I see all sorts of answers online, but am not fully convinced. I tried finding some research on the longevity of clothes between wash and wash + dry. Considering that it dries for hours just the mechanical movement should damage the clothes I would assume?
Washer and dryer both do. But in different ways.
A dryer can completely destroy some fabrics.
A washer on spin can also be pretty destructive.
The washer is the one stretching the clothing. Making it look worn.
Dryer primarily damages synthetic and satin/silks.
High key clothes dryers are like gen ai. Something we didn’t ask for, solving a problem that didn’t really exist, sold to us to consume more electricity and change our daily behavior, not the other way around. Air is free ¯_(ツ)_/¯
What do you suppose you’re removing from the lint trap?
Washing clothes defnetely damages your clothes. If you want your clothes to last as long as possible only wash them when they need them not just because you’ve worn them for a day. Also you can air them out instead of washing them to reduce the amount of wash cycles.
either that or get gentler machines. i have an impeller driven washer and portable dryer that doesn’t ridiculously hot and my clothes has lasted for literal decades now.
it also helps being naked 99% of the time too. lol
By rules of physics it will damage it. Its rubbing against other clothes, its getting blasted with heat and it’s getting folded/bended over and over.
Damage is dependent on the material, but dor sure it wears them down.See thats the distinction that I’m curious about.
When articles say “Do not tumble dry” I wonder “Are we concerned about the heat from an old fashioned rotating oven or the mechanical stress on the fabric?” because I have a fancy pants heat pump dryer and my wife still insists it will somehow ruin the clothes.
Wife is always right! - Aside of the joke, I would attack this from an other point.
If the pants has a ‘permanent’ crease the dryer definitely will remove it, and the ironing will be a nightmare afterwards.
If you have garment bags you can always use it for the dryer, it would prevent some damage: stretching and so on.
If the price of your pants is less than a “disposable” amount for your family - probably not worth the hassle. If it’s pricey then honestly it is not that much more work to hang it on a pants hanger to dry. In that case it’s better safe than sorry.
I’ve heard stories about dry cleaners just using washing machines in the back, never got caught and got great reviews. So there is that. ;)I’ve always had the argument about baby/toddler clothes.
We dont buy expensive stuff, they get absolutely trashed by food, dirt, poop, paint, markers… but she still insists on air drying because the label says so. We’re due to have our second in a bit over a month so I imagine this is going to become a topic again.
Its the heat, mostly. If you use the low or very low/delicate settings, it will help.
I find that there is no benefit from using medium or high heat. It just shrinks my clothes. Low/delicate doesn’t and I haven’t noticed any damage.
Other trick: wash and dry pants inside out to avoid fading. Also, this stuff only applies to fabrics that are dryer safe, obviously
I air dry most of my clothes. I do use a washing machine however. I only use cold water, unless my clothes are actually tarnished.
The way I’ve seen people around me use the dryer, for sure. High heat will ruin clothes more than anything else, especially if it continues to run after everything had dried out.
Back in university, we had timed dryers that could only do either high heat or tumble dry low for an hour. Rooms were too humid and cramped to air dry. Of course, I wasn’t going to spend more money waiting for low heat to do its work. Clothes came out bone dry and metal zippers scalding hot. Only the large towels held up, everything else noticeably faded and thinned over a couple years.
Night and day difference once I got my own place with a condenser dryer. It takes longer, but everything is just dry enough at the end of each cycle. It’s also a bit smaller so I have to air dry parts of larger loads, but either way, my clothes have held up much better ever since.
Always follow the instructions on the label in case it’s hang-dry only, dry everything on low, turn your jeans inside-out, and never use fabric sheets (wool dryer balls work almost as well without the chemicals).
