When it comes to maintaining men’s clothes, suits and leather shoes tend to dominate the conversation. But there’s another topic that deserves attention: tie care. 

Ties may sit on the “accessories” side of the equation, but that doesn’t make their maintenance any less important. Take note of the following tips to ensure that your neckwear sticks around for years to come.

Un-tie gently 
The most basic tip has to do with un-tying the tie itself. When it’s time to leave your neckwear behind, take care to gently unravel the tie knot (no matter how eager you may be to shift to off-duty mode). A hard yank can damage the tie’s fibers and cause extra wrinkles and creases. 

Use a brush 
Asking to do this after every wear is a bit much, but we do believe it’s best to gently brush ties using a clean, dedicated brush from time to time. This will remove dust, lint, and any hard-to-spot specks of food, which both extends the tie’s lifespan and cleans up the very things that attract silk-eating moths. 

Hang it up
If there’s one thing we hope for you to take away from this, it’s the importance of properly hanging up ties. A dedicated tie rack is best, but even a wooden hanger will suffice if you have just a handful of ties. By properly hanging your ties, you’ll save yourself from the creases, wrinkles and dust that afflict ties when they are rolled up in a drawer or bunched up on the closet floor.

In case of wrinkles…
After continuous wear, even the most carefully cared-for tie will inevitably develop some manner of wrinkles and creasing. When this happens, don't panic, and most importantly don’t use an iron. Ironing can easily damage delicate fabrics like silk. Instead, simply hang up your tie and see if the wrinkles fall out naturally. If they don’t, try hanging up your tie in the bathroom while you shower (away from any sources of water) and wait for the accumulated steam to smooth it out. 

As a very last resort for only the deepest of creases, you can try using an iron. Just make sure it’s on the lowest setting, and set a lightly damp cloth between the iron and the tie. 

Leave the cleaning to the professionals 
Mustard, soup broth, red wine—the tie has many natural enemies. And if your tie should develop a stain, you’re going to want to get professional help. Because silk is damaged by water, simply running cold water over the stained area and blotting with a cloth like you would a shirt or a pair of pants isn’t going to work. Seek out a dry cleaner you can trust to get the job done right.