Looking at the care label inside your clothing can be more confusing than helpful. To make sure you do not shrink or ruin your clothing garment, let me tell you what tumble dry low means.
What Does Tumble Dry Low Mean?
“Tumble dry low” means you should use a low heat setting when drying clothes in a tumble dryer machine.
1. Tumble dry
Tumble dry indicates that the garment can be dried in a machine dryer rather than air-dried or hung to dry. Tumble drying involves placing the clothing in a rotating drum where warm air circulates to evaporate moisture.
2. Low heat setting
The “low” refers to the heat level used during drying. Tumble dryers usually have multiple heat settings, including low, medium, and high. In this case, “tumble dry low” suggests using the lowest heat setting available on your dryer.
The purpose of specifying “tumble dry low” is to protect delicate or sensitive fabrics from excessive heat exposure, which can lead to shrinkage, damage, or the deterioration of certain materials. By using a low heat setting, you can reduce the risk of causing harm to the item being dried.
The other instructions that are commonly found on a care label are:
It’s important to note that some clothing may have different care instructions based on their fabric or construction. Always refer to the garment’s care label for specific guidelines, as other fabrics may require different drying methods or even prohibit using a dryer altogether.
FAQ
No, tumble dry low is not the same as no heat. When choosing the tumble dry low setting, a tiny amount of heat is still added to the clothes as they spin in the dryer.
There is no big difference; they are essentially the same as both use a lower heat setting to ensure that clothes are not damaged.
Yes, ‘do not tumble dry’ means you should not put the clothes into the dryer and air dry them instead but hang drying or laying flat to dry.
