a question about cleaning kilts

[Pleater]

You own nose is probably the best guide - put it close to the kilt first thing in the morning and you will know it is is ready for a bath.

I find that washing the kilt in quite a large amount of water is good - hand washing in the bath or large sink seems to be best.

I use a liquid detergent intended for coloured clothes, and water just slightly warm. Immerse the kilt and swish gently, leave for a few minutes and swish again, repeat until the water does not get any dirtier when swishing. Let the water out and leave the kilt to drain for a couple of minutes, refill with clean water, same temperature, swish - etc as for washing, drain, rinse again, until the water stays clean.

Leave for a while to drain, squeeze gently to remove more water, then you can wrap the kilt in a protective sheet and spin dry it if you can do that safely, or wrap it in towels and press to get the water out, or lay it on a flat airer for a day, turning it a couple of times, then hang it. A kilt is heavy when wet and I can sometimes hear threads breaking if I pick them up still dripping.

Washing a kilt in a small sink puts a lot of wear on it. Washing machines with a 'hand wash' cycle aren't bad, but you need to wash a kilt alone. Even then they will show signs of wear faster than hand washing. The colours usually suffer if a detergent with bleach is used.

[Cathal_Flameridge]

You own nose is probably the best guide - put it close to the kilt first thing in the morning and you will know it is is ready for a bath.

I find that washing the kilt in quite a large amount of water is good - hand washing in the bath or large sink seems to be best.

I use a liquid detergent intended for coloured clothes, and water just slightly warm. Immerse the kilt and swish gently, leave for a few minutes and swish again, repeat until the water does not get any dirtier when swishing. Let the water out and leave the kilt to drain for a couple of minutes, refill with clean water, same temperature, swish - etc as for washing, drain, rinse again, until the water stays clean.

Leave for a while to drain, squeeze gently to remove more water, then you can wrap the kilt in a protective sheet and spin dry it if you can do that safely, or wrap it in towels and press to get the water out, or lay it on a flat airer for a day, turning it a couple of times, then hang it. A kilt is heavy when wet and I can sometimes hear threads breaking if I pick them up still dripping.

Washing a kilt in a small sink puts a lot of wear on it. Washing machines with a 'hand wash' cycle aren't bad, but you need to wash a kilt alone. Even then they will show signs of wear faster than hand washing. The colours usually suffer if a detergent with bleach is used.

Um... what about the Acrylic Material that Stillwater Kilt company makes their kilts out of. According to Stillwater these kilts can be machine washed on the "Gentle" or "Delicate" cycle.