What Shouldn’t Go in the Dryer

Introduction

Clothes dryers are an irreplaceable part of everyone’s life. They are convenient and allow you to dry your clothes and sheets quickly and efficiently. However, if you put the wrong items inside the dryer, you risk damaging those clothes and the dryer. If you need to get your broken dryer fixed, you can hire a technician for the job by searching for “dryer repair near me”. Let’s check out things that shouldn’t go inside the dryer.

The Details

  1. Delicates – You should never put delicates inside the dryer. These include bras and underwear. Delicates use elastic materials like spandex to have stretchability. This way one size of underwear can fit a lot of people. However, when elastic materials are exposed to high temperatures, they break down, shrink and shrivel up. In the best-case scenario, the underwear may shrink down to a different size and in the worst-case scenario, it may be completely out of shape. That’s why you should keep them out of the dryer and only line-dry them.
  1. Swimwear – Swimwear is also made from a mix of regular fabrics and stretchy material. After you use swimwear, it may be full of soil, chlorine, sunscreen oil, and salt. That’s why they need to be washed after each use. If you put them in the dryer, they will get ruined and may not even fit you the next time you try them on. It’s best to air-dry them.
  1. Sweaters – Sweaters are weaved from knitted yarns. Usually, that’s wool or some other type of fluffy material. If you wash them incorrectly with hot water inside the washer, they may be stretched or get distorted in some other way. You add insult to injury when you throw them in the hot dryer. The intense heat inside the dryer drum can increase piling and shrink or stretch the fibers.

Returning that sweater to its original shape is impossible after it comes out of the dryer. That’s why they should always be kept out of the dryer. Sweater labels have clear instructions about the correct process of washing and drying them. It’s best to follow those instructions to preserve the longevity of the sweater.

  1. Activewear – Activewear is simple to delicates like lingerie. They are manufactured from advanced synthetic fibers that are designed to adapt to the constant stretching of muscles and wick away moisture while you sweat in the gym. If you throw activewear inside the dryer, they won’t just get distorted in shape but also lose their moisture-wicking properties and adaptive characteristics.
  1. Silk and other delicate fabrics – Delicate fabrics like silk, sheer, and lace should always be kept outside the dryer. They also have specific instructions for lightly hand washing and should never go inside the washer either. The high heat inside the dryer can cause severe wrinkles on silk and lace and are almost impossible to remove. If you try to get rid of them with a hot iron, you’ll only worsen the problem.
  1. Leather and suede – If your leather or suede jacket has been drenched in a downpour, you should resist the temptation of putting them inside the dryer. In fact, you should keep all kinds of leather outside the dryer, whether it’s real or faux leather. The high heat won’t just distort the leather, but also develop severe cracks. Even when you air-dry your leather garments, make sure to hang them in an airy space under the shade. Intense heat from direct sunlight can also damage your leather garments.
  1. Bags and backpacks – You carry plenty of things in your bags, backpacks, and shopping bags. That’s why they need to be cleaned once in a while. However, you should always keep your bags and backpacks out of the dryer unless they are made entirely from cotton. If there’s even a bit of synthetic and other delicate fabric used in the backpack, those materials will melt, warp or shrink due to the high heat and can even destroy the insulation of the bags.
  1. Fur – Both natural and faux fur don’t belong in the dryer. If it gets caught in the rain or is spoiled due to some other circumstances, it should be cleaned and air-dried. If you put them inside the dryer, natural fur would start cracking and faux fur will start wilting and fall off. Also, make sure to keep the fur jackets and accessories out of direct sunlight while you air-dry them. After your fur garments are air-dried, you may need to comb them to untangle the fibers and return the fluff.
  1. Oily fabrics – Oily work rags are usually not washed in the machine since they can ruin the appliance. Even if you have risked washing those oily and chemically stained clothes or fabrics inside the washer, you should never put them inside the dryer. When you put them in the dryer, the volatile gasses may catch on fire under high heat and cause the appliance to explode.

In the best-case scenario, your dryer would be ruined, and you’ll need to replace it with a new one. However, in the worst-case scenario, the fire would spread out, injure people in your home and cause hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property damage. If you suspect any piece of cloth to be stained with gasoline or some nasty chemicals, keep them out of the dryer.

  1. Gum and lip balm – Before you put anything inside the dryer check the pockets. Items like gum, crayon, jewelry, and lip balm may have been left behind inside the pockets and they should not end up in the dryer. It can damage the dryer and cause severe disasters.

Conclusion

Clothes dryers are convenient and easy to use. To maintain them in good condition and the clothes that go inside them you need to keep certain things out of them. Otherwise, your dryer may get damaged. If you need to fix your broken dryer, you can search for “dryer repair near me” and hire a professional to fix it for you.

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