Pulling your clothes out of the dryer only to find that they’ve shrunk so much that you can no longer wear them is a depressing sight. There’s no denying the fact that clothes cost a lot of money, and some of us don’t have the extra cash to blow on new clothes. If you notice your clothes are shrinking once they come of the dryer, you’ll need to take action to try and fix the problem. The bottom line is that your dryer shouldn’t do this when it’s working properly; therefore, there’s either something wrong with it, or you’re not washing them correctly.
Cold Water
One of the most common answers to ‘how to keep your dryer from shrinking clothes,’ is to not wash them with warm water. Depending on the material they’re made of, warm water may cause them to shrink in the washing machine. Of course you won’t notice this until they come out of the dryer, but it’s a fact that some clothes should only be washed with cold water. You can read the label for each article of clothing to determine whether or not warm water is acceptable. Alternatively, you can wash all your clothes with cold water just to be on the safe side.
Tumble Dry
Along with washing your clothes in hot water, drying them with too much heat can also cause them to shrink. If you’re having problems with your clothes shrinking, try to dry them on either low or tumble dry. Both of these settings should generate less heat; therefore, preventing your clothes from shrinking. The only downside is that it will take them longer to dry without the extra heat. Of course that’s a small price to pay to keep your clothes from shrinking.
If you’ve tried the steps above and your clothes are still shrinking after they come out of the dryer, it could be related to a broken or malfunctioning dryer. In this case, you’ll need troubleshoot the parts of your dryer to ensure it’s working properly. Go through the instruction manual and see if there’s a “frequently asked questions” section. If there is, you might find an answer to your question here. If there’s not, then you’ll need to keep troubleshooting each part of your dryer. As a last resort, you can always line-dry your clothes to prevent them from shrinking. Just run a lone outside where there are no trees nearby and hang your clothes to dry on it.
