How To Shrink Polyester Bedding

Need to learn how to shrink polyester bedding? Are your blankets, duvet covers and throws big enough to make a tent out of? Unlike cotton that shrinks easily, to shrink polyester bedding you must immerse the fabric in water over 180 degrees Fahrenheit, virtually cooking your polyester bedding in close to boiling water. If you have an industrial washing machine that can accommodate bulky items, you can wash your polyester bedding in the hottest cycle. But if a giant blanket or duvet will not fit in your washer, you can shrink polyester bedding in a large container like a bathtub, wheelbarrow or trashcan following these steps.

What you’ll need to shrink polyester bedding:

• 2 pairs of rubber gloves
• Large pots to boil water
• Giant container that will not warp with boiling water
• Container lid or plastic tarp
• Portable smaller container
• Broom stick
• Clothesline wire

1. Boil water. Place large pots on your stove and boil as much water as you can. Keep the pots covered to speed up boiling, and wear one pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands from splashing and the handles of the pots which will likely heat up. To shrink polyester bedding you must work at high temperatures for a long duration and even if your hands adjust well to the heat at first, they are likely to scold over time. If heat penetrates through the gloves, wear two pairs over each other.
2. Soak your polyester bedding. Place your polyester bedding  in a large container or bathtub and pour the boiling water over it. To shrink polyester bedding as quickly as possible cover the bedding with a plastic tarp or lower the lid over the container. This will keep the heat locked in the fabric while you boil a second round of water in the pots.
3. Add boiling water. Once the water boils again, remove the tarp or lid and pour the boiling water over the polyester bedding. Use the broom stick to stir the fabric a little and mix the hotter water with the earlier, slightly cooled water. To shrink polyester bedding water temperature must stay close to boiling, so immediately boil more water again and minimize the time you leave the bedding uncovered.
4. Prepare a sturdy clothesline. If your polyester bedding is too big for shrinking in your washing machine it will also be too big and heavy for the drum in your clothes dryer. Tie a double clothesline between two trees outside, wrapping the rope around each tree trunk just over a branch. The branch will prevent the clothesline from slipping under the weight of the drying polyester bedding.
5. How long does it take to shrink polyester bedding? Keep the polyester bedding in boiling water for at least fifteen minutes. The longer the polyester bedding stays immersed in heat the more it will shrink. However, once water temperatures drop below 180 degrees Fahrenheit, you will no longer be able to shrink the polyester bedding further. Therefore, after half an hour you can take the polyester bedding out for drying.
6. Dry the polyester bedding. Do not attempt to wring the polyester bedding with your gloved hands for fear of scolding. Have someone help you transfer the soaking bedding into a portable container to bring the bedding outside. Hang the blankets or duvets to drip dry on the clothesline. 

Tip:  because blankets and duvets are bulky and heavy, it’s best to shrink polyester bedding when the weather is dry, so you can hang the soaking bedding outside. Alternatively, tie your clothesline between two beams of a covered structure, and hammer nails below the clothesline to keep it from slipping.