Why Do Air-Dried Clothes Get Stiff?

<p>Irecently picked up my son&rsquo;s cotton shirt and was dismayed to find it felt hard, almost crunchy, in my hands.</p> <p>The shirt had been draped over my tub, air-drying after my son decided that playing in the bath was a perfect afternoon clothes-on activity. He had fun, but when I cleaned up later, his once-soft cotton shirt and pants had become stiff and hard.</p> <p>Why? Nothing had been added to them, no stains or substances. Why was the same fabric, once wonderfully soft, now hard and stiff?</p> <p>Solutions to the &ldquo;stiff clothes problem&rdquo; abound, from<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/4037hy/dryer_broke_so_we_air_dry_now_clothes_are_stiff/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">&nbsp;adding white vinegar</a>&nbsp;to your washer to using less soap. But the real answer to&nbsp;<strong>why</strong>&nbsp;is because your cotton clothes are made of a versatile material called&nbsp;<strong>cellulose</strong>.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/aha-science/why-do-air-dried-clothes-get-stiff-688a8abc37a1"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>