One does wonder sometimes who invented neckties. How practical are they when every time you eat soup you splash it on them.

They are definitely prone to becoming soiled. And nothing suggests sloppiness more than a soiled necktie. Several solutions come to mind.

1) Don’t slosh your soup.
2) Tuck your napkin in at your neck.
3) Don’t wear a tie if you can’t be neater.
4) Learn how to clean your ties.

Because ties come in a variety of fabrics nowadays, the directions for cleaning them varies accordingly, so the following suggestions need to be tempered somewhat by what the tie is made of.

Cleaning Your Neckties

The first step is to look at the cleaning directions on the tie itself. If it’s silk, it will read “Dry clean only,” and that’s good advice. It’s very easy to ruin an expensive silk tie by trying to remove spots. Even so, there are some good spot removers on the market and you might try one of them.

Also, there are dry-cleaning kits on the soap–and-laundry-products shelves in some stores. These don’t actually “dry clean,” but for ties they may solve your problem, especially with your silk ones. You might give them a try. These generally have a spot-removing spray that you should use to treat the spots. Then put the ties in the clothes dryer with some sheets that come in the kit that make them smell better. However, for silk ties, especially those you value most, you should let your dry-cleaning professional remove the soup and dip and whatever else you have gotten it into.

Washing Neckties

Rayon, cotton, wool, and some blends can be cleaned successfully at home if you take some care. First of all, you need some detergent designed specifically for wool. Several are on the market; some have “wool” in their names.

Use safety pins to pin the flaps together on the back as a first step. Then fill a basin with cold water and add wool cleaner in proportions recommended on the bottle. Soak the ties for no less than three minutes. If there are stubborn stains, use a soft toothbrush to remove them. Gently squeeze the soapy water out of the ties. Gently!

Then put them in a basin of clear cold water for rinsing. Slosh them up and down several times. You may want to do a second rinsing. You don’t want any of the soap to remain in the ties. Remove, again gently squeezing, and lay them on a towel. Roll up the towel with the ties on it and squeeze out as much of the water as possible.

Hang the ties over a rod and let them air dry. When they are dry, iron them on low heat, using a pressing cloth so the iron doesn’t touch the ties.