A Laundry Pro Reveals How Long You Can Really Leave Wet Clothes in the Washer
We've all done it before. One minute you're loading dirty clothes into the washing machine, the next you're finishing meal-prepping for the week, running to pick up the dry-cleaning and totally forgetting to move your clean clothes over to the dryer.
It happens to the best of us, even Good Housekeeping's very own resident cleaning pro, Home Care & Cleaning Lab Executive Director Carolyn Forté. But the question is, now what? Is it okay to let your clothes sit in the washer overnight? Do you need to rewash everything?
According to Forté, while forgetting wet laundry in the washer can be annoying, it isn't the end of the world. Even leaving your load overnight — that is, approximately eight to 10 hours — in the washer doesn't mean you automatically need to rewash everything with detergent. If it less than 10 hours, you can pop them in the dryer as you normally would. Or, if anything, Forté says you can always select a quick rinse and spin cycle to refresh things without running a whole wash again.
That said, there is such a thing as waiting too long to move your clothes over to the dryer.
"I would try not to let the load sit in the washer longer than overnight," Forté warns. "Otherwise, items on top could start to dry, and they’ll likely be stiff and hard instead of soft and fluffy and the whole load could start to smell a little stale."
Again, not a huge deal, though. If your clothes sit in the washer longer than overnight, regardless if they smell or feel stiff, it's best to do a quick rewash. Anytime you pick up a mildew scent from your load, Forté advises rewashing everything in a short cycle with detergent (look for the "Lightly Soiled" setting on your machine) to make sure all of your garments get properly cleaned.
The more you know!
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