What is Authentic Pacific Silvercloth®?
Not all advertised silver cloth is
authentic Pacific Silvercloth®
...Pacific Silvercloth® is a widely recognized brand name that has a long history of preventing tarnishing of sterling silver and silver plated articles for over 130+ years. However, like the brand name "Kleenex" which is regularly used to refer to any brand of tissue, Pacific Silvercloth®, a tarnish-preventing fabric, is being used to sell other manufacturers' tarnish-resisting' fabrics, sometimes intentionally, and sometimes due to a lack of knowledge. So how can you tell you're getting the "real thing?"
Pacific Silvercloth® is a 100% cotton flannel that has embedded silver particles...it is not chemically treated. It is the embedded silver particles that make Pacific Silvercloth® truly a preventative fabric and why it lasts indefinitely.
Authentic Pacific Silvercloth® is always brown because the embedded silver particles themselves will discolor to various hues of brown over the years as they catch the hydrogen sulfide gases and other pollutants in the air that would otherwise tarnish the silver articles inside. Other manufacturers' products are not embedded with silver but are treated with other metals, such as zinc, and do not discolor. So, because Pacific Silvercloth® is always brown, you can be assured that any other color is not authentic; however, the other manufacturer's fabric is also available in brown, so to identify which fabric you may be looking at, the below info will make it obvious.
Authentic Pacific Silvercloth® has, for about 33 of the 35+ years we have been working with it, been between 36" - 39" wide, with the understanding from the manufacturer that it would never be less than 36" wide. With a change in finishing plants being used to produce Pacific Silvercloth a few years back, the width has increased to about 42", allowing for greater use of a yard of fabric. Other fabrics treated with zinc are always much wider (as much as 58"); and, as other manufacturers' products are also available in brown and at first glance look very similar to Pacific Silvercloth®, you can identify authentic Pacific Silvercloth® by its 38"-42" width.
Don't be fooled...
Pacific Silvercloth® is the only true tarnish preventative fabric on the market as it is the only silver cloth that has embedded silver particles. Other fabrics are treated with a zinc alloy (which unlike silver, breaks down over time), and although most sellers won't say so, it is considered tarnish resistant (and they don't tell you what it's treated with). They will also claim that their 'silver cloth' will never stop working (which is actually true of Pacific Silvercloth®), yet here at SilverGuard we get calls regularly from silver owners who were looking for brown Pacific Silvercloth® and found a brown flannel silver cloth fabric, either in a store or online, that they mistakenly assumed was Pacific Silvercloth®. After a time, they notice their silver is still tarnishing, which did not happen with other pieces of silver they have had stored in authentic Pacific Silvercloth® for years...and they then call us to replace the zinc fabric with Authentic Pacific Silvercloth®. You can also be confident that anyone selling Pacific Silvercloth® by-the-yard, or using it to make or line products for silver storage and tarnish prevention, will proudly identify it by name.
We understand that some silver owners are looking for a specific color of silver cloth for aesthetic reasons; however, if the goal is tarnish-prevention, Pacific Silvercloth® has been considered the premiere one to get for over 130+ years.
We, here at SilverGuard, are proud to be affiliated with a product that truly does what it claims it will do....keep your silver clean between uses for generations. We have spoken with many customers throughout our 32+ years of being in business who have Pacific Silvercloth® flatware rolls and/or bags handed down from grandparents, even great-grandparents, including some who had received them for their 1940's weddings, and they are still keeping their silver clean.
Does Pacific Silvercloth have a 'right' or 'wrong' side?
Pacific Silvercloth® does not have a right or wrong side, so it's really just a matter of personal preference as to which side you put against the silver. However, we prefer to put the least napped side on the outside when making our sewn products, mainly because the least napped side will attract or hold less lint, dust, etc. And when lining a drawer or cabinet, we recommend adhering the least napped side against the wood for better adhesion.
Silver is a natural element that has ions that have a positive charge and are able to draw in bacteria like a magnet to help eliminate 99.9% of bacteria in the fabric.
6 min read
Think silver bed sheets, silver pillowcases, and silver-infused towels.
Silver is an incredibly useful metal; its benefits go far beyond just looking nice and shiny. In fact, it has healing properties that have been used for centuries. Somehow, we’re just catching up to what people thousands of years ago already knew.
Silver can be utilized in many different ways that can benefit our everyday lives.
So, what does it mean when a fabric claims to be made with silver? What is silver antimicrobial fabric? How would that work when it comes to silver bedsheets or silver towels?
These are all valid questions, and we’ll do our best to explain exactly whatsilver-coated anti-odor fabric is and how it works.
Silver ionantibacterial fabric isn’t made out of silver. Instead, it is infused with silver.
Regular textiles like cotton are infused with antimicrobial silver fibers to create a textile with benefits like odor control and bacteria-fighting. To explain how silver ionantimicrobial fabric works, we’re about to get a little science-y, so strap on your lab goggles and hang in there with us.
Silver-infused fabric is possible because the silver and the fabric have tightly polymerized. That means a chemical reaction takes place where multiple small molecules combine and create a larger molecule — with antimicrobial properties.
This coats the fabric and gives it all the wonderful benefits of silver. The silver ions draw the microbes like a magnet and neutralize them before they can do any harm. Silver-infused fabric can prevent up to 99.7% of bacterial growth. That’s practically perfect antimicrobial activity!
Understanding what silver fabric is gives you one side of the story. Now it’s time to learn more about the benefits of silver fabric.
Why should you invest in products made with silver coating anti-bacterial fabric? The benefits are endless, but we’ll present our top three reasons making the switch is well worth your while.
Most Americans spend time daily doing laundry or laundry-related tasks. This is not only a frustrating and time-consuming task; doing laundry frequently is not great for the environment. It uses a lot of water and using the wrong type of detergent or fabric softener can spread harmful chemicals.
However, washing important items that stay close to your skin, like clothes, towels, and sheets, is still important. You need these materials to be clean. That’s where silver fabric comes in. When you use silver bed sheets or silver towels, you can spend less time and money constantly doing laundry every week with this antimicrobial protection.
Take our Miracle Brand silver sheets, for example. Our silver-coated anti-odor fabric products can go three times longer without being washed when compared with regular fabrics without silver. This means you can spend more time on the activities you like instead of being held up by the constant need to do laundry. Antimicrobial textiles are the way of the future.
The battle against stinky sheets can be brutal. So many factors can cause bad odor in your bedroom and linen closet. The main culprit? Unfortunately, it’s you (and your skin folds).
Our bodies naturally produce odor-causing bacteria when we sweat, when we’re sick, or for a wide variety of other reasons. When we sleep on our sheets, the smell can tend to stick.
Another reason for musty sheets and towels is the moisture content in the air wherever you have your sheets and towels stored. For this reason, experts recommend not storing these items in your bathroom closet because there tends to be more moisture in that room due to showers.
If you’re looking to win the battle against stinky sheets, the silver-infused fabric is the key to success. Metallic silver fibers are able to kill 99.9% of microorganisms and pathogens that tend to cause these odors — not just for a week or two weeks — but long term.
Don’t just take our word for it; check out the review section on these sheets! Hundreds of happy people are spending time writing a nice review instead of doing laundry to rid their sheets of stink!
If you constantly deal with blemishes on your face and body but can’t seem to figure out the root cause — you may want to consider your linens. There are many causes of acne, but one cause that has a simple solution is lying right on your bed.
Bacteria from your sweat and body oils are easily transferred from your body onto your linens, where it grows, and are easily transferred back onto your skin, where they can cause breakouts and other skin irritations.
This can be especially true if you go to bed after working out or skip your makeup removal routine before your head hits the pillow.
Adding in good hygiene habits will be one of the ultimate solutions to mitigating any blemish problems, but using natural silver-coated anti-bacterial fabric on your sheets and silver pillowcases can definitely help kill the bacteria causing acne.
The benefits of using silver textiles are clear. But will caring for these fabrics take you extra time and effort? Thankfully, the answer is no.
While there are a specific set of instructions for bedding and bath infused with silver fabric, they are fairly straightforward and can be incorporated easily into your normal laundry routine.
Washing bedding properly can help keep it in good condition for a much longer time. Here are some simple steps to make sure you’re washing well.
First, you’ll want to machine wash with warm water. Use mild, liquid detergent and only wash bedding with similar colors and materials. There’s nothing worse than the dreaded red-sock-in-the-wash problem.
Double-check that no colors that will bleed are mixed in with your wash. Be sure to use a light amount of detergent. Using too much detergent can leave residue on sheets and towels. Avoid using fabric softener as it can wear down your sheets easier and may cause skin problems.
When it’s time to dry, simply tumble dry on low heat. Once finished, remove the sheets and store them properly. If your sheets are wrinkled, you can use a warm iron if necessary to remove wrinkles and creases.
You can also remove the sheets while they are still a touch damp to encourage them to dry with fewer wrinkles. Smooth the sheets from the center towards the outside corners to get rid of excess wrinkling.
When it’s time to wash your silver towels, there are a few tips that can help the process go smoothly.
In the washer, make sure to machine wash with cold water. Many people make the mistake of washing bath towels in hot water because they assume that the heat will get their towels extra clean. This isn’t the case, and it can actually damage your towels and take away from their lifespan.
Similar to washing bedsheets, use a mild, liquid detergent and only wash with similar colors. Wash silver towels only with other towels. When you mix them with your regular laundry, you risk ruining your towels by snagging them on other fabrics, zippers, or buttons.
Instead, wash them with other towels. You can wash them with towels of all shapes and sizes; just make sure you only have towels in with that load.
When it’s time to dry, use low heat and tumble dry. Make sure to fully dry the towels, as leaving them damp can cause mildew to grow. Don’t leave your towels in the dryer while wet; be sure to completely dry the towels and remove them soon after they are finished.
If you like your towels to be crisp and wrinkle-free, you can warm iron if necessary to remove wrinkles and creases. Clip any loose threads with scissors instead of pulling them out and potentially ruining the product.
Now you know how to wash silver fabric, but don’t forget that one of the great benefits of this type of product is that you don’t have to wash it as often as regular sheets and towels! Silver-infused fabric can last up to three times as long as other bedding and bath products before it needs to be washed.
Hopefully, after learning everything you need to know about silver-coated antimicrobial fabric, you’re ready to invest in the best sheets or bath towel set you’ve ever had. However, if you’re not quite sure yet, that’s okay.
We know this might be a new concept for you, and we want to make it a smooth introduction! We even offer a 30-night trial for you to try out all these amazing products and be able to obtain a 100% refund if you aren’t totally impressed. However, we can pretty much guarantee that you’ll quickly become a believer!
Sources:
Polymerization Definition & Meaning | Merriam-Webster
Silver: An Age-Old Treatment Modality in Modern Times | National Library of Medicine
American Time Use Survey Summary | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Is Your Pillowcase the Reason You're Breaking Out? | Health
Cleaning Expert Shares Mistake People Make When Storing Bedsheets | Chronicle Live