I was doing laundry last night and the dryer was running very noisily while we watched a movie. We pondered why it might be so loud – “I think I left my jacket unzipped and the zipper and track are banging around.”
Um. No.
This is why. I had two pairs of tights with drawstrings (which I safety pin the ends together so they don’t come undone), which got wrapped around the dryer lint trap edge, and made every single thing in the dryer twist and turn into this giant knot. It took me and Steven about five minutes to undo it all.
The damage:
- That blue tank twisted at the top is completely stretched out and has holes in it. It was cheap, from Kohl’s, but I wore it every week to lift. Maybe I still will? Ha.
- A black Under Armour Cold Gear long sleeves top has one normal length sleeve and one that’s 150% sized. Maybe I’ll like that?
- One drawstring came completely out and broke. The tights it came out of are literally more than 10 years old… maybe it was time to get rid of them anyway? (Or I could replace the drawstring…)
What it’s really time to do is figure out how to prevent this in the future! I need to make sure the lint trap is completely inserted where it goes, and maybe air dry things with drawstrings?!
Oh, wow, dryergeddon! Your lint trap clearly needs some discipline!
Yeah, we’re not sure why it’s sticking out a bit and things are getting caught on that edge – there isn’t a bunch of lint in it pushing it up. It did the same thing with our sheets the next day – caught on that edge and spun it into a knot. Luckily they weren’t damaged.
Holy cow, what a mess! I’ve never seen anything like that! How frustrating 🙁 And a bummer that some of your clothes were damaged in the process 🙁 Have you sacrificed any socks to the dryer gods recently? I personally think that’s what keeps the dryer happy. The dryer gods seem particularly fond of running sock sacrifices in my experience – probably because they’re so expensive!
Oh my gosh. I have never sacrificed any socks to the Dryer Gods and this must be the problem!!!! I hope they take some soon and leave the rest of my clothes alone!
It doesn’t matter if there are drawstrings or not. I’ll get sleeves tangling up even without a string. Drives me nuts. But it’s way more prone to happen in the washer. As a general rule, if it’s 100% cotton, I hang dry it. Especially the case with Nathan because I want to make his clothing last longer. At his age, the lifespan is already short enough.
Ugh, that stinks it happens in your washer too! I already air dry a ton of my clothes, pretty soon it’s just going to be socks and underwear in the dryer!
Oh damn, that’s a bummer. I had that happen once.
I wore the shirt with holes in it to lift yesterday anyway! I hope it doesn’t happen to either of us again!
OMG. I hate when this happens! Although I do really enjoy untangling clothes that have been tangled up. There’s something weirdly soothing about it. Thankfully, this usually only happens for me in the washer and I’ve yet to ruin any clothes to it! What a bummer.
It is kind of like a puzzle, and puzzles are fun. Probably more fun in the washer when it’s more pliable. Why is this happening to people in the washer but to me in the dryer? LOL
A mesh laundry bag might work.
https://www.target.com/p/xl-mesh-wash-bag-room-essentials-8482/-/A-15804827
It says it’s for wash, but I would guess it could work for the dryer, too
You know, I have a bunch of those! I wonder if mine are dryer safe because that would help! Thanks for the idea!
Oh no! What a mess. Do you have the same problem with fitted sheets bunching up? We usually have to dry the sheets twice, especially the flannel ones, because they get so tangled.
I think it’s great that you keep your clothes as long as you do. It’s more environmentally friendly, after all.
Oh gosh, yes! Sometimes to this extent too! Whenever that happens I always think about some story Steven’s mom told me about ironing the sheets when her MiL visited so she wouldn’t criticize them being wrinkly (I put mine on the bed wrinkly).
Aww, thanks! You’re right! I just keep them until they fall apart or smell too horrible for me to even wear anymore.