Tag Archives: t-shirt drying

The Fastest Way to Dry a Shirt Without Using a Dryer

People use dryers because they are so fast and convenient. While drying clothes used to take up a lot of time for people before dryers were commonly available, today it takes one to two hours for a load to become dry in a clothes dryer. However, there are a number of times when people don’t wish to use a dryer. For some fabrics, it isn’t an option because of the risk of damaging the item of clothing. For t-shirts, there are many times when you need one dried as quickly as possible and you don’t have a drier available. That’s when you have to try and recreate some of what makes the drier work- heat and the movement of air.

There are a number of ways to dry clothes without using a dryer, though none will be as fast as using one. Perhaps the fastest way to dry a shirt without a dryer is to hang up the t-shirt and to allow it to be blown by a fan. Something that is blowing air across the shirt will dry it far faster than simply hanging the t-shirt up to dry and letting it drip dry on its own. Some people lay their shirt on a radiator, but the heat alone won’t dry it quickly. If you can point a fan at the radiator, the t-shirt will get both the air and the heat it needs to dry quickly.

The movement of air can be utilized in other ways as well if a fan is not available. An air register can be used in place of a fan, or the shirt may even be hung on a ceiling fan. Many people use outdoor wind power to dry their clothes. If you have a clothes line or a place to hang an item of clothing outdoors, this will be the fastest way to dry the clothing if it is a sunny day with a breeze. If the day is overcast or it is late in the evening, it will take considerably longer to dry the shirt with this method.

Even without a windy day, direct sunlight will be a quick way to dry the clothing. The sun will dry a shirt almost as quickly as a fan or an air register. If you are still wearing the shirt and it would be difficult to take it off to dry it, try keeping it on and staying out in the sunlight. If you remain in direct sunlight, you will be able to dry the shirt much more quickly than if you laid the shirt flat to dry or hung it up to drip dry. Many people find sun-drying to be the easiest quick method, even if it isn’t quite as fast as using a fan.

If you have a fan outdoors, you can keep the shirt in the sunlight while allowing it to be blown by the fan. This gives the t-shirt the best of all the fast-drying methods- sunlight, heat and moving air.

How to Make Your T-Shirt Soft

T-shirts are so popular because they are comfortable, easy to wear and are likely one of the softest items of clothing you own. The soft, combed cotton that is used for t-shirt has a feel that is unlike any other. There are some types of clothing care, however, that can take away some of that softness. If your t-shirts are starting to feel a little stiff or if you just want to make sure that they never end up feeling that way, there are several ways to take care of it and ensure a softer t-shirt.

Fabric Softener

Using a fabric softener may seem like a simple thing, but there are an enormous number of ways to use it. There are the well-known dryer sheets that can be added to the dryer along with the wet clothes, but there are a number of other types. There are fabric softener balls that are added to the washer. These balls add a liquid fabric softener into the wash at the right time. Another way to use fabric softener is to pour in a liquid type that is poured in during the rinse cycle.

Drying

The key to the softness of any item of clothing is usually the way it has been dried. Line drying a t-shirt will leave it far stiffer than putting it through a dryer cycle. Many people choose to use line drying anyway because of the energy savings or the cost of a dryer. Some simply prefer the way clothing smells after it has been line dried. If you like line-drying your t-shirts, try using a quick 5-minute drying cycle after the t-shirts are mostly dry. This will result in a t-shirt that has still saved energy and still has the smell of line-dried clothing, but it will have the soft feel of t-shirts that have been dried in a dryer.

Softening the Water

If your clothes aren’t getting softener, it may the water itself that needs softened. If you have hard water, it can take a serious toll on your clothing every time it’s washed. To soften the water, add a little bit of vinegar into the washer during the rinse cycle. Some people also use two rinse cycles when washing their clothes to ensure that all of the soap has been removed and to make sure that the vinegar is having an impact on the t-shirts.

To make sure that any t-shirt doesn’t get hard again, also make an effort to keep it clean. Some t-shirts may harden when they are left dirty for long periods of time. Sweat, body oils, dirt, deodorant and other substances can harden the fabric if they are left on it for too long. Wash t-shirts as they become dirty and then make sure to take a step or two to ensure that the wash will lead to softer t-shirts. This will ensure that the comfort of a brand-new t-shirt goes on and on, even when the t-shirt has been worn and washed many times.