Do You Find Tumble Dryers Shrink Cotton Clothing?

radderfire

radderfire

radderfire

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I'm thinking of buying a tumble dryer. Do you find that even when you put them on the correct drying temperature, they end up shrinking cotton clothing slightly, so that it starts to get uncomfortable to wear? At the moment, I use a clothes dryer in the garden in the summer and radiators in the winter, and the washing and drying process does seem to make cotton clothing shrink slightly, but does it get significantly worse if you use a tumble dryer?
 
radderfire said:
I'm thinking of buying a tumble dryer. Do you find that even when you put them on the correct drying temperature, they end up shrinking cotton clothing slightly, so that it starts to get uncomfortable to wear? At the moment, I use a clothes dryer in the garden in the summer and radiators in the winter, and the washing and drying process does seem to make cotton clothing shrink slightly, but does it get significantly worse if you use a tumble dryer?
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No, If this was the case then after a few washes, everyone's clothes would only be big enough to fit an action man. When you wear clothes they will stretch to fit your body and movements. Washing them 'resets' them to when they were first made. Don't blame it on the tumble dryer if you need to lose weight.
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A heat pump drier doesn’t get hot, you can even put synthetics in them without issue.

Edit: not sure it’s the time to be investing in a drier right now, have you seen the price of electricity?
 
drakulton said:
No, If this was the case then after a few washes, everyone's clothes would only be big enough to fit an action man. When you wear clothes they will stretch to fit your body and movements. Washing them 'resets' them to when they were first made. Don't blame it on the tumble dryer if you need to lose weight.
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that isn't true in every case though, like I said in my above post, pretty much all of my tshirts shrink over time, whether that is down to washing them or the heat from the dryer I don't know.
 
I find modern clothes shrink a lot faster. I can have two t-shirts same size and after a few months the one I wash most is often a lot smaller. That said I'm not buying very expensive t-shirts so maybe that's why. Rarely use a dryer though.
 
You do realize that there is a reason you should not put certain types of materiel in a dryer right.... Shrinking clothes is nothing new. Even "safer" materials like cotton will suffer from this
 
Yes it shrinks stuff, I have found the first time you was a new item don't put it in the tumble dryer. Lost many a cool hoody to the shrinker machine so the arms are 50mm shorter.
 
Agree - part of the economics of deciding on a more expensive heat pump (lower temp) dryer will be the additional life that gives to clothing ,

for washing machines too, have wondered how much frequent+long duration washing, itself, shortens clothing lifespan through abrasion.
so those towels in the 30C extended programme wear twice as fast as the shorter 50C programme.
 
And here I was thinking I was getting fatter :cry:

To answer your question, not really no. Been drying clothes for years, apart from Primark and equivalent quality, most of my clothes have lasted 10+ years.
 
Bought a load of Gant Polo shirts for the holiday. 3 Different styles. But ALL the ones from one style have shrunk in the wash. 30c too.. Not happy. So its not just a dryer/Diet that shrinks clothes
 
i have not noticed much shrinkage myself.

in fact when a pair of 100% cotton jeans are too big and i actually try to shrink them in a hot tumble dryer, it only shrinks them a bit
 
EdwardTeach said:
I never use a tumble dryer for this reason. Everything goes on the line, or on rainy days its hung up inside.
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This.

Can't understand peoples dependence on tumble dryers personally, my flat has a washer/dryer so the dryer part is rubbish anything.

The only time I use it is for bed sheets during winter so my flat doesn't look like a Chinese laundry, everything else gets hung on an airer by my patio door that is usually open constantly in summer and intermittently in winter to let some moisture escape.

Things may take 4 days to dry when it's cold but at least they're not being shrunk and ruined.
 
But the damp from the clothes in your house is ruining you and your house.... Still their is a time and a place for it all in moderation.
 
Megahurtz400 said:
This.

Can't understand peoples dependence on tumble dryers personally, my flat has a washer/dryer so the dryer part is rubbish anything.

The only time I use it is for bed sheets during winter so my flat doesn't look like a Chinese laundry, everything else gets hung on an airer by my patio door that is usually open constantly in summer and intermittently in winter to let some moisture escape.

Things may take 4 days to dry when it's cold but at least they're not being shrunk and ruined.
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I have two kids who wear clothes and soil them faster than I can wash them, and have swimming lessons once a week.

We’ve had to do without a tumble dryer during house renovations, and the clothes airers are constantly full, and towels constantly draped over bannisters.

I’ve also had to run a dehumidifier because the towels just won’t dry enough to put away, and they end up smelling like damp. High humidity days are a killer for my washing cycle :D
 
Karl said:
I have two kids who wear clothes and soil them faster than I can wash them, and have swimming lessons once a week.

We’ve had to do without a tumble dryer during house renovations, and the clothes airers are constantly full, and towels constantly draped over bannisters.

I’ve also had to run a dehumidifier because the towels just won’t dry enough to put away, and they end up smelling like damp. High humidity days are a killer for my washing cycle :D
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Now that I can understand!

The thought of having my own children sickens me to my core so I tend to forget about people with them when I make vast sweeping "OcUK" statements! :p
SPG said:
But the damp from the clothes in your house is ruining you and your house.... Still their is a time and a place for it all in moderation.
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Is it really though? In the winter clothes are aired in a separate room where I spend no more than 60-90 minutes a few times a week, and in winter the door is kept close to keep heat generated in the front room or bedrooms contained in those rooms.
 
Karl said:
I have two kids who wear clothes and soil them faster than I can wash them, and have swimming lessons once a week
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depending on children's age , and for that matter, for adults, wiping themselves down with a flannel post shower/bath (in the shower tray) avoids saturating towels,
always do it at the pool & home ... and towels can run for weeks with a modicum of outside airing.
 
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