This is a quick reminder to not forget to do your laundry today. This is also another quick reminder that not everything is washing-machine-and-dryer friendly.
To save you the trouble of finding that out for yourself, the lovely folks at Bored Panda have compiled this listicle to showcase all the nightmarish things that can happen if you don’t watch what you’re throwing into the wash. Or just nightmarish things that can happen, period. Washing machines do be evil like that sometimes.
#1 This Is What Happens When You Don't Separate Your Colors And Whites
Image credits: t.r.a.shh
#2 Our Washer Decided To Become A Smoke Machine
Image credits: Linolas9
#3 There Were 12 Minutes Left In The Washing Cycle When I Saw This
Image credits: No-Self7717
So, a lot of things can happen in a washing machine if you don’t know what you’re doing. Hopefully, more often than not, the washing machine goes through the entire cycle without you needing to pick up the pieces of whatever that was left inside afterwards (or whatever that is left of the appliance in general).
But to kick off the list, don’t put anything into the washing machine that quite literally isn’t clothing or fabric. And even that comes with its own asterisks.
#4 Freaking Cat Shut Off The Washing Machine Mid-Cycle
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#5 My Grandmother Accidentally Put One Of Her Leather Gloves In The Washing Machine
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#6 This Is Why I Can’t Have Nice Things. Two-Week-Old Oversized Jumper Now Fits My Two-Year-Old Because I Accidentally Washed It In The Machine
Image credits: thekatelawler
A quick-list of things to avoid putting into a conventional washing machine, that still fits the concept of clothing: suits, embellished clothing, clothes with zippers and buttons, swimsuits and bras, baby socks, throw blankets, sneakers with leather, clothes covered in pet hair, sweaters made out of delicate materials, lace garments, ties and memory foam pillows, just to name a few.
#7 I Don't Think I Had To Wash That
Image credits: BugsyShort
#8 The Soap Jug Fell To The Floor In The Laundry Room
Image credits: LemonLawsforPeople
#9 My Cat Knocked Over 2 Gallons Of Laundry Detergent Onto The Floor While I Was At Work (My Floor Is Not Blue, It’s White)
Image credits: Cadyus
If some of these seem a bit strange, or you have been doing it with zero repercussions, then note that it depends. Suits, embellished clothes, and laced garments might seem like a no-brainer, but why are some of the others in this list? They’re there to serve as a warning.
Clothes with zippers and buttons are fine, as long as there is not delicate clothing in the same wash as zippers are notoriously predatory pieces of fastening and can rip thin materials into shreds. And that’s a whole other can of beans that won’t come out in the wash.
#10 Don’t Wash A Blanket With A Fitted Sheet. Still Suffering From PTSD From The Sound
Image credits: DocMock
#11 My Mom Washed My Favorite Sweater
Image credits: PhilEshaDeLox
#12 Putting These Shoes In The Dryer Was A Bad Idea
Image credits: Bmchris44
Baby socks, like many other tiny clothes, can easily get sucked into the innards of the washing machine; bikinis and anything with elastic can become less elastic really quickly; bras can get hooked on internal washing machine parts easily; many blankets are surprisingly dry wash only, so watch the tag; pet hair can quickly suffocate your washing machine; leather accents often peel off of clothes (and then get gobbled up by the crevices of the drum), and things like sweaters made of wool, velvet or cashmere demand delicacy in general—just hand-wash them.
#13 Washing Machine Decided To Eat Itself
Image credits: nomaddd79
#14 Put Our Clothes In The Communal Dryer. They Came Out With Someone’s Dog Hair On Everything
Image credits: CheekyLilKunt
#15 Putting Towels Covered In Dish Washing Liquid Into A Washing Machine Was A Bad Idea
Image credits: WitotU
Washing machines function very similarly to humans in the sense that everything has to be done in moderation. Hence, too little or too much laundry detergent or soap might lead to disappointing washing results. Since a lot of the machine’s cleaning efficiency depends on clothes rubbing against each other, too much soap might reduce friction to a degree where it doesn’t really clean itself. And too little detergent is self-explanatory.
#16 My Wife Left A Pen In Her Pants' Pocket
Image credits: Crrrrraig
#17 My Amazing Boyfriend Tried To Help Out By Putting The Wet Blackout Curtains In The Dryer On High. I Love Him
Image credits: TheCatWranglerX
#18 Shrunk My Favorite Top But There Was A Silver Lining
Image credits: Far-Ad3429
Besides that, too much detergent, yet not enough water to rinse it off in the end might also lead to skin irritation while wearing the clothes. It might even lead to dermatitis.
Oh, and, apparently, too much detergent might also mean your clothes might smell bad in the end. How? If there’s not enough water to rinse it off, that means both the detergent and whatever odor-causing bacteria that’s present there won’t come off. So, that nasty stain you got there on your sweater might become even nastier without you really noticing it.
#19 Accidentally Forgot My Fiancée’s Favorite Stuffed Animal In The Clothes While Doing Laundry, I’m In For A Rough Night
Image credits: _BARONVOND3LTA
#20 Received On March 13th. Washed And Dried On March 17th. Fastest $205 I've Ever Lost
Image credits: CatDadMilhouse
#21 My Daughter Used Markers To Put “Makeup” On Her Dolls. I Tried To Wash Them. Cinderella Had An Especially Rough Night
Image credits: stephidabefida5
But that’s just one side of the coin—the washing machine wants some love and care too.
To finish off with the previous point of too much detergent, using the right detergent and less of it is also key to keeping the washing machine healthy. Modern detergents are designed for modern machines, which use less water with higher efficiency. Otherwise, there’s going to be a lot of suds out there.
#22 My Wife Said She Had Something Crazy To Show Me After We Ate Lunch
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#23 Guess Who Forgot Car Keys In The Jeans' Pocket... On A Laundry Day
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#24 My Mom Has This Hanging Above The Dryer In Her Laundry Room
Image credits: Sn34kyMofo
Besides that, keeping the washing machine level means it’s not gonna lose balance and go for a stroll. Or collapse altogether.
Regularly inspecting the water-fill hoses for cracks, cleaning the dispenser drawer and the lint filter of any suds and lint buildup, and preventing mold by doing a drum clean cycle every month are key to a healthy washing machine. Otherwise, the smell is going to be the least of your concern.
#25 Over Two Months Of Laundry Has Generated Thirty Two Unmatched Socks. How?
Image credits: colemanjanuary
#26 My Clothes Were Ripped To Shreds Because The Laundry Machine Shattered
Image credits: Buzzy009
#27 Let’s Just Say That We Ended Up With Very Clean Laundry Room Floor. And Yes, I’m An Idiot
Image credits: lyricmeowmeow
But if you take care of your machinery and need a different takeaway from this listicle, why not throw these fun washing machine facts in casual conversation:
The first commercially-available washing machine for regular Joes in the U.S. was called Thor and it was released in 1908; the first ever washing machine was rolled out in the 1760s and it was basically a manual-rotation wooden box; it took 4 decades of innovation to reduce water consumption per cycle from 181 liters to just 45.
#28 My Neighbor Is Doing Some Laundry
Image credits: Tom-o-matic
#29 Somehow Chucked A Dirty Nappy In The Washing Machine This Morning
Image credits: couldntdecidemyname
Have any washing machine nightmares of your own (whether it was just a dream or you experienced it firsthand)? Share your stories in the comment section below!
But if you haven’t had your fill of washing machine campfire horror stories, you can always jump into the Bored Panda rabbit hole to see another disastrous laundry listicle.
#30 Tried To Wash My Pillows. They Exploded And Filled My Washing Machine With Sticky Blue And Green Pillow Fluff
Image credits: reddit.com
#31 David Bowie Cushion And Dog Blanket In Washing Machine
Image credits: Douglasqqq
#32 Did The Laundry Today. Dryer Caught On Fire 30 Minutes Later
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#33 I Can’t Do My Laundry At My Apartment Because The Internet Is Down
Image credits: Hot_Local_Single
#34 Doing Laundry Is Exhausting
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#35 Anyone Else Have To Remove Their Washer Agitator Because They Washed A New Box Of Staples, Or Is It Just Me?
Image credits: kungfoofighter80
#36 I Washed A Blanket With My Clothes And It Basically Disintegrated
Image credits: NikkiThunderdik
#37 Forgetting To Remove Paper From Your Pocket Before Doing The Laundry
Image credits: reddit.com
#38 A Brand New Full-Size Spiral Notebook In A Load Of Darks (Pic Taken After 2nd Wash)
Image credits: LoIIip0p
#39 Guess I Didn’t Need To Watch TV Tonight
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#40 When Your Husband Does The Laundry. Those Used To Be Pacs
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#41 Found This In The Washing Machine In My Building
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#42 Missed My Pocket Knife In The Laundry
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#43 I've Accidentally Shrunk My Husband's Jacket. Husband For Scale
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#44 Accidentally Washed A Beanie My Aunt Gave Me For Christmas. Those Tiny Yarn Strands Are Everywhere
Image credits: TheBeanAndTheBug
#45 Somehow Put "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Pt. 1" Into The Washer With My Clothes. Now Everything's Covered In Pulp And I Lost A Good Read
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#46 Our Dryer Was Making A Strange Noise. My Mom Took It Apart And Collected The Contents
Image credits: THORneedsANOTHER
#47 6 Pieces Of Clothing Knotting In The Dryer
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#48 Half Of These Pants Shrunk In The Wash
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#49 Love This For Me
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#50 My Wife Opened A Washing Machine Full Of Towels And Found It Just Like This After The Cycle
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#51 It’s Raining Inside. Washing Machine Drain Hose Detached Somehow And Flooded Both Bathrooms
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#52 Boyfriend Tried To Wash A Pillow
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#53 I Accidentally Washed $10
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#54 My New Roommate Was Complaining About Her Dryer Not Working Very Well, So I Checked The Lint Trap. Coin For Size Reference
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#55 Washing Machine Moved A Few Inches While Washing And Now The Door Won’t Open. Help
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#56 My Pocket Detached From My Jeans In The Wash
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#57 My Wife (And The Rest Of The House) Also Heard A Noise In The Laundry Room
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#58 I Didn't Check For Stray Diapers Before Running The Wash
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#59 My Mom Left Cigarettes In Her Pocket While I Was Washing My Blankets And Her Pants, Now I Don’t Have Blankets
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#60 Machine-Washing A Feather Pillow
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#61 Our Dark Towels Always Eventually Get These “Bleach Spots”. Despite The Fact That We Don’t Use Bleach In Our Laundry At All And None Of Our Clothes Get These Spots
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#62 The Pillow Did Not Survive The Dryer. At Least It’s Dry
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#63 Tried Washing A Pillow
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#64 Took My Favorite Shirt To The Dry Cleaners Before My Boss's Wedding Tomorrow. Time To Go Shopping, I Guess
Image credits: YesLikeTheJeans
#65 My Girlfriend Washed My Wool Sweater
Image credits: McAWESOMEMAN
#66 Put My Blankets In The Dryer Without Realizing My Book Was On My Bed. Now I Have To Buy A New Copy Of My Book
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#67 My Wife Said She Heard A Noise In The Laundry Room
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#68 My Pillow Exploded In The Dryer
Image credits: reddit.com
#69 Completely Forgot About The Lint Trap In Our Dryer And Wondered Why Our Clothes Were Taking 3 Cycles To Dry
Image credits: Outrageous_Intern300
#70 If You’re Ever Tempted To Machine Wash A Down Pillow Maybe… Don’t
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#71 Laundry Time
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#72 In The Absence Of Laundry Detergent Do Not Ever Substitute It For Shampoo
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#73 Left My Covid Vaccine Card In My Pocket On Laundry Day
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#74 The Result Of Me Accidentally Closing The Dryer Door On The Bottom Of A Shirt
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#75 Wash Your Pants At 90°C With Your Bank Card In It
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