it never happened before, not even after the first washing, how to prevent your clothes from shrinking and can i un-shrink the sweater or something like that?
2006-08-05 08:42:55 · 14 answers · asked by good day :) 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Cleaning & Laundry
Once a fabric shrinks, you can't stretch it out again. That is probably why thrift shops have a lot of clothing smaller than the label size.
Need to read the instructions first but:
For knits that you really like, never throw it in the dryer.
COTTON and RAMIE: Too much heat will shrink cotton and ramie too. If it is machine washable cotton, I always remove it from the washing machine and hang it on a plastic hanger (if long sleeved, flop the right sleeve over the left shoulder and the left sleeve over the right shoulder to prevent hanger bump impressions at the shoulders)
WOOLENS: Always wash woolens by hand in warm (never hot) water with Woolite laundry detergent only. Any other soap will not work. Wool has a tendency to shrink because of the way the fibers hook and lock-together when wet. When it does that, the shrinkage is permanent. Woolite prevents that from happening. Also when wet, wool fiber is very fragile (that is another reason why they recommend dry cleaning). So when you put a sweater in Woolite solution, gently press (don't agitate or scrub) the sweater. Have some large bath towels ready. When you lift the sweater out, gently squeeze excess water and then transfer the whole sweater on to a waiting bath towel. spread the sweater neatly, place the sleeves on the sweater too. Then flop a loose end of the towel over your sweater and start rolling (like sushi). If it's really wet, also roll the other bath towel over it. Take the towel over to your chair or steps, put a piece of plastic over it and sit on it. That squeezes out a lot of water.
After a lot of water has been squeezed out, place the sweater on a hanger, flopping the arms over the opposite shoulders, and hang to dry. Go back to it the next day and flop the arms on the opposite side (you will notice that the side exposed to air is drier) and gently squeeze excess water that has drained down to the hem, the sleeve cuffs, if necessary.
I have washed all my wool sweaters (and in the old days also unlined wool skirts). But most people I know prefer to take them to the dry cleaners because who wants to be bothered except someone like me who has a place to hang the sweater, wants to save a few dollars and like to wear clean sweaters.
I prefer plush polyester jackets which are machine washable and comes with pockets and zipper fronts -- much more practical.
2006-08-05 14:32:01 · answer #1 · answered by Lynda 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Unfortunetly you can't un-shrink the sweater...well not with out streching it out. It could be your dryer, some dryers get way too hot and most of us don't realize it until stuff starts shrinking. Pay close attention to your clothes if there is a lot of cotton in ur clothes you need to use a VERY light heat otherwise..shrink city. Hope that helps
2006-08-05 08:47:51 · answer #2 · answered by AngelicSmile81 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your sweater might stretch out over time, but the way to avoid shrinkage is to check what material the article of clothing is made out of. It WILL shrink if it's 100% cotton. Just buy it a size larger so that when it shrinks it will fit you.
2006-08-05 08:48:51 · answer #3 · answered by songbird 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry you can't unshrink the sweater but you can prevent this from happening if you don't leave you clothes in the drier so long. Also read the label before you wash a new item and follow it's instructions.
2006-08-05 08:48:04 · answer #4 · answered by Alej 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ooo, thats a bummer...its happened to me loads of times....the good news is, you can prevent it from happening again....the bad news is, there's no way to un-shrink it....so u dont want yr clothes to shrink again? I wouldn't put it in the dryer, hang it up, and after it drys a lot, put it in the dryer on delicate....cotten shrinks easily, so dont forget to read the label on the tags to see what its made out of....the washer doesn't do anything, its just the dryer....hang yr clothes and it wont shrink.....or, next time you want to buy something, go for a size larger than you would usually where, and then put it in the dryer, it would shrink to yr size....when clothes shrink once, they dont shrink anymore.....good luck with the advice!
2006-08-05 08:50:00 · answer #5 · answered by SJ9867 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, you can try washing it again and then stretch it out and lay it flat to dry. DON'T put it in the dryer! If that doesn't work then I am afraid you are out of luck as there really isn't a way to "unshrink" something.
Make sure you are washing it in cold water too!
Good luck!
2006-08-05 09:04:44 · answer #6 · answered by elk312 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no you cant unshrink something once its shrunk im afraid, you must have either had the temperture too high, or washed it, in a machine.. and its a hand wash item. to prevent it in future wash your woollens on a delicate setting, usually is 30degrees and they wont shrink or stretch ...
2006-08-05 08:50:35 · answer #7 · answered by she wolf. 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unshrinking is like reviving a 3 day old corps. It only happened a few times in all of History.
Don't wash to hot or use to much or inappropriate detergent.
2006-08-05 08:47:02 · answer #8 · answered by Puppy Zwolle 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
soak it in cold water and stretch softly and evenly so it does not look stretches. lay it outside in the air on towels or something that it can dry on. It may take a couple washes, but it works. Good Luck
2006-08-05 08:46:31 · answer #9 · answered by -------- 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wash it again but don't dry it in the dryer. Hang dry. It should be back to normal.
2006-08-05 08:45:50 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋