Delicate cycle: This cycle uses the lowest temperature and the lowest tumble. Since delicate items and woolens should not be put in the dryer, we often use this setting for drying synthetics, lingerie, and other heat-sensitive everyday items.
Delicate is fine for lighter fabrics but anything heavy weight and absorbent like cotton, denim, towels, etc will take longer to dry and be much quicker on high/normal heat. Depends on how ``delicate'' your clothes are and what you're willing to trade on time and convenience vs longevity of your clothes.
Your best bet is to hang dry, but that's not always practical depending on your climate and living circumstances, so next best is to dry on low heat (some dryers have an ``air dry'' or ``line dry'' setting) for a short while, about 15 or 20 minutes depending on the size of the load, and then hang.
The delicate wash cycle uses high levels of cold water and a low spin speed for carefully tending to undergarments and delicate fabrics that need to be handled with care, like lace, lingerie, or silk neckties.
Avoiding heavy duty cycles, fast spins and high-heat drying can also prevent shrinkage. Use delicate cycles instead, and place delicate clothes in a mesh laundry bag for added protection. When drying, consider a low-heat or air dry setting. When in doubt, always follow the instructions on your garment's care tag.
A typical drying cycle takes about 45 minutes, but this time can vary depending on the cycle, heat setting and size of your load. Delicate cycles take roughly 15 minutes, while heavy cycles, like bedding, can take up to three hours to fully dry.
Not all dryers have a tumble or air dry option, but that doesn't mean you don't have options. Simply turn your dryer's temperature knob to “low heat.” If you can't find that setting, select “delicate” or “gentle” instead.
Delicate Dry Cycle
A dryer Delicate cycle is typically a tumble dry cycle that uses low heat. Low heat helps protect heat-sensitive fabrics from fraying, fading, shrinking, stretching and warping. Depending on the make and model of your dryer, the cycle may be labeled Delicate, Gentle or Tumble Dry Low.
Use delicate cycles for soft fabrics and heavy-duty settings for tougher stains. Water temperature affects cleaning power and energy use. Warm water is good for most clothes, while cooler temperatures protect delicate items. Extra options like extra rinse or steam clean can boost cleaning effectiveness.
“Although gentle cycles are necessary for fragile fabrics and items with delicate decorations, they won't do a good job cleaning heavily soiled clothing and bedding,” she explains.
The “permanent press” or “wrinkle-resistant” setting is a great choice for many of your everyday clothing items — from slacks and dresses to outerwear and jackets. This setting generates a medium heat. It will dry your clothes without inflicting the damage high heat can cause.
Recent research shows that new dryers use significantly less energy to dry most typical loads on low heat than on high heat, even though the dryer runs longer. If you aren't in a rush, let the clothes run longer on low heat. This will save energy and is gentler on clothes.
Vary the heat levels: Not every fabric should be dried using a hot setting. Excessively high heat contributes to shrinkage and over-drying clothing causes damage to fabrics. Never overload the dryer: Your clothes need room to tumble freely for efficient drying and to prevent wrinkles.
As a general rule, higher temperatures are best used for heavy items, like towels, jeans and jackets. Low to medium heat settings are ideal for sheets, blouses and undergarments, while no-heat settings are designed for heat-sensitive fabrics or garments containing rubber or plastic.
If your washer leaves clothes soaked, you may also need to check your cycle settings. Hand Wash or Delicate settings often use slower spin speeds to avoid harming fragile fabrics, leaving a standard wash load soaking wet.
Step 1: Mind the heat
When machine drying white clothes, it's important to use low-heat and delicate settings. High heat can cause stains and dirt to discolor even more. Excessive heat can even scorch your whites.
Warm washes (40°C) are best for items that have come into contact with body fluids, such as underwear. Wash such garments on warm temperatures with Ariel. Cold washes (15-30°C) should be used for lightly- to moderately-soiled daily items.
Choose Your Cycle Carefully
“A good general rule of thumb is to stick to cold and delicate cycles,” says LaLonde. “Cold cycles are the way to go to prevent shrinking. Most fabrics are much more susceptible to shrinking when exposed to high heats.”
Warm: Warm settings generally fall between 90 degrees and 110 degrees Fahrenheit and work well when dealing with lightly stained fabrics. Cold: Colder temperatures between 60 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit tend to be perfect for more delicate items of clothing.
Delicates: Low heat, so drying time will be longer. It is best to use this setting to use for delicate fabrics. Permanent Press: Medium heat while drying and is best used for colored fabrics. Air Fluff: Not used for drying.
Delicate Fabrics (silk, lace, sheer net)
Just as spandex requires special attention, delicate fabrics like silk, lace, and sheer net demand even more care. These materials are vulnerable to heat damage which makes tossing them into a dryer a risky move.
A very high heat may damage the elastic on the fitted sheets and cause unnecessary shrinkage. For more delicate fabrics like silk try the delicate or gentle cycle. Some dryers offer a cool down feature to help reduce wrinkles.
'Use the delicate setting on your tumble dryer on delicate fabrics such as silk, wool, lace, chiffon, etc,' says dry cleaning professional Dean Davies of Fantastic Services. It's used for fabrics that are loosely woven and items that have sequins, beading, or iron-on decals.
A low-heat dryer setting will slowly shrink the garment with less risk of damage than high heat. Aggressively agitating wet wool on high heat can also lead to felting. Set the machine to a 30-minute timer. Check the garment every five minutes to monitor how much it shrinks.