Will a heated Laundry Dryer shrink cotton clothes?

[Belinea]

So I bit the bullet and purchased a Lakeland Dry:Soon 3-Tier Heated Airer + Cover bundle in thier Black Friday Sale.

A lot of the family clothes are 100% cotton such as T-Shirts, Trousers, work Shirts, Flannel Shirts and so on and they can't be dried in a tumble dryer even on Low setting as they do shrink (as I found out).

Can these be safely dried on this Lakeland?

I have not been able to find out on google what kind of temperatures are reached inside (with or without a cover) and most of the care labels say dont wash above 30 so I am nervous now.

Many thanks

I’ve never had a problem with anything I’ve hung on mine.

Nothing has shrunk on ours. We don't have a cover and use a sheet over the top. Any dry flat jumpers I normally put over this so that they don't sit directly on the heated bars. They're still dry in a day.

No shrinking in my experience. The heated rails don't get hot, only warm.

Cotton doesn't felt in the same way wool does, but the fibres can tighten up with the washing and tumbling. If a cotton item shrinks you can stretch it out again, if wool shrinks it's done forever. So a heated drying rail should be fine.

You can shrink cotton? I dry cotton on radiators and it's all fine.

I've also not noticed cotton shrinking but you've got me wondering now 🤔

Cotton fibres are stretched when being woven into fabric. They then "relax" again when they are washed the first time, which tightens the weave and effectively shrinks the cloth. Cotton can be pre-washed before the garment/item is stitched to reduce shrinking and make sure seams stay where they are stiched etc. Some cotton might not be, flat sheets can be a bugger for it and can shrink significantly when you first wash them. Once the item is relaxed (shrunk) after manufacture there should be minimal shrinkage that is reversible.

Heat dries the fibres out, so again they pull tighter together. Ever noticed your jeans feel snug after a wash and tumble dry, then go baggy after wearing? The fibres are regaining moisture and relax again.

Thanks everyone.

I am going to try it out tonight for the first time.

I have this heated airer and a tumble dryer. I bought the heated airer because I was sick of things shrinking in said tumble dryer and the price of running it nowadays!

I haven't used my tumble dryer since getting it! I'm actually at a point now where I think I will bite the bullet and sell it! Nothing has been shrunk that normally would have.

I know an old thread but do people generally think these are worth it? Want to move away from my tumble dryer but they are expensive. Tyia

Never had any shrinkage, ever.