This might come as a surprise, but air-drying laundry isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for your most delicate pieces.
When this drying method is used incorrectly, it can cause your items to become excessively wrinkled, misshapen, and even damaged beyond repair. The trick is to know which items are best for hang drying and which will require other drying methods.
To help us on this course of discovery, we enlisted Laurie Beth Fulford, executive laundry pro with Poplin, for her expertise.
Below, heed her tips for determining the best drying methods, along with which items you should never hang dry.
Meet the Expert
Laurie Beth Fulford is an executive laundry pro with Poplin, a professional laundry service.
Cashmere or Wool
Specialty or luxury knits like cashmere or wool are particularly susceptible to becoming misshapen on a hanger, even after they’re dry. Both the natural fibers and the bonds between the individual strands can become loosened or damaged.
Instead, lay them flat to dry, and once dry, fold your wool and cashmere items to store.
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Bulky Sweaters
Regardless of their fabric makeup, bulky sweaters are usually prime suspects for hanging to dry due to their hefty weight that can easily misshape the shoulder and neck area of the garment on the hanger, says Fulford.
Wet items are naturally heavier, not to mention the fabric’s fibers are also more delicate when wet. This combination can lead to a sweater with irreversible damage even after just one hang.
Like cashmere and wool, heavier sweaters should be laid flat to dry and folded when ready for storage.
T-Shirts
If you’re trying to preserve the life of your favorite t-shirt, you might be tempted to treat it with kid gloves but, whatever you do, just know that a hanger isn’t the answer. Fulford warns this method can cause the neck to lose shape. Instead, use your dryer’s low or air-dry settings to safely dry.
Cotton
Before you panic, it’s not that all cotton items are unsafe for hanging to dry—just the ones with the highest cotton percentage that can find themselves misshapen with this drying method, Fulford warns.
That freshly washed and still damp 100 percent cotton v-neck will require an alternate dry method to preserve that perfectly proportioned neckline. Lay the item flat to dry or run on a low heat setting in the dryer.
Activewear
One of your favorite benefits of activewear is likely the fabric’s stretch and support, but this benefit can be more of a con when it comes to drying if you’re not careful. To avoid misshapen activewear, Fulford recommends laying these items flat to dry or running them in the dryer on a low setting.
Denim
If you’ve ever left your jeans to air dry for fear of them shrinking only to find a stiff, wrinkled, and misshapen garment when you return, Fulford’s warning will likely come as no surprise. Preserve your favorite jeans by always drying them on the low setting in the dryer.
Laundry Tip
Remember, you don’t have to wash your jeans with each wear, so be choosy about determining the right time to add them to the hamper.
Additional Things to Consider When Hang Drying
- Fulford says the tag is the best place to start when determining if an item is safe to hang dry. Look out for key phrases like “lay flat to dry” as your indicator to avoid drying on a hanger.
- Delicate or fragile items will require additional consideration. Fulford says it’s important to determine whether the hanger will cause any additional damage to a snag, hole, etc. before deciding on your drying course of action.
- Check a garment’s fabric to help determine whether the clothing item’s shape might get compromised when hang drying.
- Fulford warns to also look out for fabrics that become more wrinkled after air drying on a hanger as these could also be better suited for alternate drying methods.
Laundry Tip
If you often hang dry clothing, invest in padded hangers rather than the standard wire or plastic hangers—these are the best at preventing lumps and bumps.
Alternate Methods to Hang Drying
You might think that skipping the dryer is the most common course for tricky fabrics, but with all the setting customization our dryers have today, you might find a safe option yet.
Fulford points out that some dryers have “delicate” and even “air dry” cycles that can be safe for more fragile pieces. Adjusting the heat settings can also prove a more gentle route.
If air drying is the best course of action, the laundry pro says to lay the item on a flat surface. This will give the benefits of no-heat drying without compromising the shape of the garment with a hanger.