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There’s virtually no household that hasn't experienced laundry gone wrong. In a classic scenario, a family member puts your beloved cashmere jumper from a fancy Parisian boutique you could never afford on your own on a spin of death and it shrinks just like your dreams of putting it on ever again. You try to stretch the fabric until it tears away and this is a farewell you knew was comin’.
In reality, laundry fails are so common, I am wondering how come they’re still not included in the Olympic games... right next to the wine glass breaking race.
Bored Panda has compiled a list full of hand-selected (you bet!) laundry fails that is basically a low-key guide on how not to murder your clothes in what seems like a hundred different ways.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Just Some Regular Rubber Gloves Washing Accidentally Opened The Gate Of Hell
RELATED:
#2
It's A French Sweater Anyway
#3
The Many Stages In My Sweater's Life
Laundry is one heck of a stressful business. It’s a wheel of fortune: you pour some soap, set the temp, and hope for the best. The problem is, usually, luck is not on our side.
With your favorite cardigan and jeans shrunk so that they wouldn’t fit a Barbie doll, you have now become an inaugurated participant in adult world problems. But bear with me, there are some things you may wanna try and do to unshrink your teeny tiny clothes.
#4
They Look Dry Enough
#5
I Shrunk My GF's Favourite Sweater, But Her Loss Is Oak's Gain
chi-wei shen 4 years ago
The dog looks nice in it but doesn't seem to appreciate it that much.
#6
Turns Out Washing Machines Do Eat Socks, But There Were More Surprising Things That We Found
Today, my husband got tired of fooling with one of the washing machines that was just not working properly and decided to take it apart, starting with the bottom panel. To his shock, this is what he found... Socks, underwear, a credit card… and that is just what was in the bottom of the machine. When he removed the water pump that removes the water from the machine, he found about $7.00 in change.
Reader’s Digest suggests placing your article of clothing in a bowl, filling it with lukewarm water, and adding two tablespoons of gentle shampoo or conditioner. Let it soak for half an hour, decide whether you want to rinse it or leave it on (either way may work), and place your clothing flat on a towel.
Roll it up so that it remains damp and not soaking wet. Then, unroll the garment, lay it flat to dry, and pin the edges of the garment. At this point, all you need is time and patience. After the garment is finally dry, it should be wearable again.
If you fellow Pandas have any other ideas or tricks to unshrink your clothes, feel free to share them in the comments!
#7
Sorry For Your Loss Meredith, We Kind Of Shrunk Your Favorite Sweater, But Ella Loves Her New Sweater
#8
You Did Not Do Well
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago (edited)
How does that even happen and why would you just stand there and take a photo?
Remi Flynne 4 years ago
Plenty of models under recall because of risk of fire. Whirlpool, Hopoint, Indesit and Creda to na,e a few are all manufacturers who have had to issue recalls. If people don't clean out the lint this can happen. Though I would be getting the fire extinguisher personally.
Load More Replies...
Downunderdude 4 years ago
Clean the lint filter, people! My next door burnt her house down because she didn't.
Dorothy Parker 4 years ago
If you been working with solvents and gotten them on your clithes, this can be the result.
Randomcthulu 4 years ago
I moved into an apartment in a college town and the lint trap on the dryer was so full I almost couldn't get it out of the machine. Peeled off a layer over a half an inch thick, then had to scrub it in the kitchen sink with super hot water and a scrub brush because the mesh was jammed full of lint. I was amazed that the prep crew for the rental company didn't check things like that.
Felicity Lemon 4 years ago
Thanks for explaining why the fire can happen. I didn't know why. Thanks again
Load More Replies...
Terrence Chaplin 4 years ago
Who the f**k would have the time during a raging house ending blaze for a picture??.ill people!!
N G 4 years ago
Unless you regularly remove fluth from the filter, it will eventually start a fire!
Load More Replies...
Hodor! Hodor? 4 years ago
You have a fire in your house and the first thing you think of is to take a picture of it! Wtf is the world coming to? Probably so you can post it on Facebook or something equally as sad
Tarryn Louise 2 years ago
Taking a photo of it rather than actually stopping it seems like a good idea....?
Sue Sanders 4 years ago
I've heard that clothes dryers are among the top fire hazards, followed in no particular order by electric blankets, dishwashers - oh, Google it. You may be glad you did.
Bettye McKee 4 years ago
If you use dryer sheets, they leave a build-up on the lint filter such that they will hold water. You have to clean the lint filter with soap and water to remove it. If it holds water, it also means that air cannot circulate through it.
Bettye McKee 4 years ago
Well, look on the bright side. You'll never to wash that laundry again.
#9
These Six Socks Were Washed Together, One Shrunk
#10
My Pillow Said "Washing Machine And Dryer Safe." I Open Up My Dryer To This
#11
Washed My Favourite Jumper
#12
Accidentally Washed My Wallet And This Dog Appeared
#13
Laundry Time
#14
I Washed The "Antistress" Pillow
Doggo Georgia 4 years ago
Should be called a gives you stress pillow. *cue tv advert voice* "Gives you stress annndd makes a mess! Try the stress giving pillow today, OR gift it to someone who 'doesn't have enough problems'! Put it in the dryer, makes a fire! Put in the wash, goes kaposh! Neglect it all the time, give it dirt and grime! Order your stress giving pillow today for a super large amount so you can waste money too!"
#15
So My Washing Machine Took A Little Walk
Madison Feehan 4 years ago
*Explanation* If you're doing your laundry (most likely bedding) the sheets can get stuck together in a ball, causing the washing machine to start "walking" away as it spins around the lump of sheets from one side to the other.
#16
Accidentally Shrunk My Sweater While Doing Laundry
#17
So, I Came Back To Check On My Laundry
#18
Accidentally Put My Wool Hat In The Washing Machine. Label Said Hand Wash Cold
#19
I Accidentally Put My Leather Gloves In The Washing Machine
#20
Today Is A Pink Day
#21
Apparently Sometimes "Dry Clean Only" Really Does Mean Dry Clean Only
#22
I Feel Guilty For Murdering This Turtleneck
#23
"I Got A New Sweater Today Because Mom Sucks At Doing Laundry"
Doggo Georgia 4 years ago
Such a cute dog! And that looks like a real nice fleece sweater, sorry for your loss ☹️. Then again, puppy's gain.
#24
You Would Think They Would Make These Things Waterproof
#25
Mom Lesson Of The Day: Check The Pockets Before Doing The Laundry
Soggy Crumpet 4 years ago (edited)
I have done this!! What a massive stresser! Had to call someone out to deep clean the drum and sealer parts. Repair man said it’s actually super common. (Just not common to me!)
#26
You Think You’ve Raised Them To Be Rational Human Beings, And Then You Come Around The Corner And You See This
#27
Did The First Load Of Laundry Of The Decade. 2 Rolls Of Toilet Paper Fell Off The Top Of The Fridge And Into The Washing Machine Without Me Noticing
#28
Accidentally Chucked My 2-Year-Old's Lovely Hand-Knitted Dress In The Wash And It Came Out Felted, Newborn Size
After hearing me exclaim "Noooo!", my 4-year-old son came running into the laundry to find out what had happened. He was quick to console me by reminding me that I will soon have a newborn to put it on. What a sweetie.
#29
My Husband Washed His Jeans Today... With A Few Red Car Rags
#30
Nothing Like Pulling Out A Warm Pillow Out Of The Dryer Right Before Bedtime
#31
And This Is Why You Let Your Wife Do Your Laundry And You Do Not Wash 100% Wool Sweaters In Hot Water. I Promise I Could Fit This Yesterday
StinkyMonkey 4 years ago
Lemme fix that for you: this is why you educate yourself before you do something you have no experience with.
#32
I Washed Christophers Work Id And Made Him A Cyclops
#33
I Accidentally Washed And Dried My $10 Bill And It Shrunk To A Quarter Of Its Normal Size
#34
When You Accidentally Put Your Gloves In The Wash
#35
Laundry Fail. One Of Sena’s Favorite Sweaters Is Hers No More
#36
My Friend's Laundry Machine Did This
#37
I Did Laundry. She Lost Her iPhone
Nikola Murphy 4 years ago
My husband did this! We had a newborn and she spewed on our bed. He took the duvet cover off and put it in the wash. Turns out my phone had been on the bed...
#38
Honey, I Shrunk My Sweater
#39
Because When Life Gives You Over Sudsy Laundry Problems And Your Kid Is Home On Chanukah Break You Just Have To Make The Best Of It
#40
I Seem To Have Accidentally Shrunk Ed's New Outfit In The Wash
#41
When You’re Having Monday Problems On A Tuesday. Now How In The Heck Am I Supposed To Clean This?
#42
Really? Seriously This Is Inside Of My Washing Machine. How A Bag Of TJ's Pretzels Got Into My Hamper I Will Never Know
Doggo Georgia 4 years ago
Probably because someone stashed it to hide it from a food hogger or to save it for a later time.
#43
When You Remember That Wool Shrinks In The Dryer
#44
Farewell, Then, Beloved Jumper. In A Moment Of Distraction, You Were Bundled Into The Wash With Everything Else And Met Your Demise
#45
Don’t Know How I Managed To Do This Today But Somehow I Did A Load Of Laundry With An Entire Box Of Kleenex In It
#46
AirPods Were In The Pocket Of My Jacket
#47
Yay, Pull-Ups In The Washing Machine
#48
It Won't Give Back My Laundry
#49
Washing Machine Shook The Detergent Off
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What do you think ?
StinkyMonkey 4 years ago (edited)
Wool things can be unshrunk (to a certain degree) with hair conditioner. My mother shrunk my favourite cardigan and got it back to its original size that way.
Just JoLynn 4 years ago
How soon after shrinkage does it have to be applied, and how much?
Load More Replies...
Eva the Ravenclaw Bookworm📚💖 4 years ago
I'm starting to feel sorry for all those people who shrunk their laundry and DON'T have dogs.
ebony1k124 touch 4 years ago
Whew. I learned not to wash pillows, regardless what the label says unless the washer doesn't have an agitator in the middle. I also learned that pillows with any type of feathers will explode in the dryer and look like you raided a chicken coop. Wool sweaters shrink in anything but cold and you can't dry them. But the best part of this is that a bunch of cute pets ended up looking dapper in their new threads!
Remi Flynne 4 years ago
I regularly wash my pillows. I wonder if it is just that the pillows in question were too old? I have read that people don't replace them often enough. It is recommended that they are replaced around the 2 year mark.
Load More Replies...
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
One of my tops got ruined because of colour leakage, the stupid thing was that the top ruined itself. The chest area was white on the top and black on the tummy area. So the black dye leaked onto the white and now the white part is grey and patchy. Not a nice grey either, more like a really dirty and old white kinda grey. Only got to wear the top twice.
Elixir 4 years ago
My godmother sewed me a red and white polka dot dress. The fabric shop said it wouldn't run. Wore that dress, and as a 4 yo of course i got a grass stain and my mum washed it. Of course I liked pink too?
Load More Replies...
Rose the Cook 4 years ago
So many people who don't know how to wash a sweater and even put them in the dryer.
Joanne Hudson 4 years ago
WASH EVERYTHING IN COLD WATER. Its easier to remind yourself one time to use HOT than to remind yourself NOT TO use hot.
Tovah Roche 4 years ago
I lived with my aunt and uncle in my early 20s. My aunt REFUSED to let me wash my own laundry because I didn't know how her washer and dryer worked despite me telling her I used the same exact duo at my parents house. I was broke and couldn't afford to use a laundry mat so I was forced to obey her laundry rule. After about two months of living with them, I had accumulated enough dirty sweaters to warrant a load. My aunt put them in the dryer and ALL of them shrunk. To say I was pissed is an understatement.
Bonnie Edwards 4 years ago
Un-shrinking Instructions from my Mum.... Do not wait for the item to dry. Place it in enough water to make it float. Warmer than luke-warm - but not hot enough for soup. Massage in a shot-glass worth of hair conditioner and leave to soak until the water goes cold. Periodically, give the garment some light stretching - but make sure not to pull it out of shape. Rinsing is optional - luke-warm water only. Lay it out on a towel and PRESS dry with your hands, while gently stretching some more. Do not wring it dry that will stretch it in bad ways. Lay the garment out on a fresh towel in the shape you want it to dry and allow it to air-dry. It will now dry in the size and shape you have laid it out in. Opt, use a knitters technique called 'blocking'. Pin the garment, stretched out on a childs foam play-mat, in the size and shape that you want it to dry. Make sure you use lots of pins, close together so you don't get a scalloped edge.
Dorothy Cloud 4 years ago
I must have lived a very mundane life. Only 1 or 2 times did I leave something in a pocket!!
Celeste Grant 4 years ago
My mum shrank a cashmere cardigan I'd saved for when I was at uni and home for the holidays... lesson learned; I don't let anyone else do my laundry because then if things go wrong it's my own fault! At least a couple of times a year mum gives me a jumper of hers or dads that she's managed to felt... I used them to make boot cuffs, mittens, bags, hot water bottle covers.
Max L. 4 years ago
Au contraire case here : had a pijama of a popular italian baby clothing company of 50 years ago named "Stellina", which means "little star". My mother washed it when I was 3 months old, it was slime green. Came out of the laundry like 1,70 meters long, did fit perfectly until I became 18. All good, but went to camping with boyscouts at 14...
Lily Mae Kitty 4 years ago
how do this many adults not understand you don't wash wool sweaters in the machine with hot water, nor do you put them in dryers. But I've been doing laundry for 48 years (I'm 59)and just forgot I had thrown a new dark purple gauze dress into the washer to wash with some black items and put the WHITE king sheets in there and washed. we now have purple tie dye sheets and dammit, good sheets are expensive!
Astrid Nineor 4 years ago
I havent shrunk anything (yet), but I have forgotten tissue paper in pockets.,. Grrr
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
I just enjoyed all the pictures of pets wearing the shrunken items. I once also washed a wool sweater (no tags, bought second-hand), and it shrank. No big loss.
Zoe 4 years ago
In my family, they have left chapstick in their pocket and didn't empty them out so when I put the laundry in the dryer, the cherry red chapstick melted into the clothes and ruined them. Husband was able to save a few items by applying cold ice on it and took the chapstick out but the rest had to toss. This has happened a few times in our marriage.
StinkyMonkey 4 years ago (edited)
Wool things can be unshrunk (to a certain degree) with hair conditioner. My mother shrunk my favourite cardigan and got it back to its original size that way.
Just JoLynn 4 years ago
How soon after shrinkage does it have to be applied, and how much?
Load More Replies... Eva the Ravenclaw Bookworm📚💖 4 years ago
I'm starting to feel sorry for all those people who shrunk their laundry and DON'T have dogs.
ebony1k124 touch 4 years ago
Whew. I learned not to wash pillows, regardless what the label says unless the washer doesn't have an agitator in the middle. I also learned that pillows with any type of feathers will explode in the dryer and look like you raided a chicken coop. Wool sweaters shrink in anything but cold and you can't dry them. But the best part of this is that a bunch of cute pets ended up looking dapper in their new threads!
Remi Flynne 4 years ago
I regularly wash my pillows. I wonder if it is just that the pillows in question were too old? I have read that people don't replace them often enough. It is recommended that they are replaced around the 2 year mark.
Load More Replies... Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
One of my tops got ruined because of colour leakage, the stupid thing was that the top ruined itself. The chest area was white on the top and black on the tummy area. So the black dye leaked onto the white and now the white part is grey and patchy. Not a nice grey either, more like a really dirty and old white kinda grey. Only got to wear the top twice.
Elixir 4 years ago
My godmother sewed me a red and white polka dot dress. The fabric shop said it wouldn't run. Wore that dress, and as a 4 yo of course i got a grass stain and my mum washed it. Of course I liked pink too?
Load More Replies... Rose the Cook 4 years ago
So many people who don't know how to wash a sweater and even put them in the dryer.
Joanne Hudson 4 years ago
WASH EVERYTHING IN COLD WATER. Its easier to remind yourself one time to use HOT than to remind yourself NOT TO use hot.
Tovah Roche 4 years ago
I lived with my aunt and uncle in my early 20s. My aunt REFUSED to let me wash my own laundry because I didn't know how her washer and dryer worked despite me telling her I used the same exact duo at my parents house. I was broke and couldn't afford to use a laundry mat so I was forced to obey her laundry rule. After about two months of living with them, I had accumulated enough dirty sweaters to warrant a load. My aunt put them in the dryer and ALL of them shrunk. To say I was pissed is an understatement.
Bonnie Edwards 4 years ago
Un-shrinking Instructions from my Mum.... Do not wait for the item to dry. Place it in enough water to make it float. Warmer than luke-warm - but not hot enough for soup. Massage in a shot-glass worth of hair conditioner and leave to soak until the water goes cold. Periodically, give the garment some light stretching - but make sure not to pull it out of shape. Rinsing is optional - luke-warm water only. Lay it out on a towel and PRESS dry with your hands, while gently stretching some more. Do not wring it dry that will stretch it in bad ways. Lay the garment out on a fresh towel in the shape you want it to dry and allow it to air-dry. It will now dry in the size and shape you have laid it out in. Opt, use a knitters technique called 'blocking'. Pin the garment, stretched out on a childs foam play-mat, in the size and shape that you want it to dry. Make sure you use lots of pins, close together so you don't get a scalloped edge.
Dorothy Cloud 4 years ago
I must have lived a very mundane life. Only 1 or 2 times did I leave something in a pocket!!
Celeste Grant 4 years ago
My mum shrank a cashmere cardigan I'd saved for when I was at uni and home for the holidays... lesson learned; I don't let anyone else do my laundry because then if things go wrong it's my own fault! At least a couple of times a year mum gives me a jumper of hers or dads that she's managed to felt... I used them to make boot cuffs, mittens, bags, hot water bottle covers.
Max L. 4 years ago
Au contraire case here : had a pijama of a popular italian baby clothing company of 50 years ago named "Stellina", which means "little star". My mother washed it when I was 3 months old, it was slime green. Came out of the laundry like 1,70 meters long, did fit perfectly until I became 18. All good, but went to camping with boyscouts at 14...
Lily Mae Kitty 4 years ago
how do this many adults not understand you don't wash wool sweaters in the machine with hot water, nor do you put them in dryers. But I've been doing laundry for 48 years (I'm 59)and just forgot I had thrown a new dark purple gauze dress into the washer to wash with some black items and put the WHITE king sheets in there and washed. we now have purple tie dye sheets and dammit, good sheets are expensive!
Astrid Nineor 4 years ago
I havent shrunk anything (yet), but I have forgotten tissue paper in pockets.,. Grrr
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
I just enjoyed all the pictures of pets wearing the shrunken items. I once also washed a wool sweater (no tags, bought second-hand), and it shrank. No big loss.
Zoe 4 years ago
In my family, they have left chapstick in their pocket and didn't empty them out so when I put the laundry in the dryer, the cherry red chapstick melted into the clothes and ruined them. Husband was able to save a few items by applying cold ice on it and took the chapstick out but the rest had to toss. This has happened a few times in our marriage.
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