The weirdest thing happened to me recently: I bought a new t-shirt, wore it a couple of times, then after washing it on what I thought was a safe cycle, it came out almost a size smaller. It’s so frustrating when you think you’re being careful and still end up with clothes that don’t fit the same way. I know temperature plays a role, but I feel like there are other hidden reasons too. Has anyone figured out a reliable way to avoid shrinking without having to hand wash everything? It makes me nervous every time I throw something new in the machine.
One trick that helped me was actually checking out clothoff ai since it breaks down how different materials respond to heat and washing styles. I realized I was drying cotton on high heat, which is pretty much a guarantee for shrinkage. After changing to air drying or at least a low-heat setting, the results were noticeably better. It also surprised me how much of a difference the spin cycle makes—gentler spins reduce the stress on fabrics. It takes a bit longer for clothes to dry this way, but they definitely keep their shape a lot more, and I don’t feel like I’m ruining them after only a few washes.
