Forgot laundry in the washing machine: And now?
Freshly washed, soft and fragrant laundry: That’s what most people look forward to when they take their clothes out of the washing machine. But in the stress of everyday life, even the best of us can forget the laundry in the washing machine. Whether it can be washed again or dried directly depends on various factors. We’ll tell you what to do if you’ve accidentally left your wet laundry in the machine.
11 December 2023 • 4 min reading time
Forgot your laundry? Don't worry! Find useful tips here.
Whether your laundry is still fresh or already contaminated depends mainly on how long you have left it in the washing machine. Up to 2 hours should not be a problem – provided your washing machine was clean and germ-free beforehand. And even if you forgot the laundry in the washing machine overnight, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s already full of bacteria.
To check the freshness of your laundry, you should always do the odour test. If you deliberately leave your clothes in the washing machine – for example, because you can’t manage to hang them up before work – open the machine. Or even better: Put the wet laundry in the laundry basket. This ensures better air circulation and prevents the clothes from lying in the warm, damp, closed washing machine. This would quickly lead to the formation of bacteria and mould.
There are situations in which we simply don’t think about our laundry and forget it in the machine. However, this doesn’t mean that we have to dispose of them immediately afterwards. An important indicator to determine whether your laundry is still fresh is the odour test. If you laundry already smells musty, germs and bacteria have accumulated. Any mould spores would be harmful to health, which is why laundry should not simply be hung up to dry. We’ll now tell you what helps instead and which household remedies will make your laundry fresh and clean again.
If your laundry still smells fresh after you’ve left it in the washing machine, that’s a good sign. Bacteria and germs have not yet been able to spread and you can dry your laundry. You should do it as soon as possible, because while your laundry is still wet, it can continue to form bacteria. It’s therefore best to hang them in a place with low humidity so that they dry as quickly as possible. If the laundry still smells afterwards, you will unfortunately have to wash it again as described in the next step.
If available, you can also dry your laundry in the tumble dryer. Not only does the heat ensure that any remaining germs are killed, but it also makes your laundry crease-free. If you don’t have a tumble dryer, you should at least shake the clothes out well and wash them again in the rinse cycle of your washing machine. This will at least remove the worst creases that have formed while the laundry was in the washing machine.
If your laundry starts to smell after a few hours in the washing machine, there is no other choice than to wash it again – preferably at the highest possible temperatures. While socks, towels, cotton pants and the like can generally be washed at 60 °C, sometimes even at 90 °C, other items of clothing can often only be washed at temperatures of up to 40 °C.
If this is the case, you should always add a cup of white vinegar or hygiene detergent to the machine. This ensures that all bacteria and odours are removed without leaving any residue. If the laundry still smells, repeat the process.
If your laundry is germ-free, it’s time to dry it quickly. Also, never put your laundry in the wardrobe with residual moisture after drying, as this encourages mould growth. You may have noticed this unpleasant odour in bed linens before. It usually takes a particularly long time to dry and is therefore often put away in the cupboard to early.
Once your laundry is fresh again, one thing is often forgotten: the washing machine. Germs from forgotten laundry can also build up here and cause mould to develop – especially on rubber seals and in hoses. To prevent this from happening, you should always leave your washing machine open – both the doors and the detergent compartment. This ensures air circulation and prevents mould.
After you forgot your laundry in the washing machine, an extra cleaning cycle is also required. The best way to do this is to use washing machine cleaner, which you can buy in the drugstore especially for this purpose. With this agent or a dishwasher tab, your washing machine should now run an empty boil wash cycle, i.e. at 90 °C, to be hygienically cleaned again. You can also wipe rubber seals and others with vinegar cleaner. You should repeat this procedure every three to six months to increase the service life of your washing machine.
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