FABRIC CARE
Want your curtains, cushions and bedsheets to retain their colour, texture and sheen? These simple tips, tricks and techniques help you get there.
The thing about homes is that they need constant love and attention. It’s easy to buy a bunch of products, but to have them last you for years, and to ensure your home always feels like a sanctuary, it’s important to put care into it. Textiles, in particular, need love. For most families this is wisdom that’s handed down from mother to daughter, and then again through generations. Remember, each time you wash or scrub a textile, lose strands are lost and it suffers a degree of damage. Over a period of time, cleaning them incorrectly can result in corroding and damaging your beautiful home textiles. ALWAYS READ THE LABEL
Home textiles such as cushions, table linen, duvets, bed covers, bedsheets should all be looked after as instructed on their care labels. People often don’t bother to look at these but it takes a minute and you’ll be glad you did when your products look great season after season. As a rule of thumb, avoid using a washing machine to clean furnishings. For instance, instead of using a washing machine to clean cotton curtains hand-wash them with hot water and detergent. You can also vacuum curtains weekly to remove dust. One of the most effective ways of cleaning cushions is to dust them with baking soda and then vacuuming them. STORE CORRECTLY How you store, stack or stash your textiles, when not in use adds to their longevity. Especially your cold weather fabrics. Keep your heavy silks and jacquards away for the winter but make sure you wrap them in old cotton bedsheets before you do so. Add a couple of mothballs, dried lavender and cloves to the bundle before you put it away. QUICK TIPS
Make sure you’re hand-washing table linen, particularly if it’s extremely delicate lace or silk. For rough fabrics like jute, spot-clean with a diluted detergent. Otherwise just keep them pressed and starched. While ironing these put a little essential oil in a spray bottle with clean water (lemon grass or jasmine are both lovely scents for summer, and elevate any mood). Do this with your duvet covers as well—right before putting these on the duvet spray this mixture (make sure use a non-staining essential oil). The lingering fragrance is just heavenly. Delhi-based Arya Nerker has worked as the brand and home designer for Good Earth under founder Anita Lal. She is now at the helm of Nicobar Home. www.nicobar.com