This thread reminded me of a related question that I had been meaning to ask. My wife is fairly obsessed about possible shrinking of clothes in the dryer and therefore we air dry a large number of our clothes. Basically the rule is anything that is worn on the outside (button-down shirts, polos, blouses, trousers) gets air-dried, and only undershirts, underpants, and socks go in the dryer (t-shirts are the only exception and also go in the dryer). And ALL of our young daughter’s clothes get air-dried. As you can imagine, this means a lot of extra work at laundry time and having to look at clothes air drying for hours and days.
But I was wondering, is this really necessary? If we were just to throw these in the dryer, how many would actually shrink? It is standard industry practice nowadays to pre-shrink clothes? I know that some clothes say pre-shrunk on them, but if they don’t does that mean they will shrink?
I am basically looking for some empirical answers to this question. In your experience, do clothes shrink in the dryer?
Anecdotal evidence, but they do, in my experience.
But with the current price of electricity, and being environmentally aware, I couldn’t imagine wanting to use the dryer on everything.
I’m afraid modern science can’t always trump mother nature – certain natural fibres, such as wool, will always shrink if you don’t treat them kindly.
In actual fact, natural fibres don’t shrink so much as return to their original size. The fibres are stretched by the spinning and weaving process. Washing releases the tension in the fibres and they settle back into their normal state.
Pre-washed yarn and low tension knitting machines help prevent shrinkage, but not entirely. Tumble drying is also going to wear out your natural wool clothes quicker. Nobody likes a bobbly jumper!
Most things are preshrunk, I rarely have any issue with clothes shrinking. If there are other reasons thats fine but shrinking isn’t really a valid fear for most clothes.
Please read the labels though don’t dry things that say not to put in the dryer.
They totally do. The cheap stuff almost always does, but even nice clothes will sometimes surprise you. (Sometimes happily - I was going to have to get a pair of pants from Title Nine hemmed, but I washed them and now I no longer have to.)
They definitely do shrink, though it helps if you dry them on a lower heat. The washing machine does it too - a cashmere sweater once got in the washing machine by accident and came out doll-sized. Less obviously, my GF’s tracksuit bottoms shrank two sizes after half an hour in the dryer. Nowadays I only put plain cotton items in the dryer.
I wash and tumble dry most of my clothes (most of which are cotton or cotton-blend) and I rarely notice any shrinkage. Though FWIW almost all clothing is a little big on me so if there is shrinkage, it leads to a better fit.
Anything with wool in it or labeled ‘dry clean only’, I either hand wash and air dry or actually dry clean.
I think what your wife is doing is overkill and sounds like a big PITA.
I don’t know why – or even IF – this actually works, but it’s something I’ve been doing for a long time with cheap T-shirts or cheap-brand “polos”:
The first three or four times I wash them, I air dry them. After that, it seems the size “sets” and, apparently, they can then be machine dried without shrinking.
OF course they do–it’s not like the fundamental properties of fabric has changed. And, of course, it’s not permanent, just like it never was in the past. The only difference is that a lot of clothes are now pre-shrunk, so they don’t have the substantial shrinking that used to be common after the first wash and dry. So, with most clothes, you can easily stretch them back out through usual wear. Hence, no reason to worry about shrinkage.
Now, if only clothing was also pre-stretched, so you wouldn’t wind up buying clothing that gets too big by the end of the day (or a second day if it’s something like jeans).
Some wool is prcessed in such a way as to be machine washable. In knitting terms, this called “superwash” wool. The most familiar commercial product using washable wool is Smartwool socks. Yarn for handknitting socks is almost always superwash.
Superwash wool usually-benefits from be machine drying. It stretches considerably in wearing and needs to be “shrunk” to its original size.
Most commercial cottons are “preshrunk” and wont shrink any further. Almost all jersey knits (tshirt material) and oxford cloth/broadcloth clothing are preshrunk. It is possible to overdry cotton, but the result is uncomfortable crispiness, not shrinkage.
I have always found that on or about January 3rd of each year, most of my clothes have shrunk - even my belts!
Odd, as everything always fits fine in early November, but like clockwork - come start of January, everthing has shrunk on me.
Yes, they do. My jeans and corduroy pants (usually, but not always Eddie Bauer) shrink in length. It’s noticeable right after the first wash and then little by little until I finally throw them away. It helps to dry them on low instead of medium. I don’t think I have the patience or the room to air dry them.
My cotton flannel shirts also shrink. I will dry them until they’re no longer wet, take them out damp, and hang them from the shower rod until they’re dry.
Yeah, I just shrunk my wool cardigan by machine washing it, not even using the dryer. It’s just a little shrunk, I’m hoping that I can stretch it back out again. =/
Untreated natural fibers shrink in washing and drying but most people take that into account in buying clothes. Synthetics and synthetic-cotton blends listed as washer-dryer safe do not shrink much at all in washing and drying.
Using a dryer will put marginally more more wear on clothes and use energy, but your wife’s regimen is nutsy overkill for the aforesaid blends if it’s shrinking she’s trying to prevent.
I air dry towels because I refuse to waste all the energy to dry wet terrycloth when I can just let them air dry for a day, and I don’t mind that this makes them stiff and slightly scratchy. I like a good scruffing when drying off.
Yes they do. Rayon shrinks quite a bit, as does linen. Pure wool garments are notorious for shrinking (and felting) during the spin cycle, and often come with instructions to hand wash and air dry. Cotton garments shrink unless they are made of preshrunk fabric, and synthetic fabrics put in the dryer at temperatures higher than recommended will also do the same. That is why it is a generally a good idea to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when washing clothes.
If something is 100% cotton, it will probably shrink. However, I’ve found that if it has just a miniscule amount of something else (e.g. polyester or lycra), it resists shrinking.
I also ruined a very nice wool sweater by washing it. I didn’t dry it, but it was 2/3 of its original size when it came out of the washer. Nice sweater, too.