Question RE silk/viscose velvet.

[SapphireSeptember]

Okay, so I have an M&S top I've had for years that is silk/viscose velvet that the label says can be washed at 40 degrees C as long as I use special detergent, so how come all the other silk/viscose velvet items I own say dry clean only?

Because M&S spend more on research/developing fabrics which are easier to look after. And quite possibly the other manufacturers are covering their backsides saying you need to dry clean their stuff.

I think I like M&S! It's all stuff that's second hand, so I wonder if I do it on the handwash cycle with special detergent it'll be fine (did it with one 'dry clean only' velvet skirt a while ago and all that happened is I ended up with a crushed velvet skirt, and as I like that look I wasn't too fussed.)

I would hand wash rather than using the machine using cold water and gently squeeze the water out then roll the item up in a doubled up old sheet to absorb more water (a towel might mess up the pile because of the texture) then hang it up to dry.