My clothes are shrinking

[Pritesh]

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. 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

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?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

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.

[Pritesh]

10 hours ago, Whitegoodshelp (Andy) said:

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.

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. 

[Pritesh]

10 hours ago, Whitegoodshelp (Andy) said:

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.

 

On 14/08/2022 at 10:48, Whitegoodshelp (Andy) said:

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? Thanks No tumble dryer

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Just put it on a rinse cycle and pull the drawer out to see if the water is warm.