put bike shorts in dryer?

[maryellen]

having just purchased some new bike shorts, I happened to notice that the tag said "tumble dry low"

I always air dry them and have for years (although I only recently took up cycling, I've been spinning at the gym for years). I always assumed that machine drying them would be hard on the elastic/synthetic materials.

What do you all do?

[DeniseGoldberg]

I always throw my bike shorts into the dryer - and they are none the worse for wear! I do use a low setting though!

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www.denisegoldberg.com

[Veronica]

Machine wash, air dry for me.

V.

[fasteryet]

same as V.

[Irulan]

lo should be OK, heat (hot) will kill the lycra.


Irulan

[Trek420]

fasteryet & I both vote .... same as V.

[jobob]

I do what Denise does - tumble dry on the low setting. Same with my jerseys.

[betagirl]

Machine wash in woolite, air dry for me too. Don't need any shrinkage on those puppies

[bounceswoosh]

machine wash cold/delicate (but "heavy" soil specified) with woolite and *no* softener. Then air dry.

(I really love our ultra-fancy front-load washer, even though it was stupid expensive. So many options! And it keeps washing till *it* thinks the clothes are clean.)

[Irulan]

if you must use woolite, use baby shampoo instead. It's mild and will not harm your fabrics either, and it's cheaper. Woolite is actually somewhat harsh, and then they add all these conditioners to it to make your stuff feel soft.

Really, it's overkill for nylons (shorts) and polyesters ( tops) and lycra (both)

Someone mentioned fabric softener - don't use this on any wicking or fleecey garments, it really impedes the functional ( wickiing, insulation) properties of the fibers

For those who may not know, I am an outdoors fabrics specialist by the nature of my work.

Irulan

[jobob]

Someone mentioned fabric softener - don't use this on any wicking or fleecey garments, it really impedes the functional ( wickiing, insulation) properties of the fibers

I did not know that !! I'll stop using dryer sheets thankyee kindly

[MightyMitre]

Assos actually do a special wash you can use to wash you cycling kit it. It's meant to preserver the functionality of that fancy, expensive Assos gear.

It's very good but it comes in a small bottle and costs a fortune - certainly too much for using everyday.

As for tumble drying - don't have one so all our stuff gets air dried, but we sometimes put stuff on the radiators if we need it quick.

[Irulan]

Originally posted by MightyMitre
Assos actually do a special wash you can use to wash you cycling kit it. It's meant to preserver the functionality of that fancy, expensive Assos gear.

It's very good but it comes in a small bottle and costs a fortune - certainly too much for using everyday.

As for tumble drying - don't have one so all our stuff gets air dried, but we sometimes put stuff on the radiators if we need it quick.

MM, I'd venture a guess that you don't really need Assos "special" laundry stuff, and that's it just another way for them to make a buck off of you.

The only time you really need to look at using special soaps on outdoor gear is when you are washing Goretex, which is affected by soap residue, or when you want to enchance properties like renewing water repellency. In that case, Nikwax
makes an excellent line of products ( NAYY)

Irulan

[bounceswoosh]

Irulan said:

if you must use woolite, use baby shampoo instead. It's mild and will not harm your fabrics either, and it's cheaper. Woolite is actually somewhat harsh, and then they add all these conditioners to it to make your stuff feel soft.

Is it harsher than regular stuff like Tide, or just harsher than one would expect?

Also, how much baby shampoo to use? Our front-loader generates tons of suds from not very much detergent at all ... I'd hate to flood the house!

Is it a good idea to use baby shampoo on all delicates, not just bike stuff?

[Irulan]

Originally posted by bounceswoosh
Irulan said:



Is it harsher than regular stuff like Tide, or just harsher than one would expect?

Also, how much baby shampoo to use? Our front-loader generates tons of suds from not very much detergent at all ... I'd hate to flood the house!

Is it a good idea to use baby shampoo on all delicates, not just bike stuff?

Tide's pretty harsh. Stick your hand into the powder sometime and feel it burn your skin.

I can't answer about baby shampoo and a front loader. I typically use detergent for just about everything. I'd suggest playing with the manufacturer's guidelines for liquids.

If you choose to use a special delicates wash in lieu of regular laundry soap, I don't see why not, but it's looking like Imay need to do some more research to really get to the bottom of all this.

Here are some links to get started., good basics on the differences between soap and detergents and the other properties.


Me? I throw just about everything in the washer, varying cycle (delicate, etc) using a lingerie bag for small things, and line drying a lot.

Irulan
http://www.fabrics.net/clean.asp
http://www.fabrics.net/fabricca.asp