1. Those who wish to clean their straw handbags can mix some baby shampoo in cold water to dip their straw bags into it. The persistent dirt can be removed from these handbags by scrubbing it gently with the help of an old toothbrush. Harsh rubbing or scraping may damage the fibers of the straw handbags.
2. For removing the grease and oil from the straw handbags one should apply the detergent directly to the straws with the help of a cotton ball and dab at it. A dishwashing detergent will be very helpful in this regard. The excess water or the soap can be removed with the simple method of dabbing at the stains or grease.
3. To remove the soap residue or to wipe clean the straw handbags the individuals can use a clean white cloth to wipe the surface of the handbags. If the handbags are wet, this cloth will absorb the excess water. Otherwise, it can be made damp to wipe off the dirt from these handbags.
4. After cleaning the straw bags and their lining, they should be allowed to dry in the air completely so that the traces of moisture can be removed from these bags.
5. Those who have the purses made from the straw can apply fabric patches to the lining of these straw purses to sew any holes. Others can also make use of the contact cement to apply around the edges of the damaged side and then apply a fabric to it later. This should be left overnight to dry completely.
6. Those who wish to paint their straw bags should determine first whether they are made from hay, wheat or paper. This will help in finding the right type of the paint for the handbags. One should not use water based paints to color their straw bags as they will bleed or dissolve when they get in contact with moisture. One of the best types of the paints for the straw handbags is the acrylic paints as they are difficult to remove, and can be used easily on almost all types of the straws from which the handbags are crafted.
7. One should use these paints first on the unnoticeable area of the purse to check the results. Once satisfied, the paint can be used on the designs in the handbags. These painted straw handbags should be allowed to dry for a few days so that the paint has no trace of moisture which may cause peeling of cracking of the paints.