Drying clothes at home

[jeffmeh]

I put my merino socks in the washer and dryer. Other merino pieces go individually into delicates bags in the washer, but never in the dryer, rather laid flat to dry.

[theinfamousj]

Wool shouldn't ever go in the dryer on any kind of heat. Wool shrinks. Even treated wool will eventually shrink (though will it be enough to be noticeable, is the question). But one it has shrunk it won't shrink further.

There is debate about whether wool can be hung on a rod or must be dried flat. I "abuse" my merino full zip fleece by hanging it. Even now it has just come out of the washer (bye bye hiker stink!!) and is being hung from a travel clothesline where you pinch it between twisted cords. The thing is 6+ years and still going strong with no fabric degredation or size change. (this also can be a testament to REI's construction quality)

I also air dry my silk, though I do believe it can handle heat. But since I already have a drying solution going for most of my technical clothes, why not add my silks?

And on that note, if it is a technical fabric, it gets air dried! Except: anything with a DWR finish. DWR finishes need heat to re-activate after being washed. And speaking of washing DWR finishes, don't use a laundry *detergent* on them. They need a (best case scenario) tech wash or (good enough case scenario) soap such as Ivory Snow or the one I am using for my hiker laundry tonight: Dr. Bronner's.

Hope this helps!

[Mountain Mike]

I put everything in the dryer. If a little laundering is going to ruin anything, I'll never buy it again.

Once while visiting mom she decided to do me a favor & do my laundry. The two new Pendleton wool shirts were worn once. She shrunk them down to a kid's size!

[jeffmeh]

Wool shouldn't ever go in the dryer on any kind of heat. Wool shrinks. Even treated wool will eventually shrink (though will it be enough to be noticeable, is the question). But one it has shrunk it won't shrink further.

There is debate about whether wool can be hung on a rod or must be dried flat. I "abuse" my merino full zip fleece by hanging it. Even now it has just come out of the washer (bye bye hiker stink!!) and is being hung from a travel clothesline where you pinch it between twisted cords. The thing is 6+ years and still going strong with no fabric degredation or size change. (this also can be a testament to REI's construction quality)

I also air dry my silk, though I do believe it can handle heat. But since I already have a drying solution going for most of my technical clothes, why not add my silks?

And on that note, if it is a technical fabric, it gets air dried! Except: anything with a DWR finish. DWR finishes need heat to re-activate after being washed. And speaking of washing DWR finishes, don't use a laundry *detergent* on them. They need a (best case scenario) tech wash or (good enough case scenario) soap such as Ivory Snow or the one I am using for my hiker laundry tonight: Dr. Bronner's.

Hope this helps!

While I agree that one should be very careful with wool, I have been put 100% merino (and high merino content blends) Darn Tough socks in the dryer for years with no deleterious effects.

[egilbe]

While I agree that one should be very careful with wool, I have been put 100% merino (and high merino content blends) Darn Tough socks in the dryer for years with no deleterious effects.

All my wool clothes go in the dryer. On high heat so the cotton clothes can dry. None of that namby pampy coddling with my fine woolens!

[MtDoraDave]

I recall reading the instructions for washing and drying the Darn Tough socks, and iirc it said to wash them inside out and not to put them in the dryer. My wool socks go on the hood of the car in the garage to dry. I'd like to give a lengthy and wordy explanation of how the fabric of the car cover improves drying efficiency, but it's just 3 feet from the dryer, so that's where they go to dry.

Also, my convertible pants also go on the hood of the car to dry after the heat from the dryer deformed the belt buckle of one pair. The Gander Mountain convertible pants have buckles similar to those on a backpack's waist band, and heat is not their friend.

[colorado_rob]

While I agree that one should be very careful with wool, I have been put 100% merino (and high merino content blends) Darn Tough socks in the dryer for years with no deleterious effects.

Same here. I'm too lazy to do anything else, always have just machine washed/dried my merino wool, no problems whatsoever, and I don't notice any shrinkage on my shirts, at least (maybe the socks are a tad smaller). I do try to remember to take these garments out of the dryer promptly though.

[Dogwood]

Silk is usually hand washed. 100% merino knits(torso pieces) in the lighter wts(200 or so) but especially the 150 Micros especially washed in a top loading agitator machine and/or with mixed heavy linens and cottons and also dried the same way can deform merino and certainly light wt silk torso pieces. Again, I've experienced so many pulls, small holes, and extending existing small holes into larger ones by mixing 100% merino torso pieces and base layer bottoms with anything that has zippers, clasp closures, toggles, cord locks, velcro, etc.