Care home - men's trousers that won't shrink in a hot wash.

[knittingaddict]

Does anyone know where I can buy men's trousers that won't get ruined in a hot wash?

My 90 year old dad went into a care home this year after a major stroke and now has a form of dementia. My mum also died in May.

When my brother and I visited this week all but 1 of his 4 trousers have shrunk and are too small for him. Obviously all the clothes go into a hot wash. I need some replacements urgently, but don't want to have a repeat.

Can anyone recommend easy care formal trousers (like suit trousers) which won't shrink? He would probably have another stroke if he had to wear casual trousers or jeans. 😀Are polyester trousers more shrink resistant?

Thanks for any help.

Man made fibres will be less likely to shrink than the formal wool blends that a gentleman of his age is likely to be used to.

Have a look at carehomeclothing.co.uk. I bought from them in the past.

That said, my experience is that everything gets pummelled to death in the laundry rooms, so even if it fits, it may not look so good.

We got dad tesco jogging bottoms. We were surprised that he took to them but were encouraged by staff to try them. I think the fact he could manage them himself for longer that he would have managed zips and buttons helped. And comfy for being in a chair alot.

I got my dad jogging bottoms too. Think the staff requested them.

There is no way that my dad would wear jogging bottoms. Not a chance. I don't think he should change his dress style, a style he has had all his life, to suit a care home. He's depressed enough as it is.

I saw some decent polyester trousers on a site that comes up a lot in searches, but the reviews for the company were terrible.

I will go to M and S this week and see if they have anything cheapish and man made.

Thanks for the replies.

I couldn't find carhomeclothing, unless it was the section in JJ fashions website. The only men's trousers were poly cotton and liable to shrink.

We bought from m&s for our family although we needed female clothing.
It does tend to get destroyed though and sometimes just goes astray.

This is horrible, it’s not that hard to separate stuff into 30degree and 60degree washes.
Just another stripping away of any sort of dignity!

If by a hot wash you mean 60C most.things would shrink a bit at that temperature.. Could you buy a size bigger? Hopefully they will be the right size after the first wash.

It seems fairly standard in all the care homes I have experience of. I agree with you though.

Bear with me here because it will sound a bit weird, but is your father of a size that would fit the largest school trousers?

I say this because my son's school trousers seem fairly indestructible, and go through the school laundry unscathed (so far!) - he has the easy dressing ones too, so they just pull up, but honestly you wouldn't be able to tell the difference, and they come in all the normal colours.

For man-made fabric, they're nice fabric too - very 'wool-look'

I think they do it on hygiene grounds - they need to be very careful not to spread disease around.

Cotton is less susceptible to shrinking than wool

You could try school trousers I suppose - formal and lots have elastic and adjustment buttons too so can be easier. They are pretty indestructible…

Try cotton traders

Yes cotton trousers , marks and Spencer’s a good bet - the sort of thing that used to come with the Blue Harbour label . Cotton traders a good shout too.

I searched online and found burlington -uniforms.co.uk
Looks like they specialise in corporate clothing but they have a section of clothing washable at 60 degrees , and the “ Mens Healthcare Trousers “ might be suitable, they have sewn-in front pleats, belt loops, zip fly etc . £15.95 per pair.
I must stress I have no personal experience of this company , just hope this may help.

I was reluctant to get my friend jogging bottoms. As he never ever wore them. So I do get the reluctance. But he was refusing to wear anything on his bottom half at all. (Including pads) So there was no other choice. He's much more comfortable in them than jeans or trousers.

@Yiayoula or Alexandra is another company to try.

Debenhams Maine and Manteray, cotton trousers I wash at 60c because OH is an engineer who tries to look smart but often ends up under machinery

@PortiasBiscuit some items have to be washed for sanitary reasons in a hotter wash. The experience I have is people want residents to keep their dignity as much as they can during very hard times. I’m sorry if you’ve had different experiences it must be awful xx

@Toddlerteaplease - oh yes, Alexandra Workwear !
They’re very local to me and have been around for donkeys’ years .

Apologies fir nit coming back sooner. Thank you so much for the suggestions. They look promising and I'll work my way through them.

"For not". Obviously. 🙄