Tale of the shrinking sweater
27 February 1998What to do when disaster strikes? Richard Neale of the Drycleaning Technology Centre opens his problem files and offers some solutions.
Problem: Shrinkage of the sweater, which is made from 90% acrylic, 7% cotton and 3% nylon.
Cause: This garment carries the symbol for normal drycleaning (P in a circle with no bar beneath). If it was drycleaned on a normal process with the air-out thermostat set to 60°C, then shrinkage would be a consequence. Acrylic fibres need a reduced temperature process with the air outlet temperature set to 50°C maximum.
Responsibility: The care label in this garment is incorrect and shrinkage would usually follow if the cleaner took the care symbol at face value. The responsibility lies with the garment maker for what is a very basic labelling error.
Rectification: Stretching in steam usually produces a worse result. This garment cannot be salvaged.
