How do damp clothes dry at room temperature, and can you unshrink wool?

We explore the curious questions that science can answer

If the temperature is higher than 20C, more molecules will have enough energy to evaporate, and the clothes will dry more quickly (Getty/iStock)

How do damp clothes dry at room temperature?

Water molecules on the clothes are attracted to other water molecules and also to the molecules that make up the clothing. Each water molecule finds itself in a “sticky” environment, which makes it hard for it to escape into the air, but it does have enough energy to move, swapping positions with other water molecules.

Heat can be thought of as energy that molecules possess. The more heat, the greater the amount of energy they have, and the easier they find it to overcome the stickiness of their surroundings.