[Answered] How to Prevent Clothes from Shrinking in The Dryer? How to Avoid it?

You have a perfect fit shirt or dress. After use, you decide to wash it and then after wash, you notice that it has shrunk and does not fit you like it used to be.

The dryer has shrunk your favorite dress. Now, it can easily fit your children, but that dress is for you. Don’t worry. There is a way to prevent the dryer from shrinking your precious clothes.

Why Do Clothes Shrink in the Dryer?

If you are confused about why your dryer shrinks clothes, then the simple answer is the dryer does not shrink all clothes. The shrinking of clothes depends on wash temperature, type of fiber, and agitation.

Just think about how these fibers are made. Let’s take an example of cotton or some synthetic fibers. The formation of these fibers involves stretching, twisting. Hence when you wash it in a dryer, the stress in fiber is reduced. Therefore they return to their pre-shrunken state.

Some fabrics such as wool have microscopic scales that can stick together, causing them to shrink after wash. If you wash them vigorously, then it can shrink even more. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to learn how to stop the shrinking of clothes in the dryer.

Tips to prevent clothes from shrinking in the Dryer

Here we share some of the few important tips that will prevent clothes from shrinking in the dryer.

Check Your Clothes Labels

It is the first thing you should do before you are going to wash your clothes. Check the clothes label carefully and read any instructions give there. It will help you accidentally wash the clothes in the wrong mode, hence preventing clothes from shrinking.

Remember that the washing modes that work for natural fiber may not work for the synthetic ones. Natural fibers are susceptible to shrink more at higher temperature as it removes all the moistures inside it. So it better to dry them in low heat. It is also important to note that some fiber, such as silk, should never be tumble dried.

Following directions is a very crucial step. It only takes a minute to check the clothes’ care label and learning the laundry symbols. Once you know them, you can easily prevent clothes from shrinking.

Use Low Heat Settings

It may take a longer time when you dry your clothes in low heat, but it will prevent your clothes from shrinking in the dryer. The heat can damage the fiber in your dresses. Obviously, this effect varies from fiber to fiber. Hence we recommend reading the labels carefully before putting your clothes in the dryer. We have also given a solution on how to fix Samsung dryer not heating on our website.

Avoid Over Drying

You must ensure that you take out clothes as soon as the dryer stops. The longer the clothes stay inside the dryer, the longer it will be in heat, and hence the possibility of shrinking will increase.

So make a habit of removing the clothes as soon as it is finished. If you notice that they are still a little damp, then use a wardrobe and dry it.

Also, avoid drying clothes multiple times. One time is enough, and you should not do it more.

Reduce the frequency of laundry day

If you frequently wash your clothes, then it can cause the shrinking of clothes. It can also damage the color and fabrics of the clothes. So wash the clothes regularly, not frequently.

Some of the clothes, such as jeans, etc., you can wear multiple times. So washing them every day can be too much.

Wash your clothes in cold water beforehand

If you are using a dryer to dry your clothes and afraid that it can shrink the clothes, then one solution to prevent shrinking clothes in the dryer is to wash the clothes in cold water.

Usually, if you wash the clothes in warm water and then keep it in the dryer, it can shrink. The cold water does less or no damage to the fabrics. Hence we recommend washing your clothes with cold water.

We hope that the above tips help you in preventing clothes from shrinking in the dryer. Please comment on your questions or suggestion, and we will be happy to answer them.