Tips to help 'save' clothes that shrink after washing

In some unexpected situations, clothes can shrink during machine washing. However, we can "save" our favorite clothes based on the properties of fibers and fabrics, according to IFLScience on August 11.

Nisa Salim, an expert in textile science at Swinburne University of Technology (Australia), said that although excessive shrinkage cannot be completely reversed, some tips can help regain some of the shrunken size, making clothes wearable again.

First, it's important to understand why fabrics shrink. For cellulose-based fabrics, which are naturally occurring, like cotton and linen, shrinkage is caused by "fiber memory."

Accordingly, before these plants are harvested and processed, their fibers are "uneven and curved". The fibers are then straightened and arranged evenly before being made into clothes. However, when exposed to heat, humidity or being "mixed" too much in the washing machine, they tend to return to their original state.

Hot water breaks the hydrogen bonds that hold the fabric fibers together. Cellulose is a hydrophilic material, so water molecules penetrate the fibers, causing them to swell, becoming softer and more flexible. Add to that the action of wringing and twisting inside the washing machine. The whole process causes the fibers to return to their natural state: "uneven and curved". As a result, the clothes shrink.

Different fibres will be affected in different ways. For example, wool is technically a type of hair: it is made of keratin, and its surface is covered with cuticle cells. When washed, these cuticle cells open up and intertwine with neighbouring fibres, causing the fibre (wool) to tangle, causing the garment to shrink, or in other words, shrink.

The trick to saving shrunken clothes, says Salim, is to wash them in warm water mixed with conditioner or baby shampoo, about a tablespoon per litre of warm water. Then, stretch the clothes to return them to their original shape and size, and clip them directly onto a drying rack.

This tip works because conditioners contain cationic surfactants - chemical compounds that help reduce the surface tension between a liquid and certain other substances, leaving hair soft and shiny.

This will also help stretch out some of the shrunken clothes. However, Ms. Salim advises us to be careful when choosing the washing mode in the washing machine to avoid the clothes from shrinking.