Reading the label of a garment before washing it is a crucial step, but one that is often overlooked. It allows us to avoid incidents, such as a garment that fades, or even worse, that shrinks. Indeed, a badly done laundry can deteriorate the fibers of your garment and shrink it. If this happens to you, don’t panic! You can still save your garment. Find out how.
Some garments made of natural fibers such as wool or cotton are more prone to shrinking during machine washing. However, it is possible to find the original size of your garment, thanks to these simple tips.
Why do clothes shrink?
It should first be clarified that it is not the washing itself that causes clothes to shrink, but rather the spinning and drying. In fact, when clothes are machine washed, their fibers loosen due to the hot water. These same fibers tighten again during the spin cycle. On the other hand, they can tighten so much that the garment shrinks.
How to recover a garment that has shrunk?
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Soak the garment in the conditioner
To recover your shrunken garment, you can use the conditioner. The latter makes it possible to relax the fibers of the garment without damaging them. To do this, fill a basin with lukewarm water and add two tablespoons of conditioner. Dip your shrunken garment into the basin, stir until small bubbles appear, and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Then, squeeze the garment lightly to wring it out. Do not rinse it to let the conditioner act more. After removing excess water, stretch your garment out and lay it flat on a bath towel. Then wrap it around your clothes to dry. Leave the latter inside your towel for a maximum of 10 minutes, as it must remain a little damp. Indeed, if it dries completely, you will have a hard time stretching it. Finally, place your garment on top of another dry towel and stretch it on both sides to bring your garment back to its original size. Lay it flat on the towel and place on top of books or heavy objects to maintain the stretch. Leave your garment like this until it dries.
Wrap the garment in a towel – Source: spm
Note that you can replace the conditioner with baby shampoo. Also, you won’t need to rinse out shampoo or conditioner, but if you mind the look of your garment, you can wash it by hand. This trick is effective for cashmere, cotton or synthetic fiber garments.
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Use white vinegar or fabric softener for woolen clothes
Wool sweaters – Source: spm
Very popular in home and laundry care, white vinegar is effective in recovering a shrunken woolen sweater . To do this, fill a basin with warm water and white vinegar, in equal parts, and soak your garment in it for at least 12 hours. Then rinse it with cold water and hang it vertically on a hanger, without wringing it, to dry it. Thus, the weight of the water will relax the fibers of the garment and allow it to recover its initial size.
Another trick is to use fabric softener. To do this, pour a bottle of fabric softener into a basin of lukewarm water and immerse your garment in it. Let it rest all day, rinse it and let it dry without wringing it.
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Use the heat of the iron to recover a light garment
Ironing a shirt – Source: spm
To save your thin blouse or shrunken t-shirt, you can iron it . Pass your iron inside the garment to diffuse the heat there, and stretch it downwards. The heat will allow your garment to gradually return to its initial size.
How to prevent clothes from shrinking during washing?
To maintain the size of your garment, it is important to read its label, before washing it for the first time, in order to carry out your laundry successfully , without incident. This contains information on the type of spin cycle and the correct temperature.
Also remember to wash your clothes in lukewarm water, instead of hot water. Indeed, the latter also has its share of responsibility in the shrinkage of clothes, since it loosens the fibers when washing. Also avoid drying your clothes in the dryer. The heat released during drying may considerably tighten the fibers of your garment and cause it to shrink.
These amazing tricks make it easy to get your shrunken garment back after going through the washing machine, no matter what fabric it is.
