Many of us are all too familiar with that sinking feeling of pulling our favorite clothing out of the dryer only to find it in a much smaller size than before. There's nothing worse than thinking you may have ruined your favorite sweater or work dress, and it can cause you to instantly think something may be up with your appliance. And, while the dryer may be to blame, there are actually quite a few other causes that can make your clothes shrink. In fact, everything from the cycle we choose on the washing machine to the fabrics our clothes are made from can be to blame for this resize.
If you want to avoid the constant tug of too-small clothes or the need for a new wardrobe every season , consult these quick and easy tips for avoiding laundry shrinkage—plus all the reasons it may be happening in the first place.
Generally, there are three different and very technical ways clothing can shrink: felting, relaxation, and consolidation. It may take a bit of time and training to learn which type of shrinkage is impacting your favorite pieces. The first type of shrinkage, felting, occurs with clothing constructed of animal hair fibers, like wool or mohair. These materials have microscopic scales along their surface that, when exposed to moisture and excessive heat, can compress and mesh together.
This compression is the cause of the all-too-familiar shrunken sweater syndrome , which can happen easily if the sweater is not handled correctly. This type of shrinkage is sometimes also referred to as progressive shrinkage because it will continue to happen a little more each time the animal hair fiber is washed.
Relaxation shrinkage happens when an absorbent fabric like cotton, silk, or linen , or a fabric modified to be absorbent like a synthetic performance fiber , is exposed to liquids or excessive moisture. When these absorbent fibers are exposed to water, they will soak it all up and swell, causing the overall size of the garment to shrink. Generally, relaxation shrinkage impacts less than one percent of the overall garment size and won't really influence a piece's fit.
Another common shrinkage issue is consolidation shrinkage, which occurs when moisture, heat, and mechanical action like agitation during washing and drying cycles are combined. The combination of these factors causes the fabric's fibers to release any pulling or tension put in place during the construction of the clothing item, which in turn relaxes the fibers, allowing them to return to their natural state which is almost always smaller.
Relaxation shrinkage typically occurs most dramatically during an item's first wash cycle and it can drastically reduce the size of a piece. When clothes shrink and stretch, many of the reasons as to why happen long before you get the piece home.
First, fully saturate the damaged shirt in water. Holmes then suggests gently stretching your wet shirt out on a flat surface or drying rack to the desired size. Take extra care with this step, since too many tugs may further distort the shape of the garment you're trying to salvage. Once you get the piece to its desired size, leave the garment out to air dry. If your clothes still seem to get smaller and smaller with every wash, Holmes suggests taking cotton pieces out of the dryer while they're still damp before air drying them.
Aside from keeping your clothing in tip-top shape, you're ultimately conserving energy by avoiding a dryer's harsh high heat setting. As for the most important laundry lesson we could all stand to learn? The other way tumble dryers work to dry your clothes is to rotate them. The tossing motion can cause fibres to constrict, thus shrinking your clothes. As a general rule, the fabrics you should avoid tumble drying are delicate materials like cashmere, lace and silk.
It's also a good idea to be cautious with items that are made with all-natural fibres like wool, and materials like suede that you would avoid getting wet in the first place. Cotton, linen and denim are hardier natural fabrics that will fare better in the dryer. Does polyester shrink in the dryer? Usually not — synthetics like polyester, nylon and acrylic are generally safe to tumble dry, although at high heat they will also be in danger of shrinking.
But whatever items you're drying, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Check out our tips below to keep your favourite garments in good shape.
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