How to Dry Your Infigo T-Shirt
Last time, we put T-shirts through the wash in laundry nets to find the ideal way to wash them.
This time, we’ll look at how best to dry them.
Can You Use a Dryer?
Infigo T-shirts can be machine washed as usual, but please do not use a dryer, as it can damage the fabric and cause shrinkage.
This is the “Do not tumble dry” symbol.
Tumble dryers, like those at laundromats or built into front-loading washer-dryers, dry clothes quickly by tumbling them while blowing hot air. However, the friction from tumbling and the high heat are hard on both the fabric and the print. And since the fabric of Infigo T-shirts is highly stretchable, tumble drying would likely cause considerable shrinkage.
That’s why we recommend letting them air-dry completely. On rainy days, a bathroom drying system is fine, but even then, we suggest switching to indoor hanging after about an hour.
A Better Way to Hang
As many of you have probably experienced, when you hang T-shirts on a hanger to dry, the ends of the hanger tend to leave bumps sticking out at the shoulders. Thin hangers can also leave sharp, visible marks. That’s because the weight of the damp fabric puts a lot of strain on the shirt until it dries. All of this leads to loss of shape, so it’s best to dry your shirts in a way that leaves no unwanted creases or marks.
So this time, we’d like to introduce two hangers that look promising for preventing loss of shape.
We actually put them to the test, from washing all the way through to drying.
◆ 型崩れしにくいスライドハンガー (CAINZ)
First up is the "型崩れしにくいスライドハンガー" (Sliding hanger that helps keep clothes in shape) from Cainz, a major Japanese home improvement chain.
It comes in a set of three and cost us less than 500 yen (about $3).
First of all, the shoulder sections are wide and gently rounded, so they’re less likely to leave hanger marks. These parts also slide in and out, letting you adjust them to the width of the shoulders. This keeps bumps from forming partway along the shoulder line.
The movable parts also have large ventilation holes cut into them, a clever touch to help the shirt dry faster.
It also comes in other colors.
Also, as shown here, you can squeeze it slightly to narrow the width when putting it into the shirt.
This is designed to avoid stretching out the neckline, though it takes a little practice to get the hang of it.
Once it’s set, it looks like this.
No awkward bumps appear along the shoulder line.
After drying, we checked the shoulders.
We wouldn’t call it a loss of shape, but as expected, when viewed from directly above, the very ends of the shoulders looked slightly thicker.
◆ セーター用ハンガー (DAISO)
Next up is the "セーター用ハンガー" (Hanger for sweaters) from Daiso, Japan’s well-known 100-yen shop chain. This one also extends sideways, though not as much as the Cainz hanger. Since it’s designed for sweaters, the shoulder sections are nicely thick. It doesn’t have holes to help with drying, but its smooth, slippery surface seems to reduce surface damage when you put it into the shirt.
Once it’s set, it looks like this. We may not have extended it far enough on the shirt’s left shoulder.
And here it is after drying.
Because we didn’t extend it far enough on this side, there is a slight bump, just as we suspected. Extending it all the way to the shoulder seam should take care of that.
By the way, bumps like this disappear after the next wash. This comes from the nature of the fabric used for Infigo T-shirts: because it’s highly stretchable, it may be prone to this kind of deformation, but that same stretchiness means it springs back to its original shape when washed.
Summary
Both hangers we introduced this time performed largely as we’d hoped. They take a bit of effort to set up, but we felt they greatly reduced our worries about the shirts losing their shape.
That said, drying is something you repeat with every wash, so we can’t draw conclusions from just one or two tests. We’ll keep an eye on how things go.
What we can say for certain, however, is that you should pay special attention to the strain on the shoulders, so please avoid drying your shirts on thin wire hangers.
The weight of fabric heavy with water is concentrated on the small area where it touches the hanger. That’s why it’s so important to take care of that one spot.
For display, the Infigo Original Hanger
For short-term storage, we recommend the Infigo Original Hanger (see details here).
It lets you hang your shirt without stretching the fabric, so you can use it with peace of mind.
Please note, however, that this hanger is intended for display only.
Since it’s made of metal, please avoid using it for long-term storage or for drying.
Make your days colorful with Infigo style!
Related: [How to Wash Your Infigo T-Shirt]