Opening your washing machine to find a damp, forgotten pile of clothes is a universal frustration. Whether you can salvage the load or need to start over depends entirely on how long the fabric has been sitting.
Mary Gagliardi, known as “Dr. Laundry” for Clorox, advises against relying on a strict countdown timer for wet clothes. Instead, managing a forgotten load comes down to understanding your machine, your detergent, and the unmistakable smell of mildew.
How Long Is Too Long?
You will not find a universal rule for how many hours wet clothes can safely sit. The actual time limit depends on a complex mix of household factors.
“With so many variables (soil type and level, water temperature, detergent, laundry additives, types of fabric, type of clothes washer, how often the washer is cleaned) that define each unique load of laundry, it’s not realistic to give a specific time that is accurate for every household,” Gagliardi says.
The best practice is to remove laundry immediately after the cycle ends. Gagliardi recommends turning on the machine’s end-of-cycle buzzer or setting a strict phone alarm to avoid abandoning your damp clothes.
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Your washing machine’s hygiene dictates how fast your clothes will sour. A pristine washer offers more forgiveness if you miss the final buzzer.
Gagliardi recommends running a monthly clean-out cycle with bleach in an empty machine. This eliminates soil buildup and destroys the hidden, odor-causing bacteria that eventually transfer to your clothes.
You can also extend your wet-laundry grace period by adjusting your wash routine. Adding disinfecting bleach, color-safe bleach, or a laundry sanitizer to your normal cycles helps keep mildew at bay if the clothes sit idle.
What to Do When You Forget a Load
When you inevitably forget to switch the laundry, your first step is a simple sniff test. If the damp clothes do not smell musty, you are safe to proceed with drying.
“If the damp laundry doesn’t have any musty smell, you may just need to touch up any wrinkles with an iron or steamer,” Gagliardi explains. You should shake out each item vigorously before placing it in the dryer or laying it flat, as wrinkles become highly stubborn the longer wet fabric sits clumped together.
If the clothes do emit a musty odor, keep them far away from the dryer. Heat will only bake the mildew smell into the fabric.
Instead, Gagliardi recommends running the clothes through a quick wash cycle. You should add a product like Clorox® Laundry Sanitizer during this second wash to actively kill the odor-causing bacteria lingering in the damp fabric.
