why did all my elastic waistbands "dry" out / crack?

February 28, 2021 3:18 PM

I didn't wear my leggings for much of this pandemic year because I had sweatpants... and when I went to reorganize my closet, I found that many of my elastic waistbands on both skirts and leggings had "dried out", became kind of crunchy, and disintegrated/entirely lost elasticity. Why? Am I doing something wrong in caring for my clothing, or is this just normal for elastic waistbands?

The leggings and skirts I have are about 8-12 years old. I typically hang dry my clothing indoors (not in sunlight) after washing. I haven't changed my detergent or washing temperature or anything. I don't use bleach. It feels like they all "went bad" at the same time, although I noticed that some of my relatively newer clothing with elastic waistbands are still doing fine. I store my clothing in a closet, and the closet is not directly next to heat or anything. The only difference is that this year I got an oil-filled space heater that was used for about 1 hour at night for about 1-2 months, about 15 feet away from the closet (at the other end of the room) -- could that have done this? Is there anything I can do to better care for my items with elastic waistbands?

I'd believe it if this is just the normal life expectancy of a pair of leggings, but I think I have had other items of clothing for longer and still not had this issue before. Thanks for your help!

posted by gemutlichkeit to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

This is normal for natural elastic in my experience. If you never use it, it keeps relatively well but once you have started using it, heat and stretching will start the process of rubber decay and then leaving it untouched for months finishes it. It doesn't break down as fast if you keep wearing it - I assume periodic stretching helps keep it supple.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:29 PM on February 28, 2021 [8 favorites]

elastic is not going to tolerate oxidation and low/fluctuating indoor humidity for nearly as long as natural fibers and garments are getting cheaper and cheaper in quality at the same price point so something you bought in 2000 that lasted a decade will probably not make it to this year if you bought seemingly the same thing again in 2010. you got more than the manufacturer's expected life span out of those garments for sure. It sounds like you are optimizing for long life of your clothes and doing everything else right, and the only thing is to maybe get a humidifier to use in winter if the heater dries the room; super low humidity or big swings from high to low humidity are hard on all fibers, but elastic just shows it first.
posted by slow graffiti at 5:17 PM on February 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

Elastic should be considered a wear item. Well designed clothing lets you replace it.
posted by flabdablet at 5:36 PM on February 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

Are you in a warm location? Is where you store it temperature controlled? I feel like my clothes in Mass last forever, and the ones I had in Florida (stored over the summer with out A/C) lasted one year.
posted by beccaj at 5:44 PM on February 28, 2021

It lasts longer if used gently and often, compared rarely and (therefore) more strenuously.

This is true of natural latex as well as many synthetic 'elastic' products.

It's just part of entropy and how the world works as far as I can tell; sorry.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:06 PM on February 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

Age and heat kill elastic, and it does seem to be okay until a month later you pull it out of the closet and the elastic just dies. All at once? I think it's a function of age.

If it's something you really love, an elastic waist isn't terribly difficult to replace.
posted by theora55 at 6:11 PM on February 28, 2021

What causes them to dry out can be a couple different things, depending on whether the elastic is spandex or rubber. Chlorine bleach destroys spandex. Rubber is destroyed by heat, and oil from lotions or your skin. Dry cleaning chemicals can sometimes cause problems for rubber as well.

Since it's hard to tell what elastic is made out of, avoid heat, bleach and dry cleaning.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:48 PM on February 28, 2021

Elastic is susceptible to ozone damage. An electrostatic air filter or "ion generator" can produce excess ozone in the home.
posted by JackFlash at 8:49 PM on February 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

This tends to happen to me with socks and underwear that are even in regular use. The elastics just eventually give up. It usually all happens close to at once because I tend replace these items all at the same time because of bulk purchasing during good sales. I've never even considered that it was environmental.

Your hang drying probably helps you extend the life of your clothing so long that the elastic cycle of life isn't as obvious as it is for people who use dryers. I hang dry my running clothes which have lots of elastic and haven't ever hit their elasticity expiration before other wear like holes set in.
posted by srboisvert at 2:37 AM on March 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

In my experience this is at least partly a lack-of-use issue (likely also depends on the quality of the elastic in the first place). I did the standard lockdown cleanout of old clothes and had this happen to a number of clothing items. In one case, it was one pair of pants of a set of two I purchased in different colors at the same time and forgot about one of them. The one still in rotation is fine but the elastic in the unused one was crunchy.
posted by Preserver at 7:57 AM on March 1, 2021 [2 favorites]