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.

I think don’t think the house insurance people would have a problem with the fridge or boiler left on while you’re out/abroad, but they would if you went out and left the dishwasher/tumbler/washing machine on.
Thats my worry, that the house would burn down and the insurance wouldn’t pay out.

Never leave the washing machine on when I go out. To be fair I hadn't thought about fire (even though we had a washing machine fire when I was a child). We are in a third floor flat and I have horrors of water leaks going in to downstairs.

I'm paranoid about leaving the house when the washing machine is on. Too much of a risk with the fires that have been in the news.

We all trust the fridge though don't we. Fridges, they fly under the radar.

I’m often out when the washing machine and dishwasher is on. I don’t have a tumble dryer.

Yes, we do.

I do leave the washing machine or the dishwasher on but I don’t leave the dryer on when I’m not here or when we go to bed. My friends dryer went on fire a few months ago. Luckily they were there but it was scary as it was during the night and it was their little dd who smelt the smoke and woke them. Luckily they were fine but the utility room was destroyed.

Risk perception is a funny thing though.
Statistically the odds of a drier fire happening to you are just as slim as it was before this happened to your neighbour, but the risk suddenly feels much more real.

@PoochiesPinkEars Ha! That is true and they can cause fires - I think it was a faulty fridge that started the Grenfell Tower fire.

Mr Monkey is paranoid about electric stuff to the point he insists on switching off the smart meter in home dispay when we go on holiday - I have just managed to persuade him that our wifi won't spontaneously combust if we leave it on when we are out for the day.

Why would you think that house insurance wouldn’t pay out?

We don't have a tumble dryer but I certainly leave the washing machine and dishwasher on when I go out. Another one who would never get anything clean if I didn't!

I've had to sit through fire safety classes annually for 30 years. I never leave anything on when I'm not in.

We do leave the WM and DW on overnight / when we're out, but wouldn't leave the tumble drier on (but we rarely use it, and only for short periods when we do).

Our kitchen sensor is for increasing heat, not smoke, so it doesn't go bonkers if we burn anything, but would detect a fire (for the PP who mentioned having a smoke alarm in the kitchen for early alert to issues).

I leave anything and everything on.

Anything?
Absolutely anything?
I went on many a fire safety course in my previous role but I do leave some things plugged in/on.

My washing and drying cycles are 3 hours each. Without having one partner at home standing guard with a bucket of wet sand how is it possible to have clean laundry these days?

At this point it would make more sense to take the clothes to the nearest river and wash by hand for environmental sustainability and to dispense with these barely-fit-for-use pyrohazard machines altogether.

How fucking hard can it be to design a machine that does the job it’s supposed to in a reasonable time frame without burning down the house?!

I guess I could have been clearer. I'm picking up on the items in the thread, a dryer, washing machine and dishwasher.

We've only recently got a tumble dryer. I wouldn't leave it on when my at home. I do have the washing machine and dishwasher on overnight or when out though.

Ah, ok.
Well I definitely don't leave TD on if nobody is in, I do sometimes leave WM on, and I don't own a DW.

I leave them both running when I’m in bed, our out the house.

50% of all house fires are caused by humans … get the people to move out - job done

I trust the washing machine but not the tumble dryer. I only use it for few minutes, anyway, to fluff up the cardboard towels.

Having had a smouldering washing machine many years ago I don't leave it on when out or in bed. Especially now we have guinea pigs who are home alone when we go out.

YANBU. We wouldn't do this. I had an ex work colleague who lost her dogs and cats through a faulty tumble drier catching fire.

Washer yes. Tumble drier absolutely not

Interested in people saying they'd leave the wm on but not the dryer. My wm was on, I was in the next room feeding my newborn and smelled smoke. The drum had jammed and the machine had overheated as a result. I quickly turned off the power to the machine before it went on fire. If I'd been out there would have been a fire. I don't leave either on now.