Earlier quoted context omitted.
One problem with polyester is the amount of microplastics which enter the water supply when washing them. It's an unacceptable amount.
Polyester is biodegradable, albeit slowly.
Citation needed.
Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
151–160 of 287 posts
Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
#152Day 39585 of HN not knowing anything about selvedge denim, or other nice quality men’s fashion…
Eh, selvedge denim these days is just a fashion trend. It's fine, yeah. But there are other clothes one has to wear besides denim.
Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
#153I'm down to just a few sweat shirts and over shirts from the 80s, but they are hanging in there. Both the colors and the fabric. When the subject comes up with friends who ask about a particular shirt I joke, "The cotton was tougher back then". Recently, I've had jeans, shirts, and even socks that didn't make it through a single summer. Is anyone else freaked out about cleaning their dryer's lint filter given all the…
Do not dry your cotton shirts in the dryer. It's as easy as that. You hang them up and let them air dry. They'll last forever.
Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Is anyone else freaked out about cleaning their dryer's lint filter given all the new fabric materials? I used to be. So I spent quite a lot of time researching the issue. Not just google searches, but actually speaking with biologists. I think that the current microplastic scare is overblown. The "credit card worth of plastic in brain" articles are just ridiculous. Biologically, the body has defenses against micro…
Nearly every environment-adjacent field has concern nannies who make unrealistic risk assessments which then get regurgitated into guilt-inspiring newspaper articles. This is especially common when there is no way to determine for certain what the actual risk is; some folks fall on the "allow zero risk" side.
Some concern is warranted. I think that plasticizer or dyes leaching from plastics is a very real problem, so I try to avoid food stored in plastic containers (this includes tin cans, they are often lined with plastic).
This is a solvable problem, though. Polyethylene doesn't need plasticizers.
Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
#155I'm down to just a few sweat shirts and over shirts from the 80s, but they are hanging in there. Both the colors and the fabric. When the subject comes up with friends who ask about a particular shirt I joke, "The cotton was tougher back then". Recently, I've had jeans, shirts, and even socks that didn't make it through a single summer. Is anyone else freaked out about cleaning their dryer's lint filter given all the…
I hold my breath when I clean the lint trap, replace it and start the drier, then leave the laundry room and take a breath. I’m still probably inhaling some fibers but it makes me feel like I’m doing something.
That was me - until today. Now I've got a newish Dyson that was annoying to use on floors stashed under the water heater with a sneaky hose extension that flips up to deal with lint without even removing the filter all the way. It has a good filter on it and the container should hold months of lint.
Next question...how do I empty the Dyson container. Ha!
Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
#156I'm down to just a few sweat shirts and over shirts from the 80s, but they are hanging in there. Both the colors and the fabric. When the subject comes up with friends who ask about a particular shirt I joke, "The cotton was tougher back then". Recently, I've had jeans, shirts, and even socks that didn't make it through a single summer. Is anyone else freaked out about cleaning their dryer's lint filter given all the…
I can confirm that you really don't want to breathe in any of that crap.
A year and a half ago I developed symptoms of what was some form of bronchitis. Lots of mucus, constantly coughing, etc. I was pretty freaking sick. I tend to wait some things like this out, but it wasn't going away so I went to a doctor and got some medications including albuterol and some kind of steroid (prednisone, I think). It got a little more manageable, but didn't seem to be getting any better.
One day, I realized how much of a dumbass I was the whole time.
The apartment I was living in had a laundry room, but it was tiny and I got tired of both hauling laundry up and down multiple flights of stairs and having to fight for time with the few machines that were there. I bought a small washer and dryer pair from Black & Decker which were designed for apartment living. Kinda off topic, but there were no hookups in my unit, so I had to jerryrig a water connection using some collapsible garden hoses that connected to my shower and its drain. Was kinda hilarious but worked great.
I made the mistake of thinking that I could just allow the dryer to blow through two sets of lint traps and have a fan blow air out of the window to manage moisture and remaining lint making it through. What I didn't realize was how inadequate the traps were. Because I worked from home, I spent a lot of time in that bedroom, including when the dryer was running. I was breathing in all sorts of stuff without knowing it.
Once I stopped hanging out in that room while the dryer was running, bought an air purifier, and made sure to frequently clean my apartment of dust, my symptoms rapidly started to go away.
If I had to do all of that again, and I couldn't just have the dryer blow directly out the window, I would find some way to have it do a second pass through a HEPA filter, perhaps after drying the air with something like calcium chloride.
I shudder to think of all the microplastic fibers that remain somewhere in my body.
Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
#157I have the following printout in the laundry room. I haven't had any problems with shrinking or fading, etc. https://www.ihateironing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/07...
I take the opposite approach: wash everything on the default setting and whatever survives (almost everything) is now confirmed safe for that setting. Keeps things simpler and has the advantage that you can cut of those scratchy labels that are always attached in the most uncomfortable places possible.
Darwinian washing. I like it.
Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
#158I have this problem with button down shirts. I buy one that fits me perfectly and then all of a sudden months later its too small in the sleeves. I wash them very carefully. Only cold water, and air dry. This helps somewhat but the problem seems to re-occur still. I'll try the delicate cycle on the washer, but it's incredibly frustrating.
Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
#159I'm down to just a few sweat shirts and over shirts from the 80s, but they are hanging in there. Both the colors and the fabric. When the subject comes up with friends who ask about a particular shirt I joke, "The cotton was tougher back then". Recently, I've had jeans, shirts, and even socks that didn't make it through a single summer. Is anyone else freaked out about cleaning their dryer's lint filter given all the…
My following comment is not about clothes, but not long ago I washed some curtains that were hanging in a window for some fifteen years. The amount of lint that came out in the dryer was incredible. I'm talking inch-thick wad on the filter screen, growing another inch with continued drying, after being removed.
It was probably due to years of UV breakdown of the fibers from daylight.
Re: Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a weird topic for an 80s band fan site, but ok.
did you ever ask yourself what the name of the band meant?
Better not to ask. :P
Pretty soon you find out Frankie wasn't even in the band; The Pet Shop Boys didn't sell dog food at all; Dexy has terrible lap times; the Elfmans weren't actually knighted; etc.