How do I keep my clothes from looking worn?

Question

After a few washes, my clothes look all ragged. Instead of being smooth, these little balls form. And they get all stretched out. Could it be my washer? Anybody have ideas on how to avoid that, before I don't have any clothes left?!

Answer 1

A couple of suggestions come to mind: make sure you are following the washing instructions on the label of your clothes (temps for washing and drying), try washing your clothes inside out, make sure zippers are zipped, buttons are buttoned, and hooks are fastened. Are you separating your laundry properly? ie lights together, darks together, jeans with jeans, sweaters with sweaters. On pilling (the little balls that form on your clothing) you can buy a pill shaver from Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Linens and Things for under $5. Then you can safely cut tidy those away.
Best wishes.

Answer 2

Turn all clothes inside out that have a tendency to "pill" (get little balls of lint on them). If you are normally washing in hot water, change to cool or cold...use a detergent made for this temperature and add Borax cleaning powder or another good brand of detergent boosting powder to the wash along with your detergent.

Also use a good quality liquid fabric softener in the rinse or good quality dryer sheets that reduce static cling. Ensure that your lint screen on the dryer is always clear of lint...this is also a safety issue as clogged lint traps can and do cause fires.

Most likely the pilling is coming from the dryer although you might want to ensure that no socks are being washed along with the clothing that gathers the lint balls...some socks have lint and cotton puff inside them and this can cause the problem you are having too...you might also consider hang drying those clothes that you know will stretch out (knit tops particularly) and set the dryer on a lower heat setting for the remaining clothes. Also, do laundry after 9pm so that the longer drying time doesn't affect your hydro consumption charges. The cold water wash however will help save energy so the two may very well balance each other out.

I used to get the lint balls on things like jogging tops, hoodies etc until I began using cold water and fabric treatment (some home hardware stores sell clothes now that go in the dryer as lint reducers) and now my kids have no complaints...their tops continue to look great after many washes.

Good luck

Answer 3

Rule 1: read the little care labels - you may be washing stuff that needs a delicates cycle or dry clean only on a standard wash cycle. Fabric softener may help, too.
The pilling is down to the way the cloth is spun and woven. Dry cleaners shave the pills off with special abrasive blocks, but this does wear the cloth away.
Rule 2: If you want clothes to last, buy close, smooth, heavy weaves. Just accept that flimsy things are only made to last 5 washes and allow for that in the price you pay for them.

Answer 4

I don't put my clothes in the dryer, nothing ruins them faster than that. But don't forget to buy liquid fabric softener for the washer. Wash on gentle,cold or warm water, inside out and use a lingerie bag for delicate items. Also, the quality of the clothes makes a big difference. I've purchased some cheap Ts that only last 1 wash.

Answer 5

I use tide and don't have much problems with my clothes coming out funny.. But fleece items will pick up lil balls no matter what it seems.. and dont wash them in Hot water use warm or cold.. and then try bounce dryer sheets may help keep the lil balls from sticking.. if some of your more delicate shirts and things seem stretched they have a new woolite.. that is suppose to help a bit with that.. good luck

Answer 6

Sounds like to me that you are washing delicate items always read the tags inside the clothes and if in doubt wash it in a underware wash bag that way it cant streatch or rub against other clothes in the machine and thats what causes pilling (annoying balls of fluff) To prevent the colours fading dry them inside out in the shade

Answer 7

My wife always uses the gentle cycle on our washer for her clothes, and turns her clothes inside out before washing them. They last MUCH longer that way.

Answer 8

Dryers reason fairly some placed on on outfits. you could provide up the dryer early and %. out the garments that dry previously than others. you could circumvent the dryer altogether for such issues as towels which could placed on a rack or carry close dry another outfits. the front loading washers spin out extra useful so as that a shorter dryer cycle might want to correctly be used. the front loaders placed on out the garments a lot less first of all. using liquid fabrics softener preserves fabrics to an volume.

Answer 9

It all depends on the fabrics. Sweats and most cotton blends can be washed inside out to slow discoloration. Wools, silks, velvet, and other special fabris should be washed on delicate in cold water or handwashed. Also, it is best NEVER to put these fabrics in the dryer.

Answer 10

Your problem comes from the type of laundry detergent you use. Most contain harmful chemicals that eat away the material. Change your detergent to an all natural alternative - visit: www.saferforyourhome.com then email me at [e-mail] and I can show you how you can get safer, environmentally sound products, that cost less per use than traditional store brands.