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.

Know a couple whose fridge caught fire when they were out and their dog died. Obviously can't turn the fridge off but I'd never forgive myself if something like the tumble dryer caused a fire. My husband probably would leave it on if it was just him but he doesn't fight me on this. YANBU.

I only ever put the washing machine on overnight or when I’m out. I don’t want to listen to it.

I do regularly, everything in life has some risks and I’m accepting of the fairly minimal risks of a tumble drier fire.

I think you can minimise the dangers by having a newish one, reputable make, clean filters, and a monitored fire alarm.

I thought most tumble dryer fires were due to a fault in a particular brand. I happily leave the tumble dryer on while I sleep. I have a fire alarm. It would take a heck of a lot to change me. I’d be very surprised if insurance companies see it as a risk either. They don’t ask whether we have a tumble dryer when we take out a policy do they? So they Wouldn’t nave allowed not to pay out on this basis. They cannot hide away exclusions in the small print and expect to be allowed to use them.

this whole thread is an excellent example of Mumsnet paranoia.

Tumble dryers are one of the leading causes of fires in homes.

Its got something to do with them getting very hot, whilst containing flammable material and lint.

I think 5mins might be worth the risk but not 30mins!

I turn everything off at night and when I go out, apart from the fridge.
Its just not worth the risk.

Why not just put it on 30mins earlier though and do it when you’re awake?

Never leave the dryer on, but washing machine and dishwasher are often on when we are out or in bed (dishwasher mainly)

It's not paranoia at all. Ask any firefighter about tumble dryers and they'll tell you exactly the same thing.

It's absolutely your choice to take risks like that though.

0.00002% of UK households will have a WM / TD fire a year, looking at the number of fires vs number of households. That's teeny odds, however you look at it.

It's not paranoia. It's advice from the fire service, based on the stats on what starts fires in homes.

Right, and I'm sure firefighters do have an over inflated sense of risk in this regard because, well, they're not going out to see the 99.99998% of the working ones.

The Fire Service say don’t do this. It’s on every single local fire service website under a dedicated tumble dryer page. Don’t use them when you are asleep. Don’t use them when you are out.

What do they know, though.

I would never leave the tumble drier running when out. I always turn it off if it’s still running when I go to bed too. I don’t think you are being unreasonable at all. It is one of the most common causes of house fires.

One of our neighbours had a bread maker on an early morning timer almost burn their house down. And my friend had a burnt out kitchen to a dishwasher.

It’s made me super paranoid, so I don’t leave any appliances on if I’m not in the house or awake.

Of course they're going to say that, though. That's their job.

That doesn't change the fact that the risk of a house fire caused by a tumble dryer is absolutely minute.

The chance of dying in a car accident in the UK is around 0.0023%, so higher than the risk of a rogue tumble dryer. Do people still take that risk and get in a car? Yes, they do, because they've weighed it up as stats being very much in favour of not dying.

People who use appliances while they're asleep / out have weighed up the risk and decided that the risk of fire is very low, so they're willing to take it.

Maybe because most households don't leave them unattended?

Thing is that in a lot of cases people have no choice but to travel, whereas most have a choice as to when they put on the drier. It's comparing apples and gorillas!

As I said to the last person who said this, unattended means you're in the same room. I imagine most people don't sit in the room with them.

And judging by this thread, many people do leave them unattended, so your supposition can't be right, if we extrapolate out to the general population.

I suspect most do, in real life.

I go in/out of other people's homes all day long and I'd say the vast majority leave the washing machine, dryer and dishwasher running even though nobody is home.

I never leave the washing machine on when I am out or asleep. Next door’s machine caught fire and did a lot of damage.

Washing machine yes
Tumble drier no I would never. But then I don't have one and I'd be paranoid about fires if I did.

The actual fact is that the risk is absolutely teeny tiny. So many people have decided to take that tiny risk. It isn't reckless or stupid or irresponsible, given the stats. However much some people on this thread are horrified by the thought!

I'm not in the UK so it is probably different. But a lot of the manuals say not to leave it unattended and if you do and something happens, there is a good chance that home insurnsce will reduce compensation if something happens. Cause you haven't followed the instructions and proper usage. That unfortunately won't change here even when changing a supplier.

But obviously it is personal risk management. If I didn't know about fire incidents from dryers in my close social circle, I probably wouldn't really think about it.

I wonder what they mean by unattended @Rewis - it would be interesting to see it in court.