Fabric Frequently Asked Questions

You can tug and smooth and shape your clothing all you want since it doesn’t have a permanent effect on the fabric. This action is typically less than what the fabrics go through during normal machine washing and drying.

1. If fabrics are heavily soiled (as would be the case with work clothes, clothes stained with certain types of food, etc.) and these fabrics are soaked for a long time prior to laundering, an unpleasant odor can develop, especially when the soak solution cools down.
2. Additionally, if an insufficient amount of detergent is used to wash the clothes, the soil in the fabrics will not be lifted out and held in solution in the water. Instead, it will redeposit on the fabrics, leading to an off odor. Overloading the washer can also contribute to this problem.
3. Wet laundry remaining in a washer for any length of time, clothes that are line-dried in a high-humidity environment or not thoroughly machine-dried can develop an off odor.

Rewashing with the hottest water safe for the fabrics and the recommended amount of detergent should eliminate this odor.

Fabrics have a natural tendency to become hard or stiff. Fabric conditioners contain fabric-softening agents, which allow fibers to feel smoother. Liquid fabric conditioners also provide a fluffing effect by preventing fabric fibers from matting together to form clumps during drying.

Get ready for Physics 101! If your socks cling to each other and snap at you when you try to pull them apart, you know what static cling looks like. This is static electricity and is caused by electrons transferring from one garment to another. These charges build when different fabrics, especially synthetics, rub together and exchange electrons. The tumbling action of the dryer and the low humidity environment at the end of the drying cycle both contribute to static cling.

Here are some things you can do to help prevent static cling:

1. Select the right dryer temperature and length of drying time so that dry fabrics are not rubbing against one another in a hot dryer.
2. It’s also helpful if you include both cottons and synthetics in each dryer load since synthetics generate more electrons.
3. When you’re wearing your clothes, it’s important that each layer is softened with fabric conditioners since static-free fabrics will still cling if other garments are generating static.
4. Since dryer sheets work in the dryer where static occurs, they prevent static cling better than liquid fabric conditioners. Just remember to use each dryer sheet once, since each sheet has the right amount of softener for your average size laundry load.