Why do my husbands clothes shrink no matter what?!?
Question:Ok, so obviously I'm doing something wrong here but I've tried several ways to keep my husband's shirts from shrinking. I follow what the tags say but when nothing works I just wash on cold/cold+delicates, and dry on low/delicates. Hanging them causes them neck and shoulder area to get stretched and laying them flat would take too much space and too long to dry. Drying in the dryer with no heat also takes forever (hey, he has a lot of clothes!)
So what's the deal? They aren't cheap brands either, it doesnt matter what the brand-whatever we do they all shink! (he's a 2xl-3xl, and they end up like M/L..it looks stupid!) This never happens with any of my clothes..any suggestions? What do other guys do?
Answers:
First of all, get some of those clear plastic hangers the no frills ones--no hooks or clips for shirts, blouses and WITH hooks for skirts and pants. Wash them on delicate, cold. Then, when you are drying the clothing, use the low heat, perm press on the dryer. Watch them closely. As the wrinkles are removed, so is the excess water, which is why clothing gets heavy and stretches out when it is put on hangers too wet. Remove clothing to hangers while it is still damp, wrinkles lessened or gone and not so heavy that they stretch. The hangers also help his shirts not get 'hanger horns' on the shoulders like they do with those tubular plastic hangers..
Clothing marked 'dry clean only' should be. Many of mine and my husbands clothes r marked that way. After a few cleanings they get a 'dry clean smell'. So, I wash them on cold, setting for delicates. After they dry, then they go to the cleaners to be pressed. If they r dripping wet hang them over a plant, a bucket, in the shower or over the tub, or even outdoors. But, fold these delicates and hang them over a hanger or whatever way u can find. There are folding wood and metal drying racks available that are perfect for this.
GOOD LUCK!!
There are several different types of fabric that will shrink no matter what. They should usually be dry-cleaned. Some that will shrink:
Linen, certain kinds of knits, denium, rayon (100% will shrink about 2 inches every yard of fabric.!), etc. Are you reading the suggested way to clean per the labels? Always wash in cool water and rinse in cool water. Hope this helps.
Either your husband keeps getting bigger while you are doing laundry or they aren't 100% cotton which will take lots of abuse.
My husband is the same size and a corporate chef but I have never had this problem.
As a test, take them to a cleaners for about $1.50 or get them from Land's End/Sears or Rochester Big & Tall.
You can either string a clothes line up and pin the bottom of the shirts to the clothes line and letting the neck and shoulder area hand down (that way they do not stretch out of shape) or drape the shirt over a hanger (over the bar part) and let it dry that way instead of inserting the hanger into the shirt. You can also do a partial dry (for about 10-15 minutes on low to help kick start the process) then hang the shirts to dry the rest of the way.
Although it's not recommended and may cause stress/damage to the shirts, when the shirt is still somewhat damp you can try and stretch it back into size.
I'm kind of shocked a gal would ask questions about doing laundry. I don't wear fancy clothes, mostly just levis and work shirts, all cotton. Still I have problems with the occaisional dress shirts and slacks and because of their intermittant use, I take them to the cleaners, however if there is a gal I could rope into helping me out with that I'd surely trust her with the responsibility, because no one can do laundry as well as a woman. Kuddos ladies.
Make sure your cold water is running into the machine. Maybe you only have hot. My significant other is 1xL also and I never have anything shrink. Once he accused me of shrinking all his clothes but come to find out he was putting on weight.
More Related Questions & Answers...