Caring for clothes

[MrPahoehoe]

My clothes don't seem to last very long before becoming relatively stretched and shapeless. This could very well by how I wear them that causes this, but could it be anything to do with how I treat them? For instance maybe over-washing (maybe I am slightly guilty of this), I never iron clothes, just usually let them dry hanging up, or even washing on the wrong temperature? Its not like a buy overly tight clothes or anything.

For instance i bought a T-shirt a couple of weeks now and have washed & worn it twice and it is already starting to look stretched, ie. wider when it is hanging up. I do slouch more than I should, but it definitely isn't too small for me.

[Sammy Snake]

Are you washing them at the correct temperature?

[meltoadhall]

are you buying a decent quality,? cheap clothes do not last as long. but if they are worth the hazzle and good quality then take them back to the shop. if you are folowing the washing instructions to the letter then they should replace them as the batch may be faulty.
how you sit/stand shouldnt make any difference

[spudqueen]

Some t-shirts need to be hung up on the line underneath the arms, so it is almost folded in half over the line. I have had t-shirts which have stretched by pegging them at the bottom.

[pingu748]

What are they made from ?
What do you use as a detergent ?
Describe the label symbols ...?

Will see what I can do for you ...

[MrPahoehoe]

The t-shirt in question is a pretty decent make: free spirit, wasn't exactly cheap, although it wasn't particularly expensive. Says 40 degree wash, not sure but I might have washed it at 30, but definitely not more than 40. Says iron with 2 dots, but i didn't bother ironing it. It says not to dry clean, bleach or tumble dry, which I didn't. The text says "wash inside out, wash deep colours separately, reshape whilst damp & hang to dry", all of which i think i followed: once the wash cycle finished it was hung on a normal clothes hanger till dry. Label also says its made from 100% cotton. I used just a supermarket own brand non-biological washing tablets: two in a full load.

The only thing i didn't follow was the ironing, which i didn't bother with (don't mind a few creases ;-) ), could that have caused it? I've now washed it 2 or 3 times and maybe worn it 3 or 4 times (had a clean clothes emergency the week before, in my defence it was only worn for a couple of hours each time). i wore it on saturday and i asked someone how old they thought the t-shirt was: they said 3 years!

i might take it back, but this has happened to me a few times so i'm thinking that it might be something to do with how i wear clothes because i'm sure i treat them correctly.

Thanks for the responses so far!

[pingu748]

seems like your doing everything you should right ... ironing only has an effect on presentation, not life so no worries there ... only thing I can think of is that you stretch it to get it on ( over the head ) ... apart from that I give up !

[BBWCHATT]

100% cotton - unless it is the super expensive kind - has a tendency to do that no matter how carefully you treat it.

[MrPahoehoe]

yeah, i'd expect cotton to go like that eventually, but after wearing it 3 times ?!?