OT: Can Dry Cleaning shrink your clothes?

#1

Hi all! I recently bought this beautiful sweater and it’s made of Merino Wool. (no I wouldn’t even attempt this one yet!)

So first I bought the medium and I was drowning in it, returned it for the small. Well to me the small still seems a tad big, but I’m not drowning by any means in it. So I bought an x-small just to compare the 2 and while it is a bit more snug in the bum area, the rest of it fits perfectly.

Now I am in the process of losing 10 pounds (lets all say a prayer it works!) so I think once that happens the xsmall will fit perfectly and I hardly ever close my sweaters.

But here’s my main question after all of that mindless babbling, it requires dry cleaning, has anyone ever had anything shrink when they took it to the cleaners?? I think the last time I went to a dry cleaner it was for my wedding dress and that was 10 years ago!! :shock:

So what should I do?? Keep the small or risk the chance of shrinkage and go for the x-small??

BTW, anything that I own that requires dry cleaning I usually hand wash, but this is a beautiful sweater so I’m a little leary of doing that AND I’m even more leary of taking it to the cleaners!! What if they ruin it??

What a dilemma, hey? :teehee:

#2

I’ve never had a dry cleaner shrink my clothes.

I’ve had them do idiotic things, like write my name in black marker on the inside of a white button down shirt, or staple the tag to the cloth, though. :grrr:

#3

dry cleaning shouldn’t “shrink” anything. it may help clothes return to their original shape, or slightly tighten up the fabric, but they shouldn’t actually shrink. unless they are doing it wrong. restoring the original shape might “feel” a bit like shrinking, but then you wear it and you are back to normal… I use the dry cleaners for all my nicer store bought sweaters (cashmere, wool, blends, silk) As long as the original tags are on the garment, the cleaners does a fine job.

#4

Okay, then I’ll keep the x-small. Thanks!

#5

Um, I’ve had lots of things shrunk by dry cleaners. Never sweaters though, always pants. Don’t know why. When they fit the same in the waist and become too short, I know it’s not that I’ve gained weight…

#6

LOL- I guess not! I wonder why that happens? I’m a tall girl, and like my pants looooong and I’m pretty sure I’d notice if that happened to mine… (since I have to pay so much extra for pants that fit right) I’d be really mad if that happened to me. did you get any explanations? I wonder if it is something about how the fabric is draped that it contracts one way and not the other. [off to ponder shrinkage, and fabric layout]

#7

Now that I think about it, it is almost always Ann Taylor pants! Grrr, they are expensive! Although I always buy them on sale. Maybe that’s why they have so many sales…

#8

Okay, now I’m worried. :pout: Maybe I’ll just hand wash it and that way I know it’ll be fine. Just the thought of leaving such a beeeeuuuutiful sweater in the hands of a stranger makes me more nervous by the second.

Funny how I’ll give them my wedding dress without a care in the world. :rofl: But a sweater, no way. :teehee:

#9

While I’ve never worn x-small (you poor thing, must be terrible…I wear 2-x…eat a sandwich or two), I’ve probably had at least a few hundred suits, sweaters, and assorted other clothing run through dry cleaners and none of them have ever come back shrunken. Missing buttons, yes, smaller, no.

#10

You’re funny Mason :teehee: But remember it does runs big. So that means that I’m not really an x-small in real life.

I wish! Well, no I really wouldn’t want to be that small, just a little bit smaller than I am at the moment. That’s why I’m doing my Callanetics!!! Wish me luck on getting rid of these darn thunder thighs!! :oops:

#11

[color=indigo]Manufacturers are required to be a method of cleaning not all the methods of cleaning.

Dry cleaning, IMHO, makes wool scratchier. I’d hand wash: Fill sink with hot water with a little shampoo added. Submerge item and let soak. Remove water. Remove item. Fill sink again and add a little hair conditioner. Let soak. Remove water. Remove item. Squeeze very gently get mose of the water out. Roll in towel and step on it several times to get more water out. Lay out and pat into shape. Let dry.[/color]

#12

I’ve had wool pants shrink when dry cleaned. I know I didn’t just gain weight because when they came back they were “high waters” also. :shrug:

#13

yep, the dc shrunk a nice pair of my dad’s wool pants. :shrug:

#14

Thank you for the washing instructions, but hot water? :?? I thought hot water was a no-no, especially for wool.

Or is it okay because I would be handwashing it instead of machine washing??

#15

dry clean by yourself, by using a kind of dry cleaning alternative, that won’t shrink your clothes, and also reduce your dry clean budget.

There are multitudes of ways to dry clean your items at home. An article on the How Stuff Works website titled “How Home Dry Cleaning Works” talks about items on the market today, such as home dry cleaning kits Dryel or Custom Cleaner, but they don’t work for many items outside of clothing.

Another option on the Market today is Freshcloz, which is a dry cleaning alternative machine. This particular cleaning device uses ozone technology to eliminate odors and bacteria from all items and it’s big enough to hold not only all the small items like hats, shoes, and scarves, but also pillows and comforters.

#16

Do you mean “FreshCloz”? I just ordered one, omg, it only takes 40 min to fresh up my cloth, I don’t have to go to dry cleaning shop, it save my time, and money.