It seems that high-quality clothes should last for years, but even expensive brands cannot save you from the appearance of holes, pilling and loss of color. Often the reason lies not in the manufacturer’s defect or poor fabric, but in our care routinewhich imperceptibly destroys the fibers. We have collected the main factors that cause a wardrobe to become unusable ahead of time.
Washing machine drum overload
The desire to wash everything right away is understandable, but this is one of the most destructive habits. When things are stuffed too tightly, they don’t just wash worse. In a cramped space, excess is created mechanical frictionwhich works like sandpaper.
-
Zippers, buttons and fasteners of adjacent items cling to the fabric, leaving micro-strings.
-
The fibers twist and deform, losing their original structure.
-
The powder is poorly washed out, remaining inside the fabric and destroying it from the inside when dried.
Ignoring sorting by fabric type
Separating white and colored is the basics, but it is not enough. Washing tough jeans with delicate T-shirts or wool sweaters is a sure way to ruin finer items. Rough materials when rotating damage delicate fiberscausing the appearance of those very pellets that age the thing. Synthetics and natural fabrics also require different treatments: what is normal for polyester may shrink in cotton.
Excess detergent
Bigger doesn’t mean cleaner. This is a golden rule that is often broken. Excess powder or gel creates a rich lather that traps dirt in the folds of clothing instead of rinsing it out.
In addition, chemical particles settle on the fabric, making it hard and brittle. Over time, this causes the clothes to begin to tear for no apparent reason. Aggressive bleaches are especially dangerous, as they literally dissolve threads with frequent use.
Improper drying and storage
Wet fabric is the most vulnerable, and the weight of water pulls it down. If you hang a heavy, wet sweater on hangers, it will inevitably stretch out at the shoulders and lose its shape. Knitwear should only be dried in horizontal position.
Drying in direct sunlight is also harmful. Ultraviolet light not only fades bright prints, but also makes fibers brittle. Storage in a closet is also important: cramped spaces cause creases, which eventually turn into abrasions, and lack of ventilation creates an environment for moths to breed.
Lack of rest for things
Clothes, like shoes, need time to recover. The elastic fibers found in jeans (elastane) or tight tops stretch when worn. It takes them about a day to return to their original state. If you wear the same pair of jeans every day, the fabric will quickly lose elasticity, bubbles will appear at the knees, and the item will become thinner in areas of greatest tension.
Following simple care rules and carefully reading labels will help your favorite items stay new much longer.
About the Author
