- 1). Treat any stains on your clothing with a stain remover before attempting to shrink it. The hot temperatures needed to shrink clothing will set the stain permanently and possible ruin the item you are trying to shrink.
- 2). Use the hottest water temperature on your washing machine that the material will allow. Cold water will not shrink clothing, according to the Drexel Business Service website. Some fabrics will melt, or wrinkle badly, if exposed to high water temperatures. Most clothing can be shrunk if you use warm or hot water in your machine.
- 3). Use the hottest heat setting on your clothes dryer that the fabric will be able to withstand; this will shrink the clothing. Some fabrics, such as nylon synthetics, will melt or shrink very badly if exposed to high temperatures. Use warm or hot temperatures on your dryer setting and dry the clothes longer than is necessary to remove the moisture. Excessive drying will shrink fabrics, according to the Hwa Seng Textile website.
- 4). Repeat the above methods if your garment shrunk a little bit, but not enough to fit satisfactorily. Once you reach a proper fit, launder the item in cold water in the future and hang it to dry or use the proper drying temperature that the fabric care label recommends.
previous post