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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

#171

Post by dylan604 »

chao- wrote: post #120
dylan604 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use my line in Texas, and 3 hours would see the clothes go from wet -> dry -> melted! And that's in the shade! Unfortunately, the line dried clothes are not soft, so I end up fluffing them in the drier using the air dry setting. Still cheaper than running the heating element, but hasn't eliminated the drier for me.

Hah! I live in (I presume) a different part of Texas, and 3 hours on a line might not even see clothes go from "wet" to "damp" in the shade!

It does make it hard to dry clothes when the humidity level is >90% even if you have triple digit temps!

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

#172

Post by kazinator »

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.

A lot of cotton is pre-shrunk. Simple as that. Synthetics resist shrinking.

The last thing I had shrink on me was a wool sweater, which was over twenty years ago.

I used the hair conditioner trick to stretch it (same as in this article), which sort of worked.

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

#173

Post by crazygringo »

steviedotboston wrote: post #164
crazygringo wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't even make sense. Banana Republic cotton is fine. I have a bunch of their shirts and machine wash cold and hang-dry and zero shrinkage. Did you put it in the dryer afterwards or something? Like I know that sounds dumb but I'm struggling to imagine what could have possibly caused what you describe. There's zero "enshittification" of the cotton at a brand like Banana Republic.

Do you find there's a difference in cotton quality with different shirt brands that results in some shrinking more than others?

Not when washing cold and hang-drying.

When washing warm or machine drying, absolutely, although I'm not sure how much is attributable to the cotton itself versus how much is attributable to the denser weave that tends to come with nicer brands.

But this comment was specifically about washing cold, hence my confusion.

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

#174

Post by stickfigure »

themafia wrote: post #153
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…

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.

Cotton shirts aren't valuable enough to treat this gingerly. I hang dry my merino, but it's easier to just buy new cotton shirts every five years or so. That's a good run for clothing.

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

#175

Post by kazinator »

steviedotboston wrote: post #158

I 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.

Make sure they are pre-shrunk cotton. It can still shrink, but far less.

Make sure the shirt is sized so that when you extend your arm laterally, the cuff approaches your knuckle.

If your idea of a fitting shirt happens to be that the cuff just covers a wrist watch when you extend your arm, then you have no spare headroom for shrinkage.

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

#176

Post by latexr »

webstrand wrote: post #141
latexr wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Link is behind a login wall.

Wild, apparently my institution pays for that, sorry for the dead link. https://cmosshoptalk.com/2020/06/09/en-dashes-the-editors-ma... > quotes the relevant section here. I can't find another source for the CMOS.

Thank you for the link and the correction.

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

#178

Post by [deleted] »

toast0 wrote: post #160
dylan604 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

[deleted]

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

#179

Post by iamacyborg »

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?

18East if you want cool shit made in India

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

#180

Post by cycomanic »

teruakohatu wrote: post #169
themafia wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

In New Zealand, culturally people generally use dryers only when it is too wet to hang them outside. Dryers are seen as wasteful and destructive. T-shirts last longer but they do not last forever. Quality has gone down substantially.

Yes completely agree. I always hang up my washing (also in NZ, don't have a dryer) and was recently sorting through my tshirts as we are moving country. I have one t-shirt that is nearly 20 years old and still holds its shape (though the color and print has faded) on the other hand i threw away a bunch of other t shirts which were just over a year old because they developed holes and particularly the collar is completely broken. Funnily their color and print is mostly fine.

I don't think brand is a good predictor either, e.g. the old t shirt is from threadless IIRC while I had many other threadless tshirts which didn't last near as long.

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