Do you let your washer/dryer run while you're not home?

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I won't leave a dryer, but the washer I bought today has a delay feature which means that I can set it to start for right before I come home from work instead of running it and returning seven or eight hours later. There are a lot of risks in this world, this is not one that overly concerns me. other than the internet, I've never heard of this happening.

 

[GoHogs]

I NEVER leave the dryer running.

When I was younger, we knew a family that lost three children in a house fire caused by the dryer. They lived out on a farm with chicken houses. The chickens get fed early, around 4am. The father had a problem with some of the machinery and needed the mother to come and help fix it. She turned on the dryer as she left the house, thinking that she would fold the clothes when she got back from helping at the chicken house. The three boys, ages 7, 9, and 10 were all sleeping and died of smoke inhalation. It was so sad. This was over 20 years ago and they lived in an old farm house without smoke detectors. You could see the home from the chicken house, but it was too late to save them by the time they knew something was wrong.

I share this story often, because most people don't realize how dangerous dryers can be.

 

[C.Ann]

Never.. Nor do we leave them on when we have gone to bed for the night..

 

[Disney Doll]

Nope...don't leave the washer, dryer or dishwasher going if someone isn't there.

 

[robinm1215]

OP, I'm so sorry for your friend's cousin. I feel their pain.

I never leave the house with either the washer or the dryer on. Even so, about 6 years ago I threw a load in and went upstairs. I was upstairs for about an hour and came down to find the first floor filled with water. The shut off valve went and the washer just kept filling with water. I was upstairs and did not know it was still running.
Unfortunately this can happen even if you are home. but because I was home there was much less damage. Had to have my carpet dried out and a new wood laminate floor installed in my kitchen. It was a mess and something I hope never to experience again.

I know this is crazy but I now wait until the washer is done filling up before leaving the first floor or I at least pay attention to make sure I know it has stopped filling after 10-15 minutes. I have also had shut off vavles installed so when the washer is not running I shut off the water and no chance of broken hoses. This was not the issue but better I was just trying to be preventive -- trust me, once you've had a flood in your house you don't ever want one again!. Like a previous poster said, if you've had a flood you really respect the damage that water can do.

So no, I have never and would never leave my house with the washer or dryer running. People always think it can't happen to them. Unfortunately it happens more often than people think and better to be safe than sorry.

 

[dismom2]

I do, and I didn't realize there was a hazzard in doing so. I'll have to be more careful in the future.

 

[luvmyfam444]

I run appliances when I am not home, and am going to stop doing this! I used to work with a girl that had a horrible house fire start from her blow-dryer. She dried her hair and then went out to take the dog for a walk leaving the blow-dryer plugged in. She came home to firetrucks!

I have also heard how dangerous it is to use the plug-in airfreshners. They catch on fire a lot.

ACK I do all that! Plus the dryer, crockpot washer & diswasher

I think I'm a disaster waiting to happen!

I never thought about the blowdryer though!

 

[dementia412]

A few years ago we put a load in our dryer and forgot about it... that is until we smelled smoke. The dryer just never stopped running and got so hot it started scorching the clothes. Then I made it worse by opening the dryer. The stuff was too hot to remove and there was a lot of smoke, so I left it and made the kids come outside while the smoke cleared. A few minutes later the clothing went up in flames.