We’ve all been there. You set the washing machine, make a mental note to take it out, but when the time comes – it slips your mind. Even with the occasional bleep for help, we’re distracted and our attention is elsewhere. The result? Musty laundry that smells so bad it needs to be washed again.
When this happens, we do sometimes get away with it. We sprint to the washing machine, pry open the door and then sigh with relief when we know it’s not too late. But when’s the cut off? You’ll find the answer here. Here’s how long your damp laundry will last in the drum before it starts to turn.
Why does damp laundry smell musty?
While the load sits in the drum, it’s in the perfect environment for bacterial growth. It’s damp, warm, lacking ventilation, often with residual soap scum. If clothes aren’t thoroughly washed, i.e you’ve used a quick wash cycle, that encourages bacterial growth too because dirt and stains remain, which it thrives on.
The longer your damp clothes sit, the more of a chance for musty bacterial growth. Once it’s out of the machine and allowed to dry, that growth is slowed. Even when your clothes are drying, bacteria can still multiply though – the longer your laundry remains damp, the more active it is, which is why clothes often smell mustier when they’re slow to dry in winter.
How long can I leave damp laundry in my washing machine?
There’s no right answer to this as it depends on many factors. The amount of detergent you use can encourage bacterial growth, especially if you overdose. Overloading the machine will also have an impact (a major bad habit with the washing machine) – less ventilation and a lower-quality of wash. Then there’s the temperature of the cycle to consider – while a hot wash of 60 degrees plus will kill bacteria, residual warm temperatures of 30 to 40 degrees encourage growth. And clothes retain that heat for some time after the cycle has finished, so getting them out sooner rather than later is always best.
According to Reshma Akhter, Junior Commercial Testing Manager at the GHI, and avid tester of washing machines: ‘Three to four hours is the longest I will leave it. After then, I notice the washing starts to smell. One time, my family accidentally left it in on a hot day for a few hours and the residual heat made it so much worse. We had to rewash everything with added fabric conditioner to get that damp, musty smell out of the clothes! It seemed like such a waste considering the warm temperature outside – clothes would hang dry in hours.’
Some experts say that 8-12 hours is fine for damp laundry to sit in the machine, and depending on the load and the residual temperature, you may get away with that. But in my experience, both as someone who used to test washing machines and as a flatmate who has witnessed what happens, I think it’s best not to leave it so long.
Once, a flatmate of mine left their damp washing in the drum overnight. The smell was so bad by morning that it started contaminating future loads. We had to deep clean the washing machine to fully get rid of it.
That’s another problem with leaving damp clothes for too long; bacteria will grow more prominently in the washing machine itself. There’s no ventilation while the door stays shut and there’s soap scum throughout the internals. The smell can be difficult to remove and will likely spread to other loads until you do so.
How to stop clothes smelling musty in the washing machine
You can’t stop clothes from smelling if they’re left sitting for too long. The longer you wait, the more bacteria will grow. So taking them out as soon as possible is always for the best. But there are habits you can change to discourage bacterial growth when it happens:
- Don’t overload the machine
- Use the right amount of detergent
- Make sure clothes are thoroughly washed with an appropriate cycle (not always the quick wash cycle)
- When the care label allows, wash at 60 degrees to kill bacteria
- Use a laundry sanitiser
- Deep clean the washing machine routinely
- Set an alarm on your phone so you don’t forget
