I don’t know about you but there’s nothing more annoying to me than pulling my favorite pair of jeans out of the wash and finding strange ripples all over them. Like, what happened in there? Were they battling for their lives in the spin cycle? It’s the annoying part because they fit perfectly one moment, and in the blink of an eye, they are knotted on your body like some washing machine was chewing you up and spitting you out. If you’ve ever had questions about jeans, funny wrinkles and ripples, this article is for you.
And this isn’t any old fabric malfunction. There’s a reason why it happens — several, actually. Almost all popular jeans today are woven with some stretch, which helps with comfort but also makes them easier to damage. The biggest culprit? Heat. But the dryer is not solely to blame. How you wash, dry and even store your jeans can be a game changer.
So, if you’ve ever stood there, staring at your formerly-smooth jeans and asking yourself where did things go wrong, you’re in the right spot. Let’s break it all down.
Why Do Jeans Ripple, Pucker or Wrinkle in the Wash?
After ruining more than one pair of jeans, I did some digging to find out what’s really going on. It turns out, those fibers are doing a lot when they go for a spin in the washer and dryer.
Heat Deteriorates the Lycra in Your Jeans
(These days, most jeans aren’t 100 percent cotton.) And they often have a bit of Lycra (or elastane) blended in so they have just the right amount of stretch. But here is the problem: Lycra doesn’t like heat. In fact, it kind of hates it.
At high temps in the washer or dryer, Lycra begins to degrade. When that happens, the denim surrounding it begins to warp, as well. And that’s why you’re going to see those ripples or puckering in random spots, rather than an overall shrinkage, as is the case with cotton. After Lycra has lost its elasticity there’s really no turning back.
Washing jeans excessively also deteriorates the fibers over time. And for some reason, most of us are washing them far more than we need to. In fact, experts recommend washing jeans much less often than you’d think, because overwashing can compromise their longevity.
The Washer is Twisting Then Stretching the Fabric
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