T-shirts shrink from tumbling too long, not from heat
The text in the pictures is in Thai, as originally posted.
Many people think cotton shrinks because it was dried too hot 🧺
Is it really heat that shrinks cotton knit garments?
The textile industry magazine Textile World reported Cotton Incorporated test results showing that 100% cotton knit fabric tumbled with no heat for 45 minutes shrank more than 20%, while fabric dried at 150 and 200 °F shrank by the same amount, just reaching that point faster. The report concluded that temperature changes how long drying takes, but the amount of shrinkage comes from the fabric tumbling in the machine. Its recommendation was to tumble cotton knits for no more than 5 minutes to release wrinkles, then hang them to dry.
Worth knowing: these results come from testing a single type of knit fabric, so read the care label and follow the machine's manual as well.
Questions about the dryers in your laundry or factory? The KHT team is happy to help.