It’s happened to most of our garments: A snug shirt, loose jeans, uneven sleeve lengths, and overstretched underwear. What went wrong? It’s how you wash and dry your clothes!
Learn what you can do to fix your garment’s shrinking and stretching problems and how to prevent them from recurring.
1. Read washing labels
Sometimes, the shrinking and stretching happen during the washing process. When in doubt, check out the garment care label. The care label provides a guideline on the specific washing and drying requirements (or methods) needed to keep the garment in its best condition.
2. Wash in cold/warm water
While washing your laundry in cold water does not entirely prevent shrinking, using cold or lukewarm water will be less damaging to most fabrics. Hot water causes fabric fibres to go quickly out of shape.
3. Gentle wash cycle
A gentle wash cycle offers low agitation during spinning/tumbling, hence, lesser stress is exerted on the fabric. In turn, this will help clothes to retain their size and shape. You can even consider hand-washing, especially for laundry made with natural material.
4. Air dry/ Low heat
Air drying is one of the best drying methods–and most gentle–to prevent shrinkage. However, exposure to high wind coupled with the water weight would stretch the clothes. On the other hand, a traditional dryer is a tempting alternative that gets the job done quickly but at the cost of ruining your laundry.
Fortunately, with a Steigen automated laundry drying system, you get the best of both worlds! Fast-drying but 100% indoors.
The heat emitted from the signature Solar Drying technique mimics drying laundry under direct sunlight with high wind speed (minus the ultraviolet rays) which increases the rate of evaporation. Not to mention, the inbuilt circulators will regulate the heat around the system to ensure even distribution. The bestseller, Solar Ultra, comes with an inbuilt Ioniser to reduce musky odour and a Dust Mite Repeller that eliminates dust mites.
Practice Better Laundry Habits
Even with all the laundry tips in the world, shrinking and stretching can still happen as every clothing fibre reacts differently. But you can still make a difference in the longevity of your laundry when you diligently practice these tips.
In the spirit of cheering you on, enjoy $55 off our systems when you sign up with us! Plus, get exclusive updates on our upcoming promotions, sneak peeks and more.
