Leaving the tumble dryer/washing machine on when going out

[DustyLee123]

I came home the other day to find that DH had left the tumbler/washing machine on and gone out for 30 minutes or so.
It makes me so mad that the house could have burned down due to his laziness, yet I get looked at like I’m nagging.
And we both know a couple whose garage went on fire due to the tumbler being left on.

YABU - stop nagging and be grateful he did some washing.
YANBU - everyone knows you don’t go out and leave the tumble dryer on.

Buy a good make, clean the filters regularly, make sure the fuse is correctly rated. fit smoke detectors.

TD fires are largely caused by poor design and maintenance, the recalls for TD fires are all the cheapo or rebranded ones.

What make was your friend's one that caught fire, and had the filters been cleaned?

100% agree with you. My husband does this all the time and it makes me so angry. He says ‘I watch too much telly’ and worry about nothing. Wont be that if our house burns down! I never leave it even switched on when I’m out. He will leave the clothes to finish the cycle even if they are bone dry half way through the cycle

If that was the case, i'd never get any washing done - i'm rarely home! i do all mine over night but i never use a tumble dryer

I do this too. I don’t trust the tumble dryer anymore though

Same! We often have dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer going when out of the house.

What about people who are rarely in the house? How do you get your washing washed and dried when you literally have to put something on and run out!!

But if you can't have it on when you're out and you can't have it on overnight, when do you do your laundry?

Same here.

I had to take fire training recently because of work. The fireman who was taking the training told us to never leave a washing machine or tumble drier on at night as he had attended many fires caused by them

Why are these appliances so risky?????

I leave the washing machine on when I'm going out, the cycles take forever apart from the "30 minutes at 30 degrees" one - which I don't trust to do a proper clean on most things.

Because they drive a motor in the case of the WM and they create a lot of heat in the case of the TD.

When you are in and awake

I do go out when washing machine and dishwasher are on.

We had a bad house fire . Caused by a battery pack being left to charge.

This. I put washer and dryer and dishwasher on when asleep and out of the house. Yes the worst could happen and it would be awful if it happened but the alternative for me is never having clean clothes, towels, bedding etc or clean dishes. I have ADHD and keeping up with washing/chores is hard enough for me as it is without having to try to only do it at specific times of day and be able to fit that around what ever else I need to do for the day. Logistical/ADHD nightmare.

I leave them on all the time when I go out. If I didn't, I'd never get any washing done! I know it's a risk but it's a relatively small one.

Just because it happened to you doesn't mean the risk isn't low. The risk IS low but it still happens to some people. If it didn't then there would be no risk rather than low risk. Because it's happened to you then this means your risk perception has changed. The risk itself hasn't changed at all.

We run our dishwasher, washing machine and emersion heater all on timers over night for cheaper electricity but we do have connected smoke detectors

Hmm, yes, but also the risk perception of those it hasn't happened to is affected by their experiences too.

The risk of a WM catching fire while you are sleeping only applies to those who run the WM while they are sleeping. For those who do not do that, the risk is zero.

@qwertyqwertyqwertyqwerty

"Hmm, yes, but also the risk perception of those it hasn't happened to is affected by their experiences too.

The risk of a WM catching fire while you are sleeping only applies to those who run the WM while they are sleeping. For those who do not do that, the risk is zero."

I think you are missing my point.

Grenfell Tower fire was caused by a faulty white good - not sure which device.

It was a Hotpoint fridge-freezer.

Best turn off the fridge-freezer when we go out then...

My father-in-law used to turn off the VCR when they went out because it might set the house on fire. I told him the point of the VCR was that it was recording when you aren't there but he wouldn't have it.

Statistically they're not. 0.00002% of households in the UK had either a WM or TD fire in a recent year.

Use a Lakeland heated dryer instead.. dries clothes overnight without shrinking everything.. Also much cheaper..