How To Care For And Clean Tulle Fabric

Cleaning this fabric requires detail and care. Throw this fabric in the washing machine on hot or in the dryer on high heat and you may as well throw it in the trash.

Tulle is a beautiful and delicate fabric that requires much care in washing. Dry cleaning may seem like the easy solution, but that isn't necessarily the way to clean tulle. Dry cleaning tulle often results in a deterioration of the fabric and it can flatten the fullness that tulle offers. Further, many times the crispness of the fabric is lost during dry cleaning.

Before you even wash the tulle, consider testing the fabric first. Cut a small sample of the tulle then wash and dry it to see how it reacts to the method of cleaning. You don't want to find out after you've washed the tulle that it doesn't hold up to your cleaning method.

While tulle can be machine washed, you need to do so carefully. Make sure you machine wash tulle on a low temperature setting such as 30 degrees. Your best bet, however is sticking to the simple method of gentle soap and cool water. Be sure to rinse the tulle well and let it drip dry.

Don't place tulle in the dryer""it will become dry and brittle and could be ruined. In most cases tulle dries quickly on its own thanks to its synthetic nature and airy composition.

If it's a stain you're worried about, rub the fabric delicately. Don't scrub vigorously because the tulle could rip or otherwise get damaged.

Never try to bleach tulle either. It's not very porous and the bleach will likely create a mess, which could ruin other items in your laundry room. Avoid ironing tulle as well. It will burn quickly and your tulle will be an unusable mess. If you do iron the tulle, be sure to use a low heat setting and consider placing a cloth over the tulle so that the direct heat of the iron doesn't touch the tulle.

If the tulle is wrinkled after cleaning, just spritz it with water and fluff the fabric. It should dry without much fuss and the wrinkles can be kept to a minimum. When cleaning the tulle, handle it gently. Tulle can be a very fragile fabric that snags and tears easily.

For a gown, a veil and many other items featuring tulle, fabric care goes beyond cleaning. Storage is very important to the appearance of the fabric. When the tulle item is not in use, store it hanging up. If you lay it flat or place it in a bag or box, the fabric will become flat and compressed. Since tulle is supposed to be full and fluffy, keep it as upright and unrestricted as possible.