You can be a guru of laundry with years of experience in doing the chore but even you aren’t insured from getting one of your garments a few sizes too small, too short, or totally misshapen once in a lifetime.
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Despite the common belief that the damage can’t be undone, don’t rush to donate or dispose of the shrunken clothes.
There are steps you can take to stretch or loosen the fabric and keep your garment to yourself.
Why do clothes shrink in the first place?
According to Mary Gagliardi, Clorox’s in-house scientist and cleaning expert, fibre type is the main reason why a clothing item shrinks.
Natural fabrics, such as cotton and linen are more likely to get smaller because of their moisture absorption properties.
Animal hair fibres such as wool and cashmere also absorb moisture, but they can also appear smaller once wet due to a permanent interlocking of fibres, which can be mistaken for shrinking.
Other reasons why clothing might shrink has to do with how much tension a yarn is under when the fabric is woven or knitted or while it is being processed, and the overall quality of the clothing.
In general, higher-quality manufacturers use special finishes and production techniques to prevent shrinkage.
Un-shrink your clothes with these simple steps
If the damage is done, you can follow these steps to salvage your garment.
Fill a sink or tub with lukewarm water and add a capful of baby shampoo, hair conditioner, or laundry soap formulated for delicate cycles. Soak your item for up to 30 minutes in order to loosen fibres.
Remove the item of clothing from the water and gently squeeze it, but do not rinse it out.
Lay the clothing on a flat towel and roll it up, again gently squeezing it until the item is damp and not wet.
Place your garment on another dry flat towel, gently stretching it back to pre-shrunk size. Allow the item to air dry.
Other un-shrinking tips
Tracing an outline of your garment on paper before you wash it will help you tell if it did shrink. If so, you can use the shape to bring the piece of clothing to its original dimensions.
Wool knits that have not felted can be gently stretched out by softly tugging the fabric while it is damp.
Felting is a permanent effect. Stay away from hot water, agitation, twisting, and wringing as they all contribute to felting.
Polyester and other synthetics are not prone to shrinkage. In fact, some machine-washable wools have a small percentage of polyester or acrylic in them to stabilise the wool and prevent them from changing the size.
Always follow care instructions. If they say dry clean only, then that’s your only choice.
Sources used:
- Reader’s Digest: 'How to Unshrink Clothes (and Prevent Them from Doing So in the First Place)'
