Can Borax shrink clothes?

Question

Let me just say that I personally have no reason to believe it does, however, my husband is insisting that a pair of his Dockers that fit last week now no longer do. I changed nothing in the laundry process except that I started using Borax because the hard water we have here. He made sure he didn't have an older pair by mistake, and says the measurements match the pair he put on for work after the shrunken pair didn't fit (in case you were thinking what I did, since the identical pair fit, I guess it wasn't just him).

Anyway, he's been tetchy about the Borax since I bought it... "Isn't Borax a poison?" so that's the first thing he thought of. I just want to know what did make them shrink so that I can keep using it and hopefully get the towels soft enough that they won't stand up by themselves. I can't tolerate ammonia scented laundry, so never mind that option.

starshadow7@sbcglobal.net · Accepted Answer

Borax is a great laundry additive.  It helps boost the cleaning power of any detergent.  If your husband is worried about it being poison, tell him not to eat it.

It actually helps save your fabrics.   Even the low concentrations of chlorine bleach encountered in domestic water supplies can, over many washes, cause significant fading of colored fabrics and actually damage fabrics. Borax can neutralize that problem.

This site has tons of information about borax, it's properties, bleaching effects, sanitization & more.  Check it out.
http://www.borax.com/detergents/laundrycare.html

If you washed & dried the clothes exactly the same way, either the fridg caused his pants to shrink, or the thermostat in your dryer is letting it get a little warmer.  Keep an eye on this possibility.  My Mom had some clothes shrink significantly because of this.   I mean knit fabrics shrinking to the size for an eight year old.  It was actually funny once you got past the whole ruining an entire load of clothes.

crabbyquestion · Answer

It's not the Borax. Detergent will not cause shrinking. Heat causes shrinking - wash water, dryer or microwave meals. I liked the point about the dryer thermostat - good to check out.

Anonymous · Answer

It's not the borax.  There are flaws in material that will cause one item to shrink and not the other.  It just happened.  The Dockers did it because of the age or material or whatever.  You, nor he had anything to do with it.

cheezy · Answer

all borax does is soften the water & boost the cleaning power of detergent. it doesn't shrink clothes. hot water or too high of heat in the dryer shrink clothes.
 Is he sure he hasn't put on a bit of weight??

anna · Answer

Borax (boric acid) is indeed poison, but so is bleach. And a lot of cleaning products. 

I once remarked to my husband that my sweats must have shrunk in the dryer. He gave me "that look" and said, "No, honey, I think you'll find they shrank in the fridge!"

I think his diet might just have something more to do with the shrinkage than the borax. Yeah, you feed him good healthy stuff--but what does he eat at work when you can't see him?

Can Borax shrink clothes?

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