What to do if the dress shrinks after washing?

If, when you take your dress out of the washing machine, you find that it has shrunk by a couple of sizes, it means that basic care recommendations have been violated. Don't get upset and throw it away. You can try to return the product to its original appearance by resorting to popular advice. What to do if the dress shrinks after washing, how to return it to the original size? Let's look at ways to save your favorite wardrobe item.

Why did this happen?

The most curious housewives will be interested to know why shrinkage occurs. Reducing a dress by several sizes can be caused by the following reasons:

wash in very hot water;
sudden temperature changes during the cycle;
spinning too quickly in the washing machine or twisting too hard by hand;
incorrect drying of the item. Often clothes “shrink” if they are dried on radiators, near heaters, or in the drying chamber.

A dress made from delicate fabric is most susceptible to shrinkage. Woolen, silk, linen, and cotton items can upset the owner with shrinkage, even if the recommended washing temperature is exceeded by several degrees.

There are a lot of popular advice that help in the fight for “full-size” things. The situation can be corrected by using vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and in some cases a steamer will come to the rescue. Sometimes the freezer can be that lifesaver. the spin was too intense

We arm ourselves with peroxide and turpentine

What to do first? To begin with, you can try to restore the dress with ordinary hydrogen peroxide. It is with the help of a pharmaceutical solution that you can stretch a thing without harming it.The process goes like this:

dissolve 1 tbsp in five liters of water. a spoonful of peroxide;
for 40-50 minutes. Soak your clothes in the resulting solution.

While the dress is soaking, be sure to stretch the material with your hands every 5-10 minutes. After 40 minutes, you need to rinse the dress in clean water several times. Afterwards, the product is carefully squeezed out and laid out on a flat tabletop for further drying.

Hydrogen peroxide can only be used to stretch light-colored clothing.

You can also try to return the item to shape using turpentine. The algorithm of actions will be as follows:

dissolve 4 tbsp. spoons of turpentine in five liters of cold water;
soak the dress in the resulting solution for one hour;
Rinse the sundress and dry.

Turpentine can help stretch almost any material. Great for both colored and white clothes. It can also be used to save dresses made of delicate fabric. However, this method has one significant drawback - the fabric absorbs a specific odor. Although it’s easy to fix the situation - just hang the dress in the fresh air for a couple of days.

Vinegar comes to the rescue

If the dress shrinks after cleaning, you can try to solve the problem using table vinegar. The method is folk and proven by more than one generation. The algorithm of actions will be as follows:

Dilute a tablespoon of vinegar in a liter of water. The volume of liquid can be increased proportionally (for example, by 5 liters - five tablespoons of acetic acid);
soak the item in the resulting solution for half an hour;
rinse the item of clothing well in cold water;
dry the product by straightening it on a flat tabletop.

When drying, it is best to stretch the dress to the desired shape and fix it in this position with small weights. They are placed along the edges, so the fabric fibers will not shrink back. When the moisture has completely evaporated, the weights can be removed.

Soda or steam

If the fabric has slightly shrunk, baking soda can help save it. This method is quite safe. In addition to the fact that soda returns 0.5 of the size of a shrunken item, it effectively cleans fabric fibers and helps cope with unpleasant odors. The instructions for action will be as follows:

Dilute 30 grams of baking soda in three liters of water;
soak the wardrobe item in the solution for 10 hours;
rinse the item and dry it.

When drying, it is necessary to periodically stretch the fabric, this is necessary to return the dress to its original appearance.

You can also stretch clothes by steaming them. What to do in such a situation?

Wet the dress.
Straighten the product on the ironing iron.
Treat the seams and surface of the item using a steamer.
In the most problematic areas, stretch the sundress with your hands.

The ideal option is to steam a shrunken dress on a larger mannequin. So the effectiveness of the procedure will be many times higher. This method will be ideal for wool and synthetic products.

Let's use the freezer

Freezing it can help restore your favorite dress. Water, transforming into ice, expands. In such a situation, the fabric fibers will also stretch. The freezer can help bring items back to size 0.5–1. You need to do this:

wet the item of clothing, wring it out so that the water does not drain from the fabric;
put the dress in a plastic bag;
place the “bag” in the freezer for a day;
remove the bag and let the items melt completely;
dry the product.

Fabric is too fragile after freezing, so you should handle it carefully. One careless movement can damage the integrity of the material. This is why it is so important to wait until the dress is completely thawed.

Entrust the item to professionals

If your favorite dress is made from expensive materials, and you are afraid of ruining it while trying to stretch it, hand it over to the professionals. Modern dry cleaners willingly provide this service. Specialists have special compounds at their disposal that can restore clothing to its original appearance, add 1-2 sizes, without harming the fabric. Drying in dry cleaners is carried out using steam units, which enhances the effect of the procedure. take your dress to the dry cleaner

Before submitting your dress for processing, be sure to clarify what results to expect. It is worth paying for the service provided only when the goal has been achieved. The price for such work can vary greatly. Minimum cost – 6 $. For this amount, specialists will not only stretch the clothes, but also clean them and smooth them perfectly.

Useful tips

There are a number of rules, following which, you can reduce the risk of things shrinking. Then you won’t have to think about how to save your favorite dress. The recommendations are quite simple:

follow the temperature regime recommended by the manufacturer. A label with the necessary information is on each product;
do not allow sudden temperature changes;
Choose a washing mode suitable for the type of fabric. A woolen or silk dress will not tolerate intense spinning in the drum;
Avoid machine drying at high speeds. In almost one hundred percent of cases, it provokes shrinkage of things. In addition to losing size, the dress is easily deformed;
Do not immerse dark or colored clothing in the peroxide solution. Although this method will help restore shape, it will lead to fading of the fabrics;
If one method does not help you return to your previous appearance, try further. Different tissues may be more sensitive to one substance or another;
When restoring things, pay special attention to the connecting seams.

It is necessary to stretch clothes when drying. You need to return the size until the item is completely dry. Be sure to ensure that the halves of the dress are straightened symmetrically.