Static electricity and silk clothing are not a fun combination. Dresses clinging to your body, your hair standing on end after putting a silk shirt on, or shocking people when you touch to them are all symptoms of static electricity that everyone would rather just avoid completely. Cold and dry climates have the worst problems with static electricity, which means that you probably have the most trouble with static electricity during the winter—a season full of dressing up and silk clothing.
Wearing a cotton layer underneath your silk article of clothing can help eliminate much of your static electricity. Try a slip under a silk skirt, or a camisole under a silk shirt. This layer can keep your silk clothing from clinging to your body.
- Rub the dress with an anti-static dryer sheet. a grandma's technique! hold the clothing away from your body and rub the underside of the fabric with the dryer sheet. The static should immediately transfer to the dryer sheet.
- Wear rubber soled shoes. Ever notice how stocking feet build up electricity easily? Wearing shoes with a rubber sole helps to ground you and prevents electricity from building-up. Alternatively, go barefoot for a while before dressing and it helps to keep static at bay.
- Run a metal hanger over your clothes. Run a metal hanger on the surface (front and back) and inside of any article of clothing. Same idea as the safety pin, this will reduce the electrical charge, by transferring the electron charges on the clothes to the metal hanger. Just be careful that the hanger doesn’t catch!
Static electricity is annoying, but following some of these suggestions can help it not be as big of a problem. Try to care for your silk clothing in the ways that you wash and dry your laundry. Layer your clothes so that your silk articles of clothing do not stick to you. Rub a fabric softener sheet or the clothing together to get rid of some of the electricity. Following some of these suggestions will make wearing silk clothing more enjoyable.
