Dashing around a mere few hours before social plans, you realise you’ve completely run out of anything half decent to wear.
And so, you head to the washing machine, select the quickest cycle you can, and cross your fingers that it actually finishes on time.
You quickly realise that, after all the fanfare, the 30-minute cycle you selected has been close to an hour. Misled, you end up wearing a completely random selection of clothing to the pub.
Now, an expert has revealed exactly why your washing machine lies to you in situations like these – and it might be more your fault than you realise.
Analysing the length of laundry cycles across six different washing machines to understand how long they actually run for, a new study has found that the average washing machine cycle runs over by 11 minutes.
One particularly unruly load (each machine was run three times on the same setting) went over by a lengthy 23 minutes. Inconvenient, much?
So, what’s behind it, and why are we left cursing at an inanimate object every time the cycle betrays us?
As Ian Palmer-Smith, appliance repair expert at Domestic & General, notes, the most common reason behind this annoyance is actually down to how much detergent you add.
And if you overdo it, your machine will likely be playing catch-up.
‘If you add too much into the appliance, it will often require additional time to spin and drain away any excess water and detergent residue,’ Ian explains.
‘Adding excessive amounts of laundry detergent not just increases the cycle time, but can also lead to a clogged machine which may result in the need for a washing machine repair, so make sure you’re sticking to the advised amount if using a liquid.’
Elsewhere, you might be creating problems for yourself by failing to distribute your laundry evenly.
As Ian notes, washing machines are becoming increasingly sophisticated – and many are now able to detect if the load is unbalanced.
‘If it is, this can often result in additional minutes being added. This is a really easy mistake to avoid by distributing your laundry evenly in the drum,’ he adds.
And the final nail in the coffin might actually be overloading the appliance with washing, as this places the machine under too much pressure. Relatable.
In fact, the experiment showed that the machine that ran over by the largest amount of time actually had the heaviest load, weighing 10kg.
‘Putting too many heavy clothing items in one wash, for example, lots of hoodies and towels, can strain the machine as it struggles to spin at the optimal setting. Never fill your washing machine more than 80%; you should still be able to see some of the drum,’ Ian advises.
So, if you’re sticking to a tight schedule, it could be worth taking a little extra care. Your washing machine will certainly thank you for it.
This is what happens if you don’t wash your towels often enough
Research from the experts at Showers To You shows that a third of Brits wash their bathroom towels just once every few months.
But it gets worse, with 3% of respondents washing their bathroom towels a measly once a year.
And it turns out 90% of our bathroom towels are infested with coliform bacteria, the organisms that can indicate the presence of disease-causing bacteria in water.
Clinical pharmacist, Nyrah Saleem, previously told Metro.co.uk that ‘bacteria such as E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa can pose health risks if they exist in large amounts in your home.
‘While most strains of E. coli are harmless, certain strains can cause serious health issues, especially if they contaminate food or water,’ she said.
Health issues which can be caused by E.coli include diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, and infections like meningitis in severe cases, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).