Why do my clothes shrink when I wash them?

This usually only happens to clothes that are made from natural fibres, predominantley, cotton. This is because when cotton is harvested, it is stretched in order to make straight threads in order to weave fabric and make clothes.





Clothes shrink when washed not necessarily because of the water, but because of the heat. The heat relaxes the strethed fibres, causing the item of clothing to shrink. This does not happen with synthetics (ex. polyester, nylon, etc) because we control how the fabric is manufactured. Polyester is actually a type of plastic. When woven into fabric, polyester strands do not need to be stretched, and therefore do not have a tendancy to srkink when washed.





There are a few ways to help prevent the shrinking of clothing. The first is to buy clothing that is either polyester (not very comfortable, mind you), or some sort of poly-cotton blend. The next option is to wach your cotton clothes in warm, not hot water, and then hang them to dry. The weight of the water in the clothes and the lack of heat from the drying process will ensure that the fibres don't shrink. The last, and probably most expensive option is to dry-clean all of your clothes. I'm not too sure on the specifics, but the dry-cleaning process is such that the clothes don't shrink (be sure to ask them first; I'm pretty sure that in the case of shirts, even a dry-cleaner will launder them the same way you do at home).Why do my clothes shrink when I wash them?
To hot water; to hot dryer.


I wash all my clothes in cold water and dry on cool or low setting.