My clothes are shrinking
My clothes are shrinking after washing. I have a Bosch machine which is close to 10 years old. I usually wash on a the Easy Care 30 degrees programme but I’m finding my t shirts, undergarments and socks are shrinking and sometimes shrinking significantly after washes. I can’t help but feel that my machine has become faulty and maybe is washing at a higher temperature then the selected 30 degrees or there is an issue with the spinning. I attach a photo as an example of the shrinkage. Both socks are the same size and from the same pack. The white sock below is not washed and the brown sock on top is after a single wash. As you can see it has shrunk by maybe 30%. I’m also having similar problems with cotton t shirts too. It’s happening to all my clothes from Primark, M&S, Next, Uniqlo, Superdry etc so don’t think it is an issue of the fabric / brand. Is there anyway I can to test to diagnose if it is the machine causing the shrinkage? Or do I need to wash them under a different programmer wash? Any advice is appreciated.
Solution Summary
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This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
Clothes shrinking after Bosch washing machine washes
- The problem
- A Bosch washing machine, around 10 years old, was reported to be shrinking T-shirts, underwear and socks even when used on an Easy Care 30°C programme. The user suspected the machine might be washing hotter than selected or had a spin-related fault.
- Likely cause
- The strongest diagnosis in the discussion was excessive wash temperature, although contributors noted it is unusual for a washing machine to run at the wrong temperature without showing an error. A further possible cause suggested was an incorrect plumbing connection causing hot water to enter during rinsing.
- What fixed it
- Recommended action was to check whether the machine is taking in warm water on a rinse cycle by starting a rinse programme and checking the incoming water at the dispenser drawer. No confirmed repair was given.
- Checks to try
- Run a rinse cycle and check whether the water entering is warm by pulling out the detergent drawer.
- Check whether the machine connections could be incorrect, particularly if hot water may be feeding the cold inlet.
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
4 Answers
Hi. It's temperature that usually shrinks clothes. But it's unusual for a washing machine to do the wrong temperatures. If something goes faulty with the temperature it would normally abort with an error code.
Do you use a tumble dryer?
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Another possibility, though rare, is if the washing machine was rinsing in hot water. Over the years, I have come across several washing machines where the hot water supply was connected to the cold water valve. This tends to cause excessive creasing in laundry, but obviously it could shrink delicate items too.
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Thanks. Is there a way I can check by maybe looking at the connections? My knowledge of plumbing and washing machine is almost next to nothing.
Just put it on a rinse cycle and pull the drawer out to see if the water is warm.
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