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I like those too, I've seen those in my search for racks...no chance of stretching & won't mk a crease in your clothes. Don't have the room though & I'd be drying things 24/7 for weeks if I did that to most of my tops, even if I doubled & tripled up (piling on 2-3 items on each one).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydney123
I used to think that my dryer was shrinking my clothes....turned out to be the refrigerator.
Ha, yes, I heard that one before!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geneyus
What's wrong with "low heat?". We always use it, unless we're drying towels or something we don't wear.
No one said anything's wrong w/ it. It just doesn't always ensure that things don't shrink, but it seems to be the best drying option other than NO HEAT which will take forever.
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Originally Posted by Nik4me
Possibly that the inexpensive dryer has a less sensitive/and not calibrated properly temperature sensor which may run "hotter" on a low setting.
No matter the solution it will cost you money: you may try to buy a room dehumidifier with the clothes drying function on Amazon. It would dry your clothing better in a smaller footprint of a bathroom or a closet.
As a side effect, it may help you to keep the humidity level healthier and your a/c to work better in your home. https://www.amazon.com/Kesnos-dehumi...ehumidifier,Ft..
Alternately: hang or lay down your delicate items in a small bathroom and use the bathroom heater or a $30-50 standalone heater...
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Originally Posted by elnina
Plan ahead and you can safely air dry whatever you wash even if it takes a day or two.
Most people have at least two choices of clothing for every occasion. If you're one of them, then time doesn't matter and you don't need any bathroom heater or dehumidifier.
Nik4me, thanks but won't need all that...too much trouble & takes up space in my 700 sq ft apt.
elnina, true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harpaint
It's been my experience that 100% cotton shrinks to some extent no matter how you wash/dry it. This is especially true of the cheap cotton t shirts made in Mexico and some other countries. I find that the higher quality clothes shrink very little in cold water, moderate dryer, and using dryer sheets and not over drying.
Yeah, I don't even like the look of 100% cotton clothing. I like a flowy-er look. I'm sure most clothing has a certain percentage though.
HOWEVER, one exception that I know of is the Whisper Cotton Tee by Madewell, which I love! They're 100% cotton & I don't know how they treat their cotton, but I'm able to wash it w/o worry & they don't shrink!
Other than washing in cold water, using Woolite, drying on LOW heat, etc., are there any other solutions to prevent clothing shrinkage? Is there a product I can buy or some remedy, etc.? I have a cheap washer & dryer that my apt complex already gave everyone in each unit, but it shrinks my clothing, depending on the fabric. I have way too many clothes to air dry everything.
Stop putting your clothes in the dryer at all.
I don't put anything I own in the dryer except for towels and sheets.
I don't use the dry cleaner's either.
Everything I own goes in the washer and air dries.
I air dry practically everything I own. In the past, I sometimes bought things a little large (to allow for shrinkage), but sometimes they didn't shrink and we're always too big. Other times I'd buy the perfect fit, and of course some of those items would shrink, and be too small.
So now I buy everything to fit perfectly, and just never dry it. Big bonus is clothes stay new-looking much longer!
I don't put anything I own in the dryer except for towels and sheets.
I don't use the dry cleaner's either.
Everything I own goes in the washer and air dries.
Here in AZ I don't put anything in the dryer either, including sheets and towels. I have a mostly empty den in my apartment that I use for hanging damp clothes out of the washer for air drying. The humidity level has been below 10 percent for most of the past month, day and night, so the laundry dries fast, even indoors. By drying clothes indoors, I don't need an indoor humidifier!
We bought an extra shower curtain tension rod that we can put up inside the shower or over the tub for heavy laundry days of fragile items. It's easy to put up and easy to take down.
It helps to have a window open, too, which is why I have no interest in houses with windowless bathrooms.
Thanks & lot guys & interesting info, harry chickpea. Thanks!
I like those too, I've seen those in my search for racks...no chance of stretching & won't mk a crease in your clothes. Don't have the room though & I'd be drying things 24/7 for weeks if I did that to most of my tops, even if I doubled & tripled up (piling on 2-3 items on each one).
Ha, yes, I heard that one before!
No one said anything's wrong w/ it. It just doesn't always ensure that things don't shrink, but it seems to be the best drying option other than NO HEAT which will take forever.
Nik4me, thanks but won't need all that...too much trouble & takes up space in my 700 sq ft apt.
elnina, true.
Yeah, I don't even like the look of 100% cotton clothing. I like a flowy-er look. I'm sure most clothing has a certain percentage though.
HOWEVER, one exception that I know of is the Whisper Cotton Tee by Madewell, which I love! They're 100% cotton & I don't know how they treat their cotton, but I'm able to wash it w/o worry & they don't shrink!
I totally agree re 100% cotton looking and feeling awful mostly. It's blends, synthetics, and silk for me. I remember all that ironing my mom had do to on cotton--ugh
Thanks again! Again, I like this type the best (link below)...no chance of stretching and won't make a crease in your clothes. Don't have the room though and I'd be drying things 24/7 for weeks if I did that to most of my tops, even if I doubled and tripled up (piling on 2-3 items on each one) OR I'd need about 10-15 of these racks, ha! I'll do the best I can. I even buy a larger sized article of clothing if I can to allow for shrinking when I start to wash them.
tumble dry on lower setting.
leave it in for shorter time.
take it out while still damp
This sounds the simplest to do & I can still hang while they're a bit damp but leave the sliding closet door open, the window open & even the ceiling fan ON so it can air out & won't get moldy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harpaint
I totally agree re 100% cotton looking and feeling awful mostly. It's blends, synthetics, and silk for me. I remember all that ironing my mom had do to on cotton--ugh
Oh, I haven't had to actually iron (using an iron & ironing board) since I think sometime in the early 1990s & thank God I haven't had to since! Actually, I have a handheld steamer just in case for the rare smoothing out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by recycled
Here in AZ I don't put anything in the dryer either, including sheets and towels. I have a mostly empty den in my apartment that I use for hanging damp clothes out of the washer for air drying. The humidity level has been below 10 percent for most of the past month, day and night, so the laundry dries fast, even indoors. By drying clothes indoors, I don't need an indoor humidifier!
Nice that you have a whole free room to use! I have a 700 sq ft, 1 bedroom, 1 bath apt, so space is very limited.
You're assuming I must have washed & dried in DIFFERENT ways depending on the machine. With BOTH my & my parents' W&Ds, I've washed w/ cold water setting, dried on low, even same detergent, & my apt's W&D will still shrink my stuff. I never had this problem back when I lived w/ my parents doing laundry there, so anyone would think it's the differences in appliances.
I wonder if the water itself is different if you're in different cities. Water is treated with different things but I don't know if that would affect shrinkage.
It does sound like you're doing the right things. You mention not drying on high heat, which is good, but most things I take out while still a bit damp. Not sopping - just a little bit and I can still hang them to dry. Obviously if they are too wet and you try to put on a hanger they'd stretch out.
I wonder if the water itself is different if you're in different cities. Water is treated with different things but I don't know if that would affect shrinkage.
It does sound like you're doing the right things. You mention not drying on high heat, which is good, but most things I take out while still a bit damp. Not sopping - just a little bit and I can still hang them to dry. Obviously if they are too wet and you try to put on a hanger they'd stretch out.
Type of water is a thought too! My parents' house & my apt are about 15 minutes away from each other. We live in the same city, so the same water plant probably services us both. But thanks for bringing it up! It would be interesting to know how different types of water (hard, soft, etc.) affected clothes washing.
(I even always used Woolite w/ clothing which specifically helps prevent shrinkage too. (Towels, bedsheets, & socks/underwear, I'll use regular Tide detergent.))
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