Proper care of cotton garments?

[CarllraC]

I just bought a cotton t-shirt, long sleeved t-shirt, and collared t-shirt that fit me just about perfectly. I'm greatly worried about washing them, because I seem to have an incredible knack for shrinking clothing.

Here's how I clean my clothes:

1) Wash on cold/cold with extra rinse.

2) Fluff the clothes as I put them in the dryer. Load no more than, say, 5 cotton T-shirts plus several pairs of boxers and socks.

3) Dry on low heat until dry.

This seems to shrink them. Should I dry them on fluff (no heat)? How can I prevent shrinkage?

 

[Arethusa]

If you want no shrinkage whatsoever (or nearly that), line dry. But that's honestly a little ridiculous for tshirts. You shouldn't have to worry about shrinkage that much; pretty much any tshirt can handle the gentle cycle and a low heat dryer.

 

[j]

I have only one shirt that shrank too much to really wear anymore - bums me out too, since it is one of my favorites. Other than that I toss them through the dryer. If they shrink, they sucked to begin with. If you love it, let it go. Or something like that.

 

[ruben]

I line dry most nicer cotton things, polos, sweaters etc. It doesn't take as long as you'd think.

 

[arenaissanceman]

Where do you guys find space to hang all these lines?

 

[j]

Shove things aside, put shirts on hangers, put them in the closet. They will dry overnight, usually. Add a fan if you're worried about humidity.

 

[Joffrey]

I dryclean everything I'm afraid of shrinking.

 

[jett]

I treat my t-shirts like crap, the good ones last and the crappy ones die. That's life. I have 3 t-shirts I wash on delicate and dry on delicate+low heat, but that's because I don't want them to fall apart anymore than they already are.

 

[ruben]

Just use a drying rack, they're like $10 at target.

I'll run tee shirts through the dryer, except for old sentimental ones

.

Otherwise, polos hoodies and collared shirts usually get put on the rack just because I hate puckered seams and ratty collars.