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

swinburne.edu.au

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

#231

Post by fpoling »

ravenstine wrote: post #156
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…

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…

We have a washing machine that also has a drier function. It dries much slower than a standalone drier as it consumes water during the drying circle to cool and condense the hot air from the clothes. But the big plus is that it works in mostly closed cycle reusing the air. And there is no need to clean the filter, just unclog the sink pipes once in few months.

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

#232

Post by Gigachad »

strbean wrote: post #215
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…

I wonder what impact those plastic bits used to attach tags to clothing have on durability. Woven/knit products kind of have a countdown that starts when threads break, and those tags tend to mean your clothing already has broken threads right from the store.

Most tshirts I've seen have a tiny fabric loop on the collar where the tag can be attached without puncturing the fabric.

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

#233

Post by Eiriksmal »

Der_Einzige wrote: post #49

Day 39585 of HN not knowing anything about selvedge denim, or other nice quality men’s fashion…

I bought a SpeedQueen washer-dryer set to have a dedicated wool wash option to care for my Gustin wool flannels and various 100% merino wool sweaters. Does that count?

I would imagine most people on this site don't deal with clothes shrinking any more because they are wearing screen-printed, startup-logo-emblazoned tri-blend t-shirts with a very low cotton count. So even though the shirt is presumably using the cheapest, gnarliest short-staple cotton the manufacturer could get his hands on, the sheer amount of manmade fibers in it allows that Custom Ink goodness to remain firmly a Medium for years. Well, that and the hugely boxy fit. How would you notice if any of it shrank?

"Modern" dryers' ability to tumble clothes on low until they are still pretty damp, but now wrinkle-free, then pull it out to finish on a rack means I don't have to give much thought to the proper maintenance of 99% cotton jeans or 100% duck canvas pants. I don't think the 100% cotton American Giant shirts and hoodies are particularly prone to shrinking, either, but they do seem to soak up stains more readily than American Apparel's tri-blends given away as swag.

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

#234

Post by Gigachad »

RGamma wrote: post #214
taeric wrote: post #6

It has been ages since I had clothes shrink on me. To the point that I had assumed something must have gotten better in modern dryers. Is that not the case? Edit: Quickly searching, this appears to be the case? Specifically modern moisture sensing dryers that stop appropriately goes a long way to never having something shrink on you.

Stretch jeans shrink, even in a heat pump dryer set to a gentle program. Yes, they really do :(

Stretch jeans suck in general. Rather quickly the elastane will give up and the fabric rips. Thankfully, non stretch wide/straight jeans are back in trend.

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

#235

Post by Gigachad »

gwbas1c wrote: post #83
ortusdux wrote: post #79

There was a great custom order screen printing website blog where they documented their shrinkage testing. They made a pressure sensitive shirt form and then ran 30+ brands of shirts through a battery of tests, measuring fit after each washing. I've heard reports that the newer heat pump clothes dryers are less prone to cause shrinking. In their default mode they act more like a dehumidifier than a heater. In theory…

I have a heat pump dryer, and I can confirm no shrinkage. It's very gentle on clothes, but it does take a bit longer to dry.

I absolutely shrunk my ex's marino wool in a heat pump dryer once. But I haven't had any issues with cotton.

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

#236

Post by inferiorhuman »

helterskelter wrote: post #227
irishcoffee wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Carhartt makes some okay dressy dungarees. Their work pants are worthless these days though (in my experience). They've been pivoting to lifestyle for a few years now. Carhartt are the most durable clothes I own. Whatever Levi’s did, their jeans went from lasting years to literal months before they would rip. Had the same 3 pairs of Carhartt work pants for half a decade with no end in sight. Maybe something changed…

I used to swear by them but I ordered like half a dozen pairs of their standard double fronted work dungs and they fell apart in the washer after 2-3 cycles. This was 2022-2023. It was weird, seams weren't stitched properly, the fabric was lighter, etc. I saw comments on their site which shared my experience. I think this around the time they shifted production outside the USA (memory is hazy). If you see a "helmets…

Levis stuff has been made overseas for decades now. It's only with the more recent shift towards using cotton blends in nearly of their jeans that the longevity has suffered.

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

#237

Post by danparsonson »

CurleighBraces wrote: post #10

Me and the wife have so many discussions about this :) We have a lot of "shrinkage" in our house, that I am convinced is more due to both of us uhh "growing" rather than the clothes shrinking ;) You can imagine, it's a delicate subject

That's happening to me too! My trousers are selectively shrinking around the waistband, it's weird...

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

#238

Post by yowayb »

ravenstine wrote: post #156
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…

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…

I got a drying closet. It's basically a heater in a tent with a few vents. It takes almost twice as long as a similarly sized tumble-drying machine, but absolutely nothing but warm, moist air is exhausted into the room. I even use it to supplement a space heater.

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

#239

Post by symfoniq »

kccqzy wrote: post #220
rico_rodriguez wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went through an Uniqlo last month and was very disappointed at how just about every sort of basic article of clothing I was looking for was at least 30% polyester. Polyester has its place, the fact its not breathable and cheap does make it genuinely useful in moderation to help warm certain articles, but I don't want it in every single basic t shirt and pair of pants. You can still get high quality or at the very l…

I had a fascination with 100% cotton clothing about ten years ago. These days I don’t. I’m working out a lot more and I care more about quick-drying and moisture-wicking fabrics. I suppose I’m a victim of the athleisure trend where athletic wear becomes everyday wear.

I sweat a lot and as a result try to avoid cotton for the most part. Wool is just a far better material in my experience, and doesn’t hold odor like cotton.

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

#240

Post by kccqzy »

moduspol wrote: post #77
testplzignore wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There have been changes in the manufacturing process to "pre-shrink" fabrics. Similar improvements have been made to improve colorfastness. Mixing new reds and whites used to consistently produce pink. Not anymore.

This makes sense in the modern age where retailers accept returns for any/no reason and manufacturers tend to bend over backwards to get you to avoid returning anything. Same reason why any furniture you order online seems to always have all the tools necessary to assemble it. They never require power tools and always include screwdriver(s) and/or Allen wrenches. They need to design away every possible reason someone…

I was actually spoiled by the fact that self-assembled furniture typically does not require any power tools. Then I bought a bike rack and was disappointed that the first step required a drill.
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