A handwoven basket will outlast almost everything else in your house if you leave it alone. Most of the damage done to natural fiber baskets comes from people trying to clean them the way they'd clean a countertop.
Here is what actually works, and what to avoid.
Regular dusting
Once a week or so, run a dry, soft-bristled brush over the surface. A clean paintbrush works. So does a soft toothbrush for tight coils. Brush along the direction of the weave rather than across it, so you are not lifting fiber ends.
For a faster job, a vacuum with the brush attachment on low suction will pull dust out of the crevices. Keep the nozzle moving and do not press it into the weave.
Spot cleaning
For a mark that will not brush off, dampen a cloth with water and a drop of mild dish soap, wring it out until it is barely moist, and wipe the spot. Follow with a second cloth dampened with plain water. Then let it air dry completely somewhere with moving air.
Barely moist is the whole trick. If the cloth leaves a visible wet patch on the fiber, it is too wet.
The one thing not to do
Never soak a woven basket, never run it under a tap, and never put it in a dishwasher. Grass, cane, rattan and wicker are all plant fibers. They swell when saturated and shrink as they dry, and that cycle loosens the weave permanently. Coiled baskets are the most vulnerable, because the stitching that binds each coil to the next has nowhere to go when the fiber moves.
Skip furniture polish, oil soaps, and anything labelled for wood. They leave a residue that darkens fiber unevenly and then attracts dust.
Mold and mildew
Mold means the basket has been damp for a while. Take it outside before you do anything, because brushing indoors just relocates the spores.
Brush the affected area with a dry brush outdoors. Then wipe it with a cloth dampened in one part white vinegar to three parts water, wrung out well. Let it dry outdoors in the shade with air moving around it. Not in direct sun, which makes fiber brittle as it dries.
If the mold has gone through the weave rather than sitting on the surface, the basket is usually finished. That is rare, and it takes sustained damp to get there.
Reshaping a basket that has gone out of round
Baskets get squashed in shipping, in storage, or under something heavy. Most of the time this is fixable.
Mist the deformed section lightly with water from a spray bottle. You want it slightly damp, not wet. Work the shape back with your hands, pressing gently and evenly rather than forcing any single point. Then pack the inside with rolled towels or crumpled paper to hold the shape, and leave it to dry fully. That usually takes a day.
Damp fiber is more flexible than dry fiber, which is why this works. It is also weaker while damp, so go slowly and stop if you feel the weave resisting.
Dry air and brittle fiber
Natural fiber holds a small amount of moisture. In very dry conditions, near a heating vent, in a desert climate, or through a long winter with the heat running, it can dry out and begin to crack.
A light mist of water every few months prevents it. Do not saturate. If a basket already feels crisp and sounds crackly when handled, mist it lightly and let it rest overnight before doing anything else with it.
Sunlight
Direct sun fades color and weakens fiber over time. Undyed grass lightens toward straw. Dyed sections go flat and washed out. If a basket sits in a sunny window, rotate it every couple of months so it fades evenly, or move it somewhere else.
Storing baskets
Store them somewhere dry with air movement. Basements and garages are the two places baskets go to die, because both hold damp.
Do not keep heavy items inside a basket for long stretches, and do not stack things on top of one. If your baskets nest, nest them. A smaller basket inside a larger one supports the walls of both.
The short version
Dust it dry. Wipe it barely damp. Never soak it. Keep it out of the sun and out of the damp, and mist it if your air is dry. That is the whole thing.
Our handwoven baskets are coiled from grass and cane, and everything above applies to all of them.
