You're Probably Overdrying Your Laundry—and It's Ruining Your Favorite Clothes

Laundry is pretty straightforward: You throw a load in the machine to wash it, then transfer everything to the dryer and tumble until it’s super hot and dry, right? Well, sure—but it turns out you might be doing it wrong. In fact, overdrying can unintentionally damage your clothes.

To learn more about the pitfalls of using too much heat on your garments and linens, we chatted with a laundry pro who explains what qualifies as overdrying, how it affects different fabrics, and the simple tweaks you can make to stop the wear and tear immediately.

Meet Our Expert

• Patric Richardson, laundry expert, TV host, and owner of The Laundry Evangelist
  

Why Is Too Much Dryer Heat Bad for Clothes?

Richardson, who literally wrote the book on laundering (Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore), insists that using too much heat for too long is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when washing your clothes. “Overdrying is such a big deal!” he says. “Everyone needs to know about it, because they’re ruining their clothes without realizing it.” Letting your towels and jeans tumble indefinitely is not as harmless as you might think—but how do you know you’re overdoing it, and why is it so bad?

The biggest sign, according to Richardson, is a lot of lint in your lint trap. “It’s literally your clothes breaking down and dying,” Richardson says. “Let’s use a pair of jeans as an example. Cotton is twice as strong when it’s wet as it is when it’s dry, so once all the moisture has been expelled, that denim starts rubbing against itself—essentially rubbing off extra cotton, which ends up in your lint trap.” Over time, your fabrics break down, become thin or tattered, and lose the longevity they would have otherwise had.

Other signs you’re air frying your clothes? Static and dullness. “If there’s any moisture at all, there’s no static, but when things are overdried, that’s when static electricity forms and your clothes cling to themselves,” Richardson explains. Besides getting zapped by your knits, you may notice colors are just not as bright as they once were; put a pause on the overdrying ASAP. “You can’t necessarily improve your clothes, but you can make them better by mitigating the damage,” Richardson notes. “Stop, and your clothes will instantly look better.”

Tips to Prevent Overdrying

If you’re guilty of overdrying, how exactly do you fix the habit? Richardson has six takeaways to try on your next load.

Take Out Your Clothes When They’re Mostly Dry

“One approach is to dry your clothes to about 80%, and then hang dry to avoid wrinkles,” says Richardson. Stop your machine when things still feel a bit damp, and make sure to air dry all the way through to avoid mustiness.

Of course, the downside of this technique is needing plenty of room to hang or flat-lay items, but if you have the space or enough drying racks, it’s one of the best ways to avoid heat damage.

Sort by Material—Not Color

We’ve long been told to separate our laundry by color or care type, such as delicates versus utility items. But Richardson has a better idea: “What would be best is to dry like pieces together—all the shirts together, all the towels together, all your denim, etc.,” he explains. “That way, things dry more evenly.”

Take Out Items as They Dry, If Possible

Doing multiple loads by clothing type might not be practical for all households. Another Richardson-approved method is to stop your dryer about 10 minutes before your cycle is done and sift through to pull out anything that’s dry while leaving damp pieces in for longer.

Experiment With Drying Times

Every machine is going to have a different heat output, so it’s crucial to learn what’s ideal for yours. “Start shortening your drying time by five minutes,” he advises. If you normally pick the 60-minute cycle, for instance, opt for just short of it, then check the clothes.

“If everything is still really dry, try another five minutes shorter the next time, and so on. When you hit the damp point, that’s where you stop (well, five minutes before that),” Richardson says. “Don’t keep tumbling if your clothes are dry, because that is what is actually detrimental. The goal is 100% dry, not any point beyond that.”

Stick to Medium Heat

On newer or higher-end machines, you might be tempted to pick a custom setting for each different load. But Richardson insists you don’t need to be that persnickety. “I dry everything on medium, across the board,” he says. “A hot or high setting tends to dry things so quickly that the edges dry faster than the middle.”

Richardson uses a towel as an example—the edges always get ratty over time because they usually dry first but keep tumbling, which breaks them down. Bringing the temperature down to medium might add a couple of minutes of drying time, but at least everything dries evenly.

Take Advantage of Dry Winter Air

Here’s a bonus tip for these chilly, dry winter months. “Because the moisture in your home is so low during winter, you actually need to dry your clothes for less time than in the summer, when humidity is high,” adds Richardson. “It’s a great reason to hang dry this time of year, as your wet clothes can work as a humidifier!”

Related: 7 Surprising Items That Should Never Go in the Dryer

Read the original article on Real Simple