Cashmere is one of those things people spend real money on and then ruin in a single wash. The machine is on. The delicate cycle looks safe enough. The cashmere jumper goes in. It comes out a different size, a different texture, sometimes a different shape altogether.
The fibres in cashmere felt under heat and agitation. Once that happens, there is nothing to be done. It does not un-felt. The jumper is finished.
We clean cashmere at Angelz on Arlington Way, a short walk from Angel tube. Cashmere jumpers are £14.99. Other cashmere garments are priced at drop-off depending on the piece. No appointments needed.
It is worth understanding why cashmere is so sensitive before getting into how we clean it.
Cashmere fibre comes from the undercoat of cashmere goats. The fibres are extremely fine — much finer than wool — and have a scaly surface structure that interlocks with neighbouring fibres when exposed to heat, moisture, and friction. That interlocking is felting. The fibres tighten permanently, the fabric shrinks and stiffens, and the softness is gone.
Home machine washing, even on a cold delicate cycle, introduces enough agitation and moisture to trigger this in many cashmere pieces. Higher temperatures make it worse. A tumble dryer makes it irreversible in minutes.
The Cashmere & Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute — the international trade body for the cashmere industry — recommends dry cleaning as the safest method for maintaining cashmere’s softness, structure, and longevity over multiple wears and seasons. That recommendation exists because the alternative has a poor track record.
The jumper is the most common cashmere piece we clean. A quality cashmere jumper worn regularly through autumn and winter picks up perspiration, skin oils, food, and general daily contact. Leaving it unwashed at the end of the season and storing it in that state is a guaranteed way to attract moth damage — moths are drawn to the proteins in dirty natural fibre.
We clean cashmere jumpers for £14.99. Pre-treatment is applied to any specific marks before the main clean. The jumper is finished flat — not hung — to preserve the shape as it dries. Hanging a wet or damp cashmere garment causes it to stretch under its own weight.
Pilling — the small balls of fibre that form on the surface of cashmere after regular wear — is not a sign of poor quality. It happens on even the best cashmere. It is caused by short fibres working loose and balling up on the surface during wear and washing.
We can remove bobbles from cashmere as part of the cleaning process. If your jumper has become covered in pills and lost its smooth surface, bring it in. The bobble removal is done by hand or with a garment shaver before cleaning, so the clean is working on a de-pilled surface. The jumper comes back looking considerably closer to how it did when new.
Jumpers are the most common, but cashmere appears in a wide range of garments. We clean cashmere cardigans, cashmere scarves, cashmere coats and coat linings, cashmere-blend trousers, and cashmere dressing gowns.
Cashmere coats present slightly different considerations than knitwear. A tailored cashmere coat has internal structure — interfacing, lining, shoulder shaping — that needs protecting during the cleaning process in the same way a wool suit does. We assess the full garment before cleaning, not just the outer fabric.
Less often than most people assume. Cashmere does not need cleaning after every wear. In fact, over-cleaning shortens its life.
For a jumper worn once a week through a season: cleaning once or twice over that season, and then at the end before storage, is usually enough. Between cleans, air the jumper after wearing rather than folding it straight away. Remove any marks as soon as they happen rather than waiting for a full clean — fresh marks are much easier to deal with.
The end-of-season clean before storage is the one that really matters. Storing cashmere dirty — even if it looks fine — is what attracts moths. A clean, properly stored cashmere piece can last decades.
Once the cashmere is clean, how you store it affects how it comes out the following season.
Fold it — do not hang it. Even clean cashmere will stretch slowly if hung in a wardrobe for months. Store it in a breathable fabric bag or a cedar-lined drawer rather than a sealed plastic bag. Plastic traps moisture and creates exactly the environment that moth larvae prefer. Cedar deters moths naturally and does not damage the fibre.
Keep cashmere away from direct contact with other garments that might snag the fibres, and away from areas with significant temperature fluctuation — attics and lofts are not ideal for long-term storage of anything valuable.
We clean a full range of delicate fabrics and specialist garments. Our silk cleaning service in Angel covers silk shirts, dresses, scarves, and occasion wear. For formal and tailored garments in wool and other fine fabrics, our suit dry cleaning service in Angel handles two and three-piece suits, evening wear, and linen pieces. The full list of what we clean is on our dry cleaning page for Angel.
We are at 18 Arlington Way, Angel, EC1R 1UY — two minutes on foot from Angel tube on the Northern Line. Customers come in regularly from Islington, Clerkenwell, Pentonville, Finsbury, and King’s Cross.
No booking needed. Bring the garment in, we assess it, give you a price and a collection date. Most cashmere is ready within two to three working days.
Can you fix cashmere that has already shrunk in the wash?
Shrinkage from felting is permanent and cannot be reversed. However, if the shrinkage is mild and the jumper has only slightly tightened rather than fully felted, we can sometimes stretch it back towards its original dimensions during finishing. Bring it in and we will assess honestly what is possible.
Can you remove a red wine stain from cashmere?
Fresh staining responds much better than set staining. Red wine on cashmere should come in as soon as possible — ideally within a day or two. We pre-treat staining before the main clean. Old staining is harder but often partially improvable.
Do you clean cashmere blankets?
Yes. Cashmere and cashmere-blend blankets are cleaned using the same care as cashmere knitwear. Bring the blanket in with the care label if possible and we will quote you at drop-off.
My cashmere smells from storage. Can cleaning fix that?
Yes. Storage odour in cashmere — mustiness, cedar, or the faint smell of moth deterrents — comes out with a full professional clean. If there is any moth damage alongside the odour, we flag that separately when we assess the garment.
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