Today I got an inquiry from a kallah shopping for a tallis for her chassan. The wedding is still several months away, but she's the type of person who doesn't wait until the last moment. She also seems to be the type of person who thinks ahead, because she asked me about the tallit yellowing, and what can be done about it.
Also are you able to tell me if the Turkish ones, given they are woven in a heavier wool, get yellowy quicker (don't want to be dry-cleaning it every month!)? Or does this happen with all wool tallitot over time and regular washing is required? Are they treated with any bleaching agents or anything like that?
Many thanks in advance,
Suzy
I explained to Suzy that regarding the tallit yellowing, that's the way it goes with wool. And laundering and dry
cleaning won't help, it will only hinder.
Most people I know wash their
weekday tallit once or twice a year. Over time, typically hair grease
(even if the wearer does not have greasy hair) accumulates on the
underside of the tallit, opposite the atara and makes the tallit start
to look grimy. The discoloration is not visible to other people, but
after a while the wearer starts thinking about taking it to the dry
cleaners, and many people do this in the weeks leading up to Pesach.
Obviously a Shabbos-only tallis will stay clean for much longer.
The traditional tallitot we sell are made by Mishkan Hatchelet, which started making their products extra white in recent years, and the fabric undergoes a treatment to help them retain whiteness over time.
Yellowing should not be an issue for a few years, and some tallitot still look okay after ten years or more.
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