What Causes Clothes to Shrink? | Fitted Laundry Blog (2024)

FAQs

What Causes Clothes to Shrink? | Fitted Laundry Blog? ›

The hotter the water, the more likely the fabric is to shrink. The reason for this is that with hot water, the fibers and dyes are washed out faster, leaving the fabric less elastic. Fabrics that have less elasticity are more likely to shrink. Look at it this way – you have a rubber band.

Clothes may shrink in the washer if they are washed in a hot water cycle with heavy agitation, as well as in a dryer in high-heat settings that may cause overdrying. As a rule of thumb, high temperatures increase the likelihood of clothes shrinking in your laundry routine.

Clothes shrink because the fibers shorten when exposed to heat, water, and agitation—and the shrinkage knows no wardrobe bounds. A wool jacket, broken-in denim, or your favorite shirt: They're all at risk if not cared for properly.

In general, fabrics made from natural plant or animal fibers (wool, mohair, cotton, linen, silk, etc.) will be most likely to shrink, which will be exaggerated when a garment is washed and dried at high temperatures.

Heat causes shrinkage. Water has a high latent heat of vaporization (which means it it can "store" a lot of heat before it evaporates) which causes the moisture on your fabrics to retain more heat in the dryer. And with more exposure to heat, the more shrinkage you get.

In most scenarios, all you need is a container full of warm water with a capful of liquid detergent. Next, make sure to add in your clothes and stir them into the solution until they are completely soaked. Gently wring out the clothing to expel excess liquid and gently stretch the clothing back to its original size.

The most common causes of shrinkage are: Customer theft: When someone steals or shoplifts from a store – taking the item without paying. Fraud: When someone obtains an item by deception – using a false delivery address or stolen credit card.

Expect and anticipate a few centimetres of shrinkage in new items, but if something shrinks more than 5% it may be faulty. Buy secondhand or vintage clothes. “If it's not brand new it's probably already been washed so you're not going to find it's going to shrink,” Van Amber says.

Letting your clothes air dry is one of the best ways to prevent them from shrinking. However, if air drying isn't an option, use the lowest heat settings on the dryer. Try to remove your clothes while they're still slightly damp then air dry them to finish.

What fabric has the problem with shrinking? ›

Shrinkage is a common problem for many garments, especially those made from natural fibers like cotton, wool, or linen. It can ruin the fit, shape, and appearance of your clothes, and make you feel frustrated and wasteful.

No chemical will shrink your clothing. Only water, and the heat of a dryer will shrink clothing, and 80% of the time, shrinkage is not permanent. Most often, clothing can be wet, stretched, and blocked back into shape.

However, once cotton fabric is heated - say, tumbling in a dryer - the fibers lose that tension, which causes cotton's slight shrinking after a first wash. But don't despair — with just a little extra care, it's easy to make sure your cotton clothing maintains that perfect fit.

Fabrics like rayon, linen, shrink more readily than synthetics like nylon or polyester. Perhaps you are also wondering: does cotton shrink in the dryer? Generally speaking, natural fibers like cotton, wool or silk shrink more readily than their man-made counterparts.

It might be possible for hot water to shrink certain clothing items to their maximum shrinking capacity after just one wash. Besides shrinkage, washing your clothes with hot water can also damage items by permanently causing color fading.

Use cold or warm water. This doesn't prevent all shrinking but it's less damaging to fabrics than hot water. Use front-loading or top-loading high-efficiency washers without a center agitator. These are less damaging and cause less shrinkage than top-loading washers.

Choose Your Cycle Carefully

“A good general rule of thumb is to stick to cold and delicate cycles,” says LaLonde. “Cold cycles are the way to go to prevent shrinking. Most fabrics are much more susceptible to shrinking when exposed to high heats.”

To unshrink clothes, first, add 1 Tbsp. of conditioner to a small bucket or container filled with warm water, mixing the product as much as possible. Fully immerse the garment in the mixture and let it soak for 30 minutes. Finally, rinse the conditioner from the item and gently stretch it to your desired size.