Hockey socks in the dryer?

[Fremitus Borealis]

I'll just go ahead and ask this here. So my team just got new AK (Athletic Knit) hockey socks, but I notice on the label it says to let them air dry, whereas our old CCM ones had the good old "tumble dry low" on the tag. The question is, what's the worst thing that might happen if I did stick them in the dryer? If "shrinking" is the answer, I might be okay with that, since they're a good 2" longer than our old ones, and for shorter guys like me that's actually a "problem". I just don't want to put the new ones in the dryer and have them, I dunno, unravel or something crazy.

 

[cptjeff]

Might exacerbate runs or something, but they're not going to shrink. Don't think I've ever actually looked at the care label on my hockey socks though, just regular wash, regular dry. It's always been fine, those labels are always overly conservative.

 

[Fremitus Borealis]

Yeah, fair enough. Just didn't want to inadvertently ruin these ones and then scramble to find the same pattern elsewhere before our next game.

 

[scottpony]

Ditto on the regular dry stuff, I've never had issues with the old socks or new tech socks. Only thing is when a dryer sheet accidentally gets tossed in, or other softener, which can be frustrating on the taping front.

 

[Caeldan]

I've noticed pretty much all the 'dry fit' type active wear tends to say hang/air/lay flat to dry.

I've run athletic socks through but generally keep any of the compression type materials out of the dryer - have seen the socks get a little more 'scratchy' over time, but I do have a dryer sheet in with the entire load.

 

[theotis77]

I've never had an issue running ether dryfit or traditional knit socks through the dryer. I dry it on low heat and/or permanent press mode.