2012)

I have taken ties to the cleaners before and they usually send them out. The few times I have done it have worked out well.


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