The Short Answer: It’s Complicated
There’s an age old question every adult has to answer when it comes to doing laundry: how long can you leave wet clothes in the washer before they go bad? We’ve all been there, you get to the end of a long day and realize that you need to wash clothes for tomorrow, but it’s really late and you want to go to sleep. Do you start the wash tonight and let the clothes sit until morning? Do you get up extra early? (Turn to page 25 if you chose get up early, just kidding, this is a blog not a choose your own adventure book.) Or, do you realize your wash is done; but there are kids to shuttle, and errands to run, and knowing the fire-risk that dryers can pose, you just don’t start the dryer until a few hours later?
When a mother reached out to the internet with this question a few years back, she sparked very adamant opinions on the forum. Some with claims of creases and mold ruining clothing, and others giving more tempered, “life before laundry” advice. Martha Stewart even weighed in on this question with:
“I would say that was perfectly alright. I mean don’t leave it for a long time … don’t leave it for a week. If you get up in the morning and throw it in the dryer, it should probably be OK.”
When using scent-free detergents, simply smelling your clothing will give you a good indicator of whether your clothes are good to go. If they smell musty, there’s probably been some mold bacteria growth, and you need to run them through the wash cycle again, if they smell fine, you’re good!
It’s also important to consider the cleanliness of your machine. Are you trying to wash clothes clean in a dirty machine? Have you thrown moldy towels or rags in with your clothing? Keeping your machine in top shape with a cleaning cycle, or giving it a good scrub will contribute to it being a clean environment for clothes to hang out for a little while. My mom leaves the door of her side loading machine slightly ajar just so it can “air out” after each cycle.
You can also read this post about how to keep your laundry machine clean.
Rescuing the Wet Clothes in the Washer
If the clothes don’t pass the smell test, or, if it’s been more than about 12 hours, simply re-running the cycle is usually the easiest thing to do. For extra assurance, a cup of vinegar (a natural disinfectant) along with your detergent, or lysol laundry sanitizer, will help ensure the wash comes out nicely sanitized.
Another sanitizing option is line drying your clothes. The UV from the sun kills viruses and bacteria, and line drying is easier on the fibers of your clothing, especially for spandex and other “sport blend” fabrics. Martha Stewart says that leaving your laundry in the washer overnight may even help with line drying because it gives extra time for excess water to drain out, and it reduces your clothes’ time in the sun.
The Easy Answer
The easiest answer to this question of how long you can leave your clothes in the washing machine? Use Londr. You’re worrying about a thousand other things, and losing sleep over laundry does not make you a better mother/parent/spouse/professional/etc. Make it our problem, because it’s as the wise mom’s of the internet said, “Life before laundry!”