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?
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.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.
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
It’s got to. It doesn’t happen very often, but I have had pants go in fine and come out of the dryer with holes. Of course, they were a few years old, but still…
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).
Yeah, but only on a decade scale. There’s friction involved, there’s going to be some damage. If a tumble dryer–on low–manages to wreck a garment, it’s probably been dodging stains and tears for a very long time.
That said, graphic tees can be notably damaged by driers running on full power. Their dryer-resistance (and longevity in general) depends on the quality of the appliqué, the underlying garment, and the initial application equipment.
That said, graphic tees can be notably damaged by driers running on full power. Their dryer-resistance (and longevity in general) depends on the quality of the appliqué, the underlying garment, and the initial application equipment.
Friendly reminder to all to flip your graphics tees inside out before laundering!
Also, “dries for hours” implies a less-heated condensation dryer. I’m used to the forced air heating kind. I believe the heat is a bigger source of damage than the actual friction action. Your armpits, legs, butt-against-seat, or sole-against-sock-against-shoe provide much more violent, repetitive, and focused friction than a dryer.
Granted, there can be a lot of lint that is removed in each cycle, which implies a lot of fabrics getting frayed. This is more common in things with loose, fluffy fiber like towels, blankets, or felts. Greater friction from greater surface area combined with less tight bindings and yarns leads to more fabric loss. But I haven’t seen a ton from generic pants and shirts loads.
