What Clothing Materials Should You Lay Flat to Dry?

Trying to decide which clothes need to air dry and which pieces of clothing need to dry flat is not always easy to figure out.

However, there are some clothing fabrics and styles of clothing that really should lay flat on a clothing rack or some type of flat surface to dry. There are numerous reasons for making sure certain clothing materials are dried flat, the primary reason being the clothing will only hold its shape and size if it is air dried flat. A secondary reason, and just important as the first reason, is that clothes that are air dried flat last much longer than clothing that is thrown in the dryer over and over again.

Certain pieces of my clothing can only be laid flat to dry, and I actually prefer air drying clothes flat as opposed to using the dryer because I have found when I lay my clothes flat on a clothes rack and gently rub my hand and pull slightly on the damp fabric, it really helps to get the wrinkles out and rarely do I have to iron my clothing.

There are clothing materials that you should lay flat to dry depending on the style of the clothing and also the composition of the fabric itself.

Wool Sweater

A wool sweater should definitely be laid flat to dry, and this comes from personal experience, or I should say personal accidents. A wool sweater that is placed in the dryer will shrink up so small, it would probably fit well on a doll. The other interesting aspect of drying a wool sweater in the dryer is it also sometimes will not only shrink but will stretch out in places such as the neckline area and be so big that your whole body could fit through it. Be sure to always air dry flat any wool sweater you own.

Swimsuit

Swimsuits are not like any other pieces of clothing in your closet and need to be handled with extra special care. Many swimsuits have some type of spandex blend in them and spandex is not meant to be put in a dryer, spandex shrinks quickly. Swimsuits also tend to be delicate and laying a swimsuit flat to dry is the best way to help the swimsuit hold its shape, hanging a swimsuit can tend to stretch it out.

Bra

Bras have their own special shape as we all know, and laying a bra flat to dry is so important so that it holds it shape and fits the body properly. Bras do not come cheap so taking care of a bra will help with less money spent on the intimate apparel in the long run.

Silk Blouse

Silk is a tricky fabric because it does not react well to the dryer, and it tends to wrinkle when it is washed. Laying a silk blouse flat to dry is the best bet in retaining the blouse's shape and to keep the silk feeling as smooth as possible.

If a certain piece of clothing is questionable about whether is should be laid flat to dry or if it would be okay placed in the dryer, air on the side of caution and allow the clothing to air dry on a clothing rack. Items such as wool sweaters, swimsuits, bras and silk blouses definitely need to be laid flat to dry.