to run tumble drier and washing machine overnight in terrace

[anybody]

I live in an old terrace house and my washer/drier are on 2nd floor.
It's 11pm and I have just realise that dryer is probably not just noisy and vibrating for me. Is it v antisocial to do this, I was thinking of putting a wash in too.

@Tomnooktoldmeto

Over the years I’ve taken many groups of scouts and guides to fire stations for visits where fire safety is explained

Every single time the fire officers stress that the best way to prevent house fires is not to run washers dryers and dishwashers overnight

As they’re the experts and know the statistics And see the devastation that occurs I don’t question their advice and don’t run these things overnight because I value my families lives

But running your washing machine and dryer during the day doesn't prevent fires, it just means you will be quicker to react if there is a fire.

I was always fairly relaxed about the tumble drier fire risk, often had it on at night (downstairs and nowhere near the neighbours though).

I often work very late into the night and about 1am I could smell something weird. Took me ages to figure out what it was.

Not the tumble drier. It was the dishwasher that had decided to set itself alight. Thankfully as I was awake I caught it very quickly and it just singed a huge hole on the inside.

It really gave me a jolt about what could happen. Since then, I've not used my tumble drier at night. And while we still charge phones in our bedroom, I'm a fairly light sleeper so I think I'd smell burning very quickly as the plus is right next to me. I do however go into the kids' bedroom and unplug their chargers when I'm going to bed.

We can't live in a totally risk-free world - like unplugging fridges - but it really is sensible to protect against known fire hazards. The chances are that you'll probably be fine, and your tumble drier PROBABLY won't be one of the ones that catches alight. But what if you're one of the unlucky ones? There's quite a few incidences of tumble drier fires every year so it's not beyond the realms of possibility. You'll lose your house - and maybe more if you have pets etc - just because you didn't want to be mildly inconvenienced. Bit daft if you ask me.

YABU I think, it’s dangerous plus v noisy. Our upstairs neighbours (terraced maisonette) put theirs on after midnight when they first moved in and it woke us up on the spin cycle at about 2:30am! Neighbour apologized to us next day as the neighbour in the adjoining flat whose bedroom is next to their bathroom (where machine is and it’s against the party wall) had come round that morning and complained. She realized it must’ve disturbed us too (although at the time we had no idea where it was coming from!) Anyway they haven’t run it that late since.

@milkyaqua

Presumably they could catch fire in the daytime too though. So why is it more dangerous to run them at night?

Er, because you're asleep? Can be overcome by smoke?

Jesus Christ some people

The washer or dryer noise wouldn't bother me (and I am very sensitive to noise) but I would put down those anti noise mats.

I never run my washer or dryer overnight because I am worried about fire.

You could ask your neighbors?

@Ifailed

I sleep under a fire blanket next to my fridge.

I sleep in my fridge with a fire blanket and a fireman. We switch the fridge off first, of course.

Kinky

Yes, it's anti-social.

I did it when I lived in a detached house but would never do it at night now, as I'm in a terraced house. The neighbours will be disturbed by it. Neither would I put my neighbours in the position of having to admit it disturbed them. I just wouldn't make a racket at night. Manners and consideration.

When we had fire lectures at work the fire officer always laboured the point about how dangerous it was to leave appliances on overnight - washing machines and tumble dryers especially.
When we were little my mum left the washing machine on whilst we went to the shops and I’ll never forget the burning smell and the noise we came home to, so even without the fire lectures I’ve always been extra cautious about leaving appliances on unattended.
I am on an economy 7 electricity tariff so it makes sense to use the washing machine when the electricity is cheapest so I use the delay start to set it so it finishes as the cheap rate ends about 7 am, my thinking being that at least there is someone awake when it’s on.
Having seen all the publicity about tumble dryer fires I would never leave mine unattended - I am meticulous about cleaning the filter after every use and daft though it seems it’s one of the first things I check in any holiday cottage I stay in. The state of some of the filters I’ve found has been horrifying!

[quote HoldingTheDoor]www.northwalesfire.gov.wales/news/2018/11/tumble-dryer-dos-and-don-ts/

"Indeed, tumble dryers have accounted for 57% of all fires involving white goods in Wales over the last three years (there are on average 158 fires involving white goods in every year)."

Numerous fire services have pages dedicated to tumble dryers and all of the advice is not to leave them unattended so they seem to think that they're dangerous enough.

It isn't difficult to find reports on related fires either

www.mylondon.news/news/london-fire-brigade-issues-urgent-22861085

www.thesun.co.uk/news/16671556/tumble-dryer-warning-devastating-fire-family-home/[/quote]
So that’s about 90 fires a year. Out of 1,378,000 households in wales. 0.0065% chance of a tumble dryer fire in any one year.

I’ve had an incident with a tumble drier. It started producing acrid, thick smoke and presumably would have gone on to produce flames if I hadn’t acted. So perhaps those figures don’t include the ‘near misses’.

I don’t put it on when I’m out or in bed. It’s far easier and less scary to act during waking hours. Having a major house fire really is a devastating loss and I understand many people are woefully under insured as well.

Nowt wrong with a bit of common sense.

I guess i thought everyone can sleep through that kind of noise. I can. It's not like it's a party.

What does that say about you, OP? You find it harder to sleep through music and the sound of people having a good time, than through a nasty rattling sound?

@FudgeSundae higher than that, as not all households have a tumbler dryer.

The noise of a spin cycle on a washing machine can be pretty anti-social.

If you must run it at night (and as others have said, it's not the best idea) maybe see if it has a way to delay the spin cycle so you can get the main wash cycle done but leave the noisy spinny bit until the morning.

Go to the lauderette The leccie will be cheaper there than at home at the moment

wow, i've just caught up on this whole thread now and am left surprised i've managed to live this long. I have been running appliances overnight and charging phones and leaving TV and computers on standby well into my 50s.

However, I can avoid using washing machines etc at night so i will aim to

Why would you leave anything on standby, especially with utility bills increasing?

I absolutely wouldn't do that yes it is antisocial but I have had a washing machine and a table dryer go on fire so I would not risk it overnight

Are people really asking why it’s dangerous to run it when you’re in bed asleep? Of course it’s more dangerous when you’re asleep if it catches fire. Yes you might have a smoke alarm, doesn’t mean you’ll get out before your exit is blocked etc. Not worth the risk, use an airer

@Coyoacan

I guess i thought everyone can sleep through that kind of noise. I can. It's not like it's a party.

What does that say about you, OP? You find it harder to sleep through music and the sound of people having a good time, than through a nasty rattling sound?

A dryer is white noise and a party is the opposite of that. No need to be so rude asking OP what that says about her.

A dryer vibrating and the clothes bouncing round is not white noise.

@Dinosaursdontgrowontrees

Do people really turn their fridges off overnight? 😳

No lol. Remember Michael McIntyre talking about when you go on holiday and go round the house making sure all the switches are off except the fridge because 'we trust the fridge'

@Coyoacan

I guess i thought everyone can sleep through that kind of noise. I can. It's not like it's a party.

What does that say about you, OP? You find it harder to sleep through music and the sound of people having a good time, than through a nasty rattling sound?

White noises machines include appliance noises because they're repetitive and often soothing. The noise of someone else's music and shrieking and laughing from a party is extremely irritating!

My neighbours run their washing machine at night. We're semi-detached and their machine is in the garage on the side furthest from their house, so I don't hear it at all.

But what I do hear is the gushing noise as their hot water tank empties and fills for over an hour, just the other side of the party wall and about 18" from my head. It wakes me at 4.30 am at least twice a week and fills me with murderous rage every fucking time.

I've thought about rearranging my bedroom, but 3 of the 4 walls have either a radiator or an awkward alcove, so there's nowhere else I can put my bed.

I've also thought about asking them not to do it, but the bloke next door is a foul-tempered, bullying psycho who hasn't spoken a civil word to me in all the 29 years I've lived here, so I don't think it would achieve anything.

Haven't had storage heaters ever yet this house has Economy 7. It also has appliances with time delays (not the tumble dryer - perhaps that's too old!). My dishwasher and washing machine are both programmed to start around 1am/2am tonight. My smoke alarms set off at the slightest provocation and are ear piercingly loud so the house at least is safer if we are in than out.
And like others, I'd struggle to get everything done if I didn't run them whilst asleep or out. To be honest I'm happy to do either. I wonder what the actual risk is.

Why the F would they both need to be on 8-9 hours?

YABU obviously!