Can you dry jeans in a clothes dryer?

As with washing machines, tumble dryers can't be used on all types of fabric without risking damage. But what fabrics specifically aren't suitable for machine drying? For example, everyone has a pair of jeans, maybe even more than one. Is it safe to tumble dry jeans, or is it better to let them air dry?

Will the dryer damage my jeans?

Jeans are safe to put in the dryer, but only if they don't have any decorative elements. To avoid ruining your beloved pants, never dry the following items:

• things with colorful prints;
• clothes with appliques;
• products with an abundance of metal or plastic elements;
• embroidered products;
• items with leather inserts;
• clothes embroidered with beads or rhinestones.

If you're still unsure whether to machine dry or dry your jeans naturally, consult the manufacturer's care label. It usually indicates whether the item is machine dryable. Don't forget to fasten all zippers, buttons, and snaps before loading them into the dryer!

Please note: Stretch jeans made from stretch fabric will not withstand the tumble dryer without damage: they will stretch and lose their shape.

As mentioned above, regular, thick jeans without decoration can be dried in a machine. To do this, you can use either the special “Jeans” drying program, which is available on many models, or the “Normal Drying” mode, which is also quite good.

The jeans shrank after drying.

Unfortunately, jeans are very susceptible to shrinkage. Even with proper washing and drying conditions, jeans may shrink 1 or 2 sizes; this is normal. Over time, several effective methods have been developed to restore jeans to their original size.

The first method involves soaking the item in the bathtub. However, this won't work if you originally bought the pants in a small size.

• Place a waterproof mat on the bathroom floor and a towel on top, you will need this later.
• Fill the bathtub about one-third full with warm water (35-40 degrees Celsius). Then add liquid detergent and stir.
• Put on the shrunken garment and sit in the bath wearing it. You should stay in the water for about 30 minutes.
• When the jeans become looser as a result of this procedure, you can try to stretch them a little more with your hands.
• Get out of the bath. Without taking off your pants, do some light calisthenics, avoiding squats, as this will cause unsightly stretch marks on your knees.
• Now you can take off your jeans and dry them.

There are also special waistband extenders that can make a shrunken garment a couple of sizes bigger. These devices are sold at affordable prices in Chinese online stores. How do you use this device?

• Wet the jeans with clean water from a spray bottle in the waist and hip area.
• Fasten all buttons and zippers on the garment.
• Place the extender inside the waistband of the garment.
• Before stretching, measure your measurements and the measurements of the shrunken item to understand how much to stretch the item.
• Gradually stretch the device until the desired mark is reached (based on your measurements).

Important! Once you've reached the desired height, leave the extender in your pants and allow them to air dry with it.

Another way to make an item look a little bigger is to steam it, as everyone knows. Both an iron and a steam generator are suitable for this purpose. You need to steam the waist area or other areas of the garment that need stretching for about 5-7 minutes, then put it on until the garment cools down and wear it for about an hour and a half to consolidate the result.

You can also use a regular water spray bottle and a measuring tape to stretch a shrunken garment. Lay the garment flat on a table and spray the areas that need stretching with water. Don't forget to generously spray the inside of the jeans as well. Use gentle movements to stretch the garment in the areas where it's shrunk.

It's a good idea to take measurements beforehand so you can easily check whether the jeans have stretched to the desired size. Repeat the process until you're satisfied with the result. After stretching, place the jeans over the back of a chair and dry them that way.

   

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