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General washing and drying information
Sorting
Always sort loads for drying according to the type of fabric
(check the care labels) and how much you want to dry them.
Load items loosely into the drum. Do up zip fasteners and
tie loose ribbons, tapes or fabric belts. Close any tapes
or fasteners on duvet covers and pillow cases to prevent
smaller items from getting trapped inside.
Spinning (water extraction)
Loads should be well spun. We recommend that you use
a washing machine with a minimum spin speed of 800
rpm, or a separate spin-dryer (“Hydro-extractor”) if
available. The higher the spin speed, the faster your
tumble dryer will dry the load and the more energy-
efficient the whole process will be.
Even permanent press garments such as shirts should
be spun for 10 to 30 seconds before tumble drying.
Getting the load size right
An overloaded tumble dryer will cause creasing. Drying
loads which are too small is uneconomical.
Fluff
The first time you use the tumble dryer, you will probably
be surprised at the amount of fluff produced. This is
perfectly normal, and does not mean that your tumble
dryer is wearing out your clothes. When garments are
worn and washed by hand or machine, fibres and fluff
are released, but remain on the surface of the material.
If dried outdoors on a line these fibres will be blown away
by the wind. In a tumble dryer the fluff is collected in the
filter and accumulates through the drying process. This
is very significant to those who suffer from asthma or
allergies.
Shrinkage
Depending on their quality, tricot fabrics in particular vary
considerably in their tendency to shrink. To avoid
shrinking, garments should not be overdried. Where it
occurs, shrinkage can sometimes be rectified by
stretching. We recommend that you bear possible
shrinkage in mind when choosing the size of new tricot
garments.
Starched items
Laundry which has been starched can also be dried in a
tumble dryer. For best results you should choose a
drying time which ensures that the items are still slightly
damp, e.g. by following the recommendations to achieve
“damp dry (for ironing)”. After removing the load, wipe
the drum clean with a damp cloth. Then dry the drum to
remove any last traces of starch.
Items which should not be tumble dried
Items which are especially delicate, such as curtains of
synthetic fabric, woollen garments, silk, textiles with a
metal component, nylon socks/stockings. Garments made
mostly from foam rubber or rubber-like materials must
NOT
be dried in the tumble dryer.
Obviously, you must not dry garments in the
machine which are unsuitable for tumble
drying. These are usually labelled with this
symbol.
Garments which have been treated with
flammable liquids (benzine, alcohol, stain
removal products) should not be dried in the
tumble dryer on account of the risk of fire.
Always follow the recommendations of the
garment/item manufacturer.
Tumble drying beneficial
Dry flat
