Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them

Post by coryrc » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 8:40 PM UTC

IAmBroom wrote: post #168

ynac wrote: post #51

I'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…

You are actually seeing something the linked article doesn't even mention: fiber length. Not all cotton is created equally. "Egyptian cotton" was long prized because of the long fiber lengths. Cotton fibers are very smooth and slick, and only stay together in thread because of friction along their length as they lay with neighbor fibers (often twisted, where friction becomes exponential instead of linear). Short-fibe…

Post by fratlas » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 8:48 PM UTC

vyaa wrote: post #96

jazzyjackson wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's still good fabrics out there you just have to pay for them. I've mostly replaced my wardrobe now with natural undyed cottons and wools from the likes of "unbleached apparel" and "industry of all nations". There is cotton grown in new mexico, socks spun in north carolina. "Filson" makes a few things in Seattle. Don't skip the stuff made in Peru or India neither.

Do you have any brand recommendations?

Post by dredmorbius » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 8:56 PM UTC

DANmode wrote: post #91

owlninja wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My strategy forever is to wash all my shirts, put them in the dryer on low for 5 minutes, then hang them all up in a doorway overnight. My clothes last much longer this way and never get wrinkled.

As long as that doorway isn’t made of wood, or have any cracks for air to enter the door or doorjam, that 90% relative humidity should be no problem!

Post by Melatonic » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 9:04 PM UTC

sva_ wrote: post #127

epolanski wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have recently started refusing to buy all of this plastic filled clothes. If I see any % of it I don't buy it. Period. I spend much more upfront for clothes, but I gain a lot long term. Clothes don't look terrible after few washings and they tend to last forever.

Pro tip: if your clothes say 100% merino wool or whatever, this is only about the fiber, and they may still be covered in plastic from the "superwash" process (for example, almost all merino wool is)

Post by RGamma » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 9:21 PM UTC

stuxnet79 wrote: post #110

vyaa wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any brand recommendations?

Rather than focus on brand, I'd recommend developing a better eye and learning how to identify durable, high quality fabrics. While looking at the brand might be a good heuristic to rely on in the short term, the temptation is too high for vendors to take advantage of their brand power to offload cheaper fabrics for higher margins, I'm looking at you H&M and UNIQLO ...