I left the iron on all day

[TheAverageJoanne]

I ironed a top this morning and arrived home at 12.50 after a night out after work to realise I'd left it on since about 7.30 am.

What will I have to go without and for how long to compensate for my stupidity? I daren't even look at the smart meter. I'm pissed off too as I'm really trying hard to budget.

Did it not have an auto cutout?

Just put it behind you. You're human.

I’m sure irons automatically shut off these days.

An iron runs at approx 50p an hour so stop panicking.

Did it set your house on fire ? Honestly most - if not all irons have an auto off switch where all they do is an annoying click if left switched on. Most modern irons go cool if not used but they will click so you can hear they’re on but not hot and not really warm. All is good you’ll be ok and won’t have spent any money

It was still hot so I guess not. It's probably 15 years old at least.

Buying a new iron with auto off is your punishment and then forget about it - it is brilliant not to worry about it! Or do what my friend does and take the iron to work so she knows it can’t be on.

I left mine on for two days - just offering some solidarity 🤦‍♀️

This!

Just be thankful you didn't burn the house down. They have a thermostat so it won't have been consuming electricity all the time.

As to the effect on your budget, that depends on how tight it is, but it will be a few quid at most so easily compensated for by one less coffee, drink on a night out or a cheaper meal at home, eg eggs on toast instead of a full meal. Your night out probably cost far more.

But buying a replacement iron to replace a working one would be a ridiculous over-reaction. Just don't leave it on in future.

I did that once, ironed a t-shirt then DP and I went out for the day, I left the ironing sitting on the ironing board still switched on. Thankfully the house didn’t burn down.

I don’t see why you need to punish yourself by going without something, just get over it and move on.

It depends on your cost per watt for electricity and the wattage of your iron.

However, AI suggests it will be approximately £7.65 for 17 hours use, so hardly the end of the world.

Chalk it up to experience, you didn’t burn the house down and you know you won’t do it again.

That’s annoying OP, especially if you’re trying to budget 🥰 Not sure what to suggest other than try not to beat yourself up about it.

Just give up ironing full stop. I haven't ironed for decades so no danger of leaving the iron on. I barely even know where it is these days anyway.

Think I'll get my dds to do this with their hair straightners/ curling tongs. One time they were left on for 3 days Genius.

I would be more concerned about the fire safety aspect.

I seen before that's there's a weird badge of honour about having creased clothes on here but how do people not know where their irons are?

They aren't small things, do you have cavernous cupboards or something 😀

I don't think leaving an iron on all day will be seriously budget busting though

I once had an iron catch fire (on the ironing board) after I’d left it on - not for very long!

I now freak out now and then, worrying that I’ve left an iron on after going out, even though I know I almost certainly unplugged it.

I came down to find the stove had been on over night - that was scary! And my teens would often leave the oven on after use. You get used to checking things.

When you have a bit of spare cash, it might be worth buying a plug timer. They're less than £10 on Amazon.

My parents had to buy one because my brother was seemingly incapable of remembering to turn the iron off.

Set the timer and the power to whatever is plugged into that socket will switch off after your set time.

Thanks all I feel a bit better now!

The fire safety aspect is far worse than the electricity consumed.

If you are forgetfull maybe get an internet plug that you can switch on and off remotely. That way you can check and make sure it is off after you leave the house.

Bearing in mind though that this often ends up as a short route to having an internet based plug on just about everything.

I take a photo of my iron off and unplugged as part of my leaving the house routine.

Now I have so many, pictures of my iron appear in those strange little "throwback" slide shows my phone makes for me from time to time.

I’ve just bought a new one and it doesn’t have auto shut off. Old one did.

I managed to leave a clothes steamer on for several days and after that I bought a smart plug with timer which I switch on from Alexa or my phone app and it has a countdown on it so I only switch it on for say five minutes. And then obviously you can not use the countdown but be able to check on the app if you’ve left it on