For all your delicates... (Persil Silk & Wool)

Member Name: pink_glitter

Product:	Persil Silk & Wool
Date:	22/09/08 (687 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: smells lovely, gets clothes clean and fresh

Disadvantages: none

I must admit, that up until quite recently I used to wash any silk or wool items by hand using a bog standard handwash powder, and always found that they came out fine, and (on the surface anyway) it didn't seem to be doing them any harm.

At the beginning of summer, I had bought a silk top from Warehouse, which was absolutely beautiful, but also quite expensive. The first time I went to wear it, I had applied a roller ball deodorant, and obviously hadn't given it enough time to dry, as when I put the top on, the deodorant left marks all down the sides of it. As it was a cream coloured top, these marks kind of made see through patches which were very obvious. I was gutted, given the price of the thing, and the fact that I had never worn it. The label said to hand wash in specialist silk detergent, a warning I would have normally ignored, but I didn't want to take any chances, as I really loved the top and couldn't really afford to replace it.

I went into Wilkinson's to see what they had on offer, and the only detergent I could see for silk, was Persil's Silk and Wool. As it was the only product which looked suitable for my needs, I purchased a bottle.

The detergent is liquid and comes in a clear bottle with a pink lid which has a dosing ball attached, as you can probably see from the picture.

The liquid can be used for machine or hand washing silks, woollens and other delicate fabrics. It states that it works especially well on the hand wash cycle of your washing machine, however I can't confirm that, as my washing machine doesn't have one!

There is a guide on the back of the bottle instructing how much of the product should be used depending on the hardness of the water in your area.

I have used this in both the washing machine and by hand, and these are my experiences.

By hand :

The dosage instructions on the back of the ball state that when hand washing 30ml of the product should be used per 10 litres of water. Personally, I do all my hand washing in the bathroom sink, and although it's a reasonable size, I shouldn't think it holds 10 litres of water, so I used just under 30ml. One thing that I found quite annoying though, was that the measurements on the dosing ball start at 50ml, so really you are guessing by eye for measurements below that.

You will notice that the liquid is quite fragranced - it has a fresh, clean smell which is quite feminine and slightly floral. It's also quite thick, but seems to mix into the water well.

I found that washing by hand with this liquid got rid of all those deodorant marks from my silk top with just one wash- I can't tell you how relieved I was about that! I sometimes find that washing by hand with my normal hand wash powder, does not clean as effectively as when I machine wash items, but this has always got rid of any marks. I've also used it on a couple of items that were neither silk or wool - a bra I forgot to put in with my normal machine wash, and also a top that I always wash by hand as it has quite intricate beading on it, and I worry about putting it in the machine. Both came out beautifully clean, with no harm to them, and a wonderful fresh smell.

By Machine:

If I am putting a relatively cheap woollen garment in the machine I will just use the standard powder I always do. If I am washing silk, chances are I won't put it in the machine at all. Therefore there are very few occasions I actually use this in the machine, but I do have a couple of more expensive woollen items, which unfortunately due to the cold weather we've had recently have had to come out of the wardrobe.

To use in the machine, simply fill it with the required amount of liquid, and put the dosing ball in the back of the machine.

Again, as when using this product to wash by hand , I find that all garments come out absolutely fine, clean and smelling lovely and fresh.

This product costs £3.25 for a 750ml bottle from Wilkinson's and I would imagine it's quite widely available.

Summary: Persil Silk and Wool