[corrral]

Are people seeing some huge benefits from paying attention to these symbols? I've been, as the kids say, "adulting" for some time, and pay no attention to them. I couldn't draw a single one from memory. If you showed me one, I'd only be able to guess at the meaning. All I do is not wash stuff that says "dry clean only" (it always just says it in text, I have no idea if there even is a symbol for that) and favor cooler water & cooler dry cycles. I air-dry anything wool (if it's not in the "dry clean only" category).

Color-safe detergents have been the norm since my very early adulthood. I remember ads for it when I was a kid but by the time I was buying detergent, most detergent was color safe. I've never even bothered to sort by color, aside from keeping raw denim away from everything else (on the rare occasions it's washed at all).

What am I missing out on? My family's clothes seem to last just fine. My wife pays even less attention to this stuff than I do, and everything seems OK.

[jerf]

This has been one of my favorite Dilbert cartoons for a while: https://dilbert.com/strip/1992-12-27 It's been my wife & I's philosophy on clothes for a while and it's been working out. I'm sure it's suboptimal and I'm sure I don't care.

[0xffff2]

Yeah, I can summarize my laundry habits as follows:

- Dry clean formal clothes

- Air dry wool

- If I'm going through a raw denim phase, keep it out of the regular laundry

- Everything else goes in the washer set on permanent press and then in the dryer at medium heat

Never in 17 years of doing my own laundry has this system failed me in any way.

[SZJX]

Many clothes are not supposed to be put through the dryer. Just dry them naturally unless it perennially rains where you live. I’ve stopped doing that since a long time ago and they now last much longer.

[raverbashing]

It works fine (90% of the time) until it doesn't

And yes, I do pay attention (to the special cases). T-shirt? It's a t-shirt.

Winter coat? Fancy suit? See what it says. Or send it to be professionally cleaned.

Where it usually fails (with everyday stuff) is that people DNGAF and dry their clothes at 90C then come to heavily shrunk garments. Or with faded colors.

[Axien]

I can draw one from memory. It was a triangle. Not sure what it means … but I can draw it.

[benibela]

Almost all my pants became too small from washing. Perhaps they would not have when I paid attention to the symbols (or perhaps I became fat?)

[ulfw]

or maybe you should just cold wash

[bradbot]

I was just having this discussion with my wife. I was under the impression that using the dryer to dry clothes is what causes items to shrink. Does the water temperature in the wash make a difference too if you hang dry?

[ulfw]

Depends. But yes hot washing shrinks some materials.

https://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-hi...

[happymellon]

They both cause it to shrink.

Wash on cold and hang dry is best if possible.