Almost all of the kimonos, haoris and rolls of cloth that we sell are dry clean only. Some polyester and cotton products can be hand washed, but that depends on how they were dyed. Make sure you never wash the item with a washing machine. Read the description of each item to find specific information.
Kimonos and accessories are usually aired outdoors on sunny days with low humidity. We suggest turning kimonos inside out. This eliminates stale odors, kills bacteria and mold, and decreases the amount of moisture.
If the product needs dry cleaning, be sure to find a dry cleaner that has experience with vintage silk clothing, and hopefully experience with kimonos.
If you would like to have your kimono cleaned in Kyoto, please contact us to have it washed by a professional kimono cleaner here. This is likely to cost 1-5 times the price of the kimono.
Professional kimono cleaners in Japan typically use these techniques:
1. Spot cleaning with specific chemicals that do not harm the fabric;
2. Unstitch and clean the entire kimono with a liquid formula (mainly water) that will clean many wear stains;
3. Paint over existing stains (usually used when options 1 and 2 cannot be done) – Sometimes the whole kimono is re-stained instead of cleaning the stains;
4. Technique #2, but then dye the fabric one more time to get the previous color (dyes tend to bleed a lot when they come in contact with water, so the fabric needs to be re-dyed).
If you want to experiment to see if your kimono can be washed, the best option is to cut some extra fabric from the inside of the sleeve or the inside of the bottom and test to see what happens when you wash it. Try heavily irritating the fabric in warm water with delicate soap and see if the fabric shrinks, bleeds the fabric dye a lot, or loses its shine. Shibori (tie dye) fabric will typically bleed profusely and lose texture once washed, unless you meticulously tie every stitch that was tied when it was originally dyed.
If you want to contact us, use this form:
https://kimono-yumeya.com/contacto
Usually: doublet polyester It can be hand washed in cold water with mild soap. silk doublets can only be dry cleaned. silk kimono can only be dry cleaned. polyester kimonos It can usually be hand washed in cold water with mild soap. Jubans and woolen kimonos can only be dry cleaned. cotton kimono they are about 50/50 for whether they can be hand washed or not.
If the product needs dry cleaning, be sure to find a dry cleaner that has experience with vintage silk clothing, and hopefully experience with kimonos.
**Updated April 13, 2022**
