In 1990 an investigation into the effects of aqueous cleaning treatments on the optical, chemical and physical properties of modern experimental textiles was published by the author. This new report concerns the application of techniques, developed in the earlier study, to real historic textiles. Examples of cotton, wool, linen, silk, velvet and brocade were immersed in tap and distilled water, standard textile washing solution, non-ionic detergent solution, and saponin. Measurements to determine changes in dimension, colour, weight and resistance to tearing suggested that cellulosic textiles were most amenable to washing, while silk and brocade were less suitable candidates for the washing process.