What Does Fabric Conditioner Do? And Should I Use It?
I hear people on the internet recommend to not use Fabric Conditioner in their laundry to save the durability of the clothes. In my country, it was the norm to use Fabric Conditioner during laundry so I was at a lost.
Is it actually necessary?
It’s an acid that chemically breaks down the fibers in the cloths, this makes them softer. Some like the feel of it. However, it also weakens the fabric, causing the clothes ware out faster.
If you like the extra soft clothes, and don’t mind replacing them often, it’s fine.
If your clothes are rather expensive, and you want to keep them as long as possible, it’d be better avoid Fabric Softener/Conditioner. In fact use cold water, and Woolite Dark detergent (or whatever local equivalent you have) for maximum longevity of your cloths, color white or other.
I got that advice from a metal music fan site, offering care instructions for collectable tour shirts that you want to ensure remain a black as your soul. They actually suggested using water form a Nordic iceberg, since that’s where all the blackest metal comes from anyway. It was very funny. I’ll try to see if it’s still online.
Edit: I miss remembered much of it, like the Nordic Ice. And the original appears to be gone. But someone else has clipped the important bit.
To add on to this:
General advice for clothing longevity is to always wash cold and hang dry. Taking it a step further though you can make sure all of your zippers are closed prior to going into the laundry so they don’t catch or scratch your other garments in the jumble. Extra sensitive clothings like athletic wear, lace, and other delicate fabrics can be placed into mesh bags for added protection (just search for “mesh laundry bag” at your preferred home goods retailer to find some). You can also wash garments inside out to mitigate wear on the outside surface or designs.
I second the woolite dark recommendation, and add that you really don’t need to use much in each load. Modern detergents and washing machines are pretty powerful, so less is more in this case.
If you don’t like how your clothing is a little crunchy after hang-drying you can toss it in the dryer on the tumble setting (or whatever the NO HEAT setting is called on yours) for 10-20 minutes and the garment will soften right up. This is generally more of a concern with natural fibers (cotton, wool, etc.) than synthetic (polyester, lycra, etc.).
If you don’t have time for all that drying, use the lowest possible heat setting on your dryer, and pull the clothes just before they are totally dry if you can. They don’t need to be damp, but even just letting them finish out the last 10% of drying in room temp can be beneficial as dryers tend to over dry clothes which can also be harmful to the garment over time due to applying heat to a dry garment much longer than needed. Depending on your dryer the “delicates” setting may also help to mitigate some of this.
Amazing.
Great advise. I have always been into fashion and spend prefer to have excitement clothes albeit a lesser quantity. I’ve always washed cold and hang dried. It takes more effort, but I have some tshirts that have lasted 20 years.
This is good to know. I might get a small bottle of fabric softener just for items that I’d actually like to break down a little bit. Like new towels that aren’t as absorbent as old towels. Or brand new jeans that are too stiff.