Step-by-Step Guide on How to Unshrink Clothes
You slipped up and skipped the critical rule of avoiding high heat with your beloved new sweater. Or that top that was supposed to be hand-washed went into the machine. While you now know your next stop for perfect garment care is laundry experts in Dubai, what about the shrunken clothes you’re staring at? Wishing they’d fix magically?
Lucky for you, all is not lost. How to unshrink clothes is more about logic involved in a few steps than magic, but you may be able to reverse and restore. Let’s try it out!
How to Unshrink Clothes and Get the Original Appearance
Laundry incidents happen to the best and most careful of us. Water temperature has to be perfect for some fabrics or they act out. You may have made drying mistakes on a machine you are unfamiliar with while travelling. The best thing to do is look at how you can salvage the situation without any extreme measures. In case of shrunken clothes the path forward takes a bit of soaking, rinsing, and fabric stretching.
If you’re doubtful that a two sizes shorter garment can make it out in one piece after unshrinking, know that it’s all about some patience. Here’s how to unshrink clothes step-by-step so that you don’t have to spend a bunch on new items!
A Tubful of Lukewarm Water
Not hot, not cold. You need a water temperature that can relax the fibers and make them pliable. When you look up how to unshrink clothing, the main reason most people give is having washed or dried the garment at high heat. We’re fixing the basics in the reversal process.
Add Mild Shampoo or Conditioner
The best path forward is to use a baby shampoo, but you can use a gentle sulphate-free shampoo as well. Or go for a hair conditioner (but do NOT use both shampoo and conditioner). The reason for the use of conditioner or shampoo is the same as why you use these on your hair. The product will soften the tight fibers. More importantly, you will be able to get through the stretching-out part without damaging the fabric. Plain water immersion may not be ideal and you can accidentally tear the fabric.
Submerge and Soak for Half an Hour
You want to make sure your garment in distress goes in fully soaked. The 30-minute mark is needed for moisturizing fibers. Any dry-clean only items need this step after you shrink them using water, and then you can go back to letting dry cleaners in JVC or any other area you live in handle the cleaning after this process is done.
The shampoo/conditioner plus water solution gets the time to absorb into the fibers and loosen them up. You do not need to move the fabric or rub it in. Leaving it alone is crucial at this point.
Press Out the Excess Water
Here’s where you start being super careful. One of the best tips for unshrinking clothes is to handle the fabric delicately once it is soaked because one wrong move can end up in de-shaping. That is why you cannot squeeze or wring the fabric to get the water out. Lay your garment on the sides of the sink or just use your palms to hold it in place. Slow and steady pressing your garment lets you get rid of the extra water and not accidentally distort the form.
Gentle Stretching with Shaping
Take a clean towel and lay out your garment flat on it (make sure you repeat the step before it is still dripping or heavy with excess water). Your palms flat on the fabric stretching outwards will make the garment ‘larger’ without any awkward bumps. Give the most time to areas that shrank the most, like the sleeves.
Do not go nuts with the tugging and definitely avoid using fingers so that you don’t poke in bumps when stretching. It will take a while but you see the garment getting bigger. Keep on stretching just a bit past the point of the size you remember your original garment (we’re leaving some room to size down when it is dry again).
Towel Wrap for Further Drying
You can use the same towel or get a new one to lay your garment flawlessly flat, then roll it up. This makes more of the remaining water leave the fabric. Plus any weird bumps that the garment gets when you stretch it now get the chance to become smooth. Make sure you create a light roll, nothing so tight that your shaping efforts go to waste. Keep your garment inside this cozy roll for 10-15 minutes.
Air Dry – and Voila!
One final round of drying, only this time you lay out your garment on a clean surface and let it air-dry. Do not try to speed up the process with direct sunlight or fireside heat or anything else. And do NOT put it in a dryer (remember how it shrank in the first place?). Air drying flat helps keep the shape and size of the garment intact. You also get softer and well-fitting fabric.
There you go. One shrunken garment revamped and ready to wear!
How to Prevent Clothes from Shrinking Down the Line
You have successfully unshrunk your clothes, and no it is time to address how to never get in this mess again. Yes, reversing shrinkage can be possible but you’ll be better off if prevention happens!
Stick To Care Label Guidelines
Your fabric’s care label is not a suggestion. It’s a guideline to tell you just what your garment needs. If it asks not to wash or not to tumble dry, you follow what it says. A professional cleaning schedule will prevent disasters like shrinking or fading or actual tearing. It’s all the more vital when we talk about something like a luxury knitted sweater or formal wear that you do not want ruined because of one cleaning mishap!
Cold Water Washing
Heat treatment is a big no-no when it comes to cleaning fabrics. Yes, heat expands a lot of natural materials, but it shrinks most fabrics. Cold water is a surprisingly good fabric ally, whether we’re talking about cotton or wool. It also helps keep colors intact and keeps your garments lasting a lot longer than if you keep using hot water.
Proper Drying Techniques
No to tumble dry. No forced wringing either. No direct sunlight and no use of heat of any sort. Natural air-drying is your best friend when you want to prevent your garments from shrinking. It can be time-consuming, but you save on a lot of damage reversal effort plus money in the long run.
Worried About Garment Care? Let the Pros Handle It!
If your clothes-shrinking dilemma and your search into how to unshrink clothes started because you were short of time and rushing the process, consider expert help. Our team at Maham Laundry offers free collection and delivery for all laundry and dry cleaning orders. More to the point, we offer quality cleaning without any resizing at budget-friendly rates. Book a pick-up today from your doorstep and get back to your routine as we process your items for flawless results!
