Photo Credit: Pop Sugar

 

Ever wonder why your favorite shirt always seems to wrinkle the easiest? Or how to get rid of those stubborn wrinkles without damaging a delicate fabric? Here we’ll list our best tips for keeping those pesky wrinkles away, without breaking out the iron.

 

WHY IT HAPPENS…

Heat is one of the main causes of wrinkles in your clothing. According to Organic Clothing Blog, heat triggers the bonds of the fabric’s polymers to weaken, which causes the fabric to wrinkle. Some fabrics—like cotton and linen—require a lower level of heat (called a “glass transition temperature”) for the bonds to break, which is why they may wrinkle more easily than fabrics with a higher glass transition temperature like wool or lycra.

 

HOW TO PREVENT…

Use a lower temperature: Use a permanent press cycle or cooler water temperature to wash your garments. Likewise, if your dryer has a permanent press cycle or a cool down cycle, use it to blast your clothes with cool air at the end of the drying time. By using a lower temperature setting, your fabrics are more likely to stay under their respective glass transition temperatures, leaving them fresh, clean, and unwrinkled! 

Photo Credit: GE

Don’t overstuff: Putting too many items into your washer or dryer at once doesn’t allow each garment to move freely throughout the cycle. This can cause stubborn creases and even trapped detergent buildup—yuck!

Use a quality fabric softener: Fabric softeners not only soften your clothes, but they help to reduce wrinkles. Just add a Dropps softener pac to your next load of laundry, and you’re good to go!

Don’t let your clothes hang out in the dryer: Once the drying cycle ends, your clothes sit in a jumbled pile, creating a wrinkled, hot mess. To avoid this, use a drying cycle that includes a cool down period, and then remove and fold/hang your clothes as soon as the cycle ends.

Photo Credit: The Guardian

Hang it up: Delicate fabrics like linen are better left unfolded. For those easily wrinkles clothes, use non-wire hangers with rounded shoulders instead!

 

Happy Washing!