Wet clothes should not be left in the washing machine or dryer for more than 8 to 12 hours. After 8 to 12 hours bacteria and mildew will begin to form on the clothing, which results in bad smelling garments.
Surely you've forgotten about wet towels in your hamper, or you've left a load of clean, wet laundry in the washing machine too long and it's soured. Mold and mildew spores thrive in these dark humid environments, so it will start growing on wet clothes quickly.
It won't hurt to leave your clothes in the washer for up to 12 hours. However, according to Mold Busters, bacteria, mildew, and visible mold can grow on clothes in as little as 24 to 48 hours. When bacteria and mold grow unchecked, they create the distinct musty laundry odor we've all come to recognize.
Rain and humidity can wreck havoc on your household and garments in basements, storage rooms and closets if they are dark with little air flow. Mold can grow within 48-72 hours and more rapidly when temperatures are between 70-100 degrees in dark spaces with now air movement.
A good rule of thumb is to avoid leaving clothes in the washer for more than 8 to 12 hours.
Is it okay to leave laundry on the line overnight, or is it frowned upon? You can leave washing out overnight, but it may not dry as effectively without the sun's rays. Laundry left out overnight may further dampen due to mist, dew or unexpected rain.
While it's best practice to place your garments in the dryer or on the clothesline right after the cycle finishes, it's perfectly okay to leave your wet clothes in the washer overnight, Martha says. "I mean, don't leave it for a long time—don't leave it for a week," she says.
It may not be feasible to save the garment if the mold was allowed to grow for a long time. With the right approach, mold can be removed from clothing. The moldy clothing should be taken outside, cleaned of any visible mold, soaked in vinegar, washed in hot water with a high-efficiency detergent, and dried in the sun.
If damp clothes or bedding have been left in the washing machine or a basket for more than 8-12 hours we recommend giving it another wash. If it's been over 12 hours it's a safe bet that they will need to be re-washed.
Mold growth is easily visible as spots or stains of various colors and shades. The spots may appear almost “fuzzy” or “powdery”. Even if you can't see any spots or growth, if an odour is present there is microbial growth and treatment is needed.
Wash your moldy clothes with very hot water and laundry detergent. Hot water will kill mold spores, and laundry detergent will remove any musty smells. Since mold stains are hard to remove, you should also pre-soak your stained garment before washing it. Add baking soda to your wash cycle.
Treat the clothes with warm or hot water, distilled white vinegar, chlorine bleach, pine oil, or a phenolic disinfectant to kill the mold spores. Then wash with a heavy-duty laundry detergent and use chlorine or oxygen-bleach to remove the stains.
If you leave wet clothes in your washer for more than 12 hours, bacteria can start to grow, which can cause mildew or mold. If this happens, you'll need to rewash your clothes using a new wash cycle. But if you are under 8, you actually don't have to worry about another cycle.
Don't allow your wet clothes to sit too long. The Whirlpool Institute of Fabric Science's lead home economist, Lucinda Ottusch, gives a concrete guideline of 8-12 hours before odor, a sign of mildew, begins to occur. What to do if your clothes do smell off? Simply run the wash cycle again.
Your clothes will develop a musty smell.
"This is because the warm, damp environment inside the washing machine provides the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and mold to grow on the fabric," says Johanes Bangao Godoy, laundry and cleaning expert at Liox. And no, that scent won't go away simply by drying them.
It's best not to place soaking wet clothes directly into the dryer, since pooling water can damage the internal mechanisms of the dryer, and the extra water weight will increase the wear and tear on the machine. However, wringing out the clothes by hand will usually remove enough water to make the clothes dryable.
In general, you can leave your wet clothes for a maximum of eight to twelve hours, according to an expert from the Whirlpool Institute of Fabric Science.
Hot Machine Wash
Washing the garment on your machine's hot cycle with a water temperature of around 60 degrees will kill the mould spores. If the mould stain is still in place there are some natural mould treatments that can be applied.
Specifically, air purifiers with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters work great at removing mold spores. HEPA filters are considered to be rated MERV 17 or above, which means that the filters can trap more than 99.7% of air particles as small as 0.3-1.0 microns in size.
After a day or two in warm conditions the clothes will start to mildew and smell funky, but you can still salvage them at that point if you rewash them with fresh detergent and an oxygen bleach. Left for a week in the bag they will reek and be permanently stained.
Allow your damp items to air dry completely while they wait to go in the wash. We suggest utilizing an outdoor clothesline in a shaded area to avoid fading. Damp clothing stored improperly can be subject to common bacterial infections such as Salmonella and E. coli.
While it's hard to generalize about how long it will take your laundry to air-dry—fabric type, air temperature, and presence or absence of wind all play a part—expect it to take 2 to 4 hours for most types of fabric on a pleasantly warm day with a light breeze.