If you are the type of person who gets distracted when washing clothes, pay close attention: there are fabrics that require special care when washing. It is very common to see, in comedy movies, confused actors washing clothes and then suddenly removing the miniature clothes from the machine, as in the figure below:
What doesn't seem to have a real background is based on a property of fabrics. Wool, for example, often used for making winter coats, reacts very well to being washed in cold water, but if you wash it in hot water, you will have a surprise: Honey, I shrunk my coat! She just shrinks all over.
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The fact that wool is reduced in washing has a scientific basis, in fact, everything is explained by the composition of the fabric. Wool is made of scaly fibers, its surface is filled with tiny, highly absorbent holes. At normal temperature, the fibers do not move, but if the wash water is hot, the fabric scales can stick together and, when drying, remain the same. The result is a tangle of wool, the surfaces with holes are fixed and the garment is much smaller than in its original state.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Brazil School Team
Chemistry Curiosities - Chemistry - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Líria Alves de. "Honey, I shrunk my coat!"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/querida-encolhi-casaco.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
