Tumble Drying question

[Crewman47]

Just a quick laundry question that I've got.

Bought some clothes today, couple of shirts, polo shirts and a jumper, and they all have the symbol on the tags saying not to be tumble dried.

Anyway after I gave them a quick wash I put them in the dryer for about 20 mins and they turned out okay but I was wondering what is the big danger of putting clothes in a dryer that specify not to be put in a dryer?

Just curious, oh and btw the clothes are all cotton.

 

[Peacemaker]

1. They'll shrink due to the heat unless the fibers from which they are made are preshrunk. Your mediums can turn into smalls or extra smalls quickly that way.

2. You can "tumble dry" clothes that aren't TD, but you should use the "air" mode not the "regular" or "heat" mode.

3. Tumble drying can be rough on your clothes. Depending on the fibers from which they're made, this can cause your clothes to fray by loosening the weave.

So, one go may not hurt them, but repeated cycles can.

 

[Vulcan Princess]

If the clothes are all cotton, the only danger of putting them in the dryer is that they might shrink. The higher the heat setting and the longer you leave them in, the more likely it is that they'll shrink.

You could hang them to dry and then just toss them in for the last 5 or so minutes to get rid of the stiffness and wrinkles if you want to. That shouldn't cause any problems.

 

[auntiehill]

Yeah, to prevent the clothes from shrinking, just air dry them, and tumble them a few minutes--5 or less.

You might find the colors will last longer that way, as well.

 

[Crewman47]

Thanks for the replies. I've never really understood why you can have the same type of clothes, cotton for example like what most of my clothes are, where alot of them can be tumbe dryed but others can't.

 

[auntiehill]

^ Some are preshrunk/pretreated, some aren't.

 

[Holdfast]

Thanks for the replies. I've never really understood why you can have the same type of clothes, cotton for example like what most of my clothes are, where alot of them can be tumbe dryed but others can't.

As well as the shrinkage issues others have noted, some clothes (esp tailored items like suits, blazers & other odd jackets and some kinds of trousers) have construction issues that preclude tumble-drying or machine washing, regardless of material. Various structural components would shrink at different rates, leading to warping and other problems.