Do dry clothes shrink in a dryer?
October 14, 2021 4:35 AM Subscribe
I've been told I can kill moth eggs by drying my clothes at 50C+ for 30 min.
However, I never dry my clothes in a dryer (and barely wash them higher than 40C), for the fear of shrinking them terribly
A friend-of-a-friend claimed that dry clothes don't shrink. Is that true?
Random googling has not been of much help..
Random googling has not been of much help..
One cycle in the freezer won’t kill moth eggs - you need a couple of freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw cycles to actually kill them. The eggs are hardier than the larvae. Being frozen and then thawed triggers the eggs to hatch and then freezing again kills the newly hatched larvae.
Felting and shrinking of wool items requires two out of three factors: moisture, heat and agitation. Dry clothes in the dryer have heat and agitation so yes unfortunately you risk felting and shrinking any wool items you put in there.
Alternatively you can put your clothing in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes to kill moth eggs and larvae. Be extra cautious as there is a risk of fire.
Or you can spring for dry cleaning. That will work too.
posted by fancyoats at 4:58 AM on October 14, 2021 [5 favorites]
Felting and shrinking of wool items requires two out of three factors: moisture, heat and agitation. Dry clothes in the dryer have heat and agitation so yes unfortunately you risk felting and shrinking any wool items you put in there.
Alternatively you can put your clothing in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes to kill moth eggs and larvae. Be extra cautious as there is a risk of fire.
Or you can spring for dry cleaning. That will work too.
posted by fancyoats at 4:58 AM on October 14, 2021 [5 favorites]
I recently tumble-dried all my wool and cashmere scarves (I have a bunch from eBay) to kill moth eggs prior to storing them. Nothing felted. Indeed, when I actually tried to felt something by washing and then drying it, I got poor results. I think it takes a lot more than one trip through a household dryer to felt most wool. I personally would not hesitate to put reasonably sturdy already-dry wool through a 30 minute dryer cycle.
posted by Frowner at 5:44 AM on October 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Frowner at 5:44 AM on October 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
*probably* dry woolens, silks, and rayons won't shrink from one dryer cycle, but if you really love them and don't want the risk, I also suggest dry cleaning them. The question is whether dry cleaning them is cheaper than potentially replacing all of them...
For anything that is not wool, rayon, or silk -- think your jeans or a cotton blend t-shirt or workout clothing -- fire away. It will not shrink if it was not wet to start. My mother used to tumble dry our (already dry) clothes in the winter on cold days before we wore them and she was religious about avoiding shrink.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 6:27 AM on October 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
For anything that is not wool, rayon, or silk -- think your jeans or a cotton blend t-shirt or workout clothing -- fire away. It will not shrink if it was not wet to start. My mother used to tumble dry our (already dry) clothes in the winter on cold days before we wore them and she was religious about avoiding shrink.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 6:27 AM on October 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
Natural fibres will shrink to varying degrees with heat. Wool can shrink without felting - Tailors take advantage of that property to shape woolen fabrics with hot irons and steam.
posted by Stoof at 7:30 AM on October 14, 2021
posted by Stoof at 7:30 AM on October 14, 2021
Response by poster: Tbanks for all the advice. Some added info: this is not about the wool items
I have dropped off ALL of my wool items to be dry cleaned.
(As indeed, I've tried the freezing, and my freezer doesn't get cold enough, and not quickly enough).
Hower I heard that the eggs can also be found in between other items, and I'd like to KILL EVERYTHING IN SIGHT - which is where the dryer would come in for all the rest of my stuff.
Which is cotton, polyester, fleece, technical fabrics, down jackets etc.
From "We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese"'s experience though - I might be fine..?
And now I want a dryer for cold days as well ;)
posted by Thisandthat at 9:23 AM on October 14, 2021
I have dropped off ALL of my wool items to be dry cleaned.
(As indeed, I've tried the freezing, and my freezer doesn't get cold enough, and not quickly enough).
Hower I heard that the eggs can also be found in between other items, and I'd like to KILL EVERYTHING IN SIGHT - which is where the dryer would come in for all the rest of my stuff.
Which is cotton, polyester, fleece, technical fabrics, down jackets etc.
From "We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese"'s experience though - I might be fine..?
And now I want a dryer for cold days as well ;)
posted by Thisandthat at 9:23 AM on October 14, 2021
My googling says eggs die at 60 C / 140 F.
I also found this WaPo article about the mechanics of clothes shrinkage, which actually fingers the tumbling action more than the heat.
If I was using the dryer, I'd stuff the delicate items in small cloth bags first, to minimize movement, and run the dryer a bit longer on high heat.
If I had a small amount of clothes (and no roommates, and fire insurance) I might stuff them in an old pillowcase and bake at 170 F for an hour.
If I was really weird, I'd vacuum-seal them in plastic bags and place them in an immersion bath at 150 F.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:34 AM on October 14, 2021
I also found this WaPo article about the mechanics of clothes shrinkage, which actually fingers the tumbling action more than the heat.
If I was using the dryer, I'd stuff the delicate items in small cloth bags first, to minimize movement, and run the dryer a bit longer on high heat.
If I had a small amount of clothes (and no roommates, and fire insurance) I might stuff them in an old pillowcase and bake at 170 F for an hour.
If I was really weird, I'd vacuum-seal them in plastic bags and place them in an immersion bath at 150 F.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:34 AM on October 14, 2021
Felting and shrinking of wool items requires two out of three factors: moisture, heat and agitation. Dry clothes in the dryer have heat and agitation
However! Some models of (front-loading, don't know about top-loading) dryer have an add-on which is essentially a basket that you can slide into a slot on the inside of the dryer door. Since it's attached to the frame of the dryer rather than the tumbling compartment, it doesn't rotate even when the compartment is spinning. You can use this to dry items that shouldn't be tumbled, like wool or tennis shoes. What I do in my ongoing anti-moth efforts is handwash, a short spin-dry without rinse in the washer, and then some quality time in the dryer with the basket attached.
You have my deepest sympathies. I thought I'd escaped them when I moved, but one fucking COTTON scarf got missed when I washed everything fabric I'd ever owned and so it's gonna be low-level warfare as long as I live here.
posted by praemunire at 9:45 AM on October 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
However! Some models of (front-loading, don't know about top-loading) dryer have an add-on which is essentially a basket that you can slide into a slot on the inside of the dryer door. Since it's attached to the frame of the dryer rather than the tumbling compartment, it doesn't rotate even when the compartment is spinning. You can use this to dry items that shouldn't be tumbled, like wool or tennis shoes. What I do in my ongoing anti-moth efforts is handwash, a short spin-dry without rinse in the washer, and then some quality time in the dryer with the basket attached.
You have my deepest sympathies. I thought I'd escaped them when I moved, but one fucking COTTON scarf got missed when I washed everything fabric I'd ever owned and so it's gonna be low-level warfare as long as I live here.
posted by praemunire at 9:45 AM on October 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
(The problem with freezing is that many people's freezers just aren't kept cold enough. If you try freezing, make sure your freezer is cranked to max and try to avoid opening and closing the door. Alternatively, a good chest freezer might do better.)
posted by praemunire at 9:46 AM on October 14, 2021
posted by praemunire at 9:46 AM on October 14, 2021
If the care instructions on your technical fabric / down jacket items don't specifically allow high heat drying then I wouldn't put those in the dryer. There are specific shops that do cleaning and repair for technical and outdoors gear. So if these are expensive, high quality things then I would call one of those places and get guidance from them on anything you're unsure of. I've always found these shops to be full of super helpful people who are happy to explain at length.
Polyester, cotton, and fleece should be fine in the dryer! If there's elastic in any of the items it might get somewhat worn out / loose feeling (not always but sometimes) so if you have something like with elastic/stretch that you really need to stay tight (expensive sports bras?) then I'd send that for dry cleaning as well.
posted by 100kb at 10:09 AM on October 14, 2021
Polyester, cotton, and fleece should be fine in the dryer! If there's elastic in any of the items it might get somewhat worn out / loose feeling (not always but sometimes) so if you have something like with elastic/stretch that you really need to stay tight (expensive sports bras?) then I'd send that for dry cleaning as well.
posted by 100kb at 10:09 AM on October 14, 2021
For another anecdata, I literally did just this last weekend to two of my wool-blend chunky knit sweaters. They came out the same and unharmed, except no more larvae and all the little cocoon thingies came off too. I used to put my woolens in the oven but the dryer was so much easier and the surprise bonus of shedding the cocoons. I did two ~10 min tumble dryer sessions with high heat setting.
PS their wash instructions on the tag definitely say to hand wash and dry flat. I put them in the dryer dry. I suspect there is very little agitation with such an empty dryer, and my sweaters are hardy enough to be unaffected. I probably wouldn't do this with delicate knit items.
PPS FUCK U CLOTHES MOTHS!!!!!!!
posted by blueberrypuffin at 10:17 AM on October 15, 2021
PS their wash instructions on the tag definitely say to hand wash and dry flat. I put them in the dryer dry. I suspect there is very little agitation with such an empty dryer, and my sweaters are hardy enough to be unaffected. I probably wouldn't do this with delicate knit items.
PPS FUCK U CLOTHES MOTHS!!!!!!!
posted by blueberrypuffin at 10:17 AM on October 15, 2021
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posted by yarntheory at 4:47 AM on October 14, 2021 [3 favorites]