So, a lot of things can happen in a washing machine if you don’t know what you’re doing. Hopefully, more often than not, the washing machine goes through the entire cycle without you needing to pick up the pieces of whatever that was left inside afterwards (or whatever that is left of the appliance in general).

But to kick off the list, don’t put anything into the washing machine that quite literally isn’t clothing or fabric. And even that comes with its own asterisks.

A quick-list of things to avoid putting into a conventional washing machine, that still fits the concept of clothing: suits, embellished clothing, clothes with zippers and buttons, swimsuits and bras, baby socks, throw blankets, sneakers with leather, clothes covered in pet hair, sweaters made out of delicate materials, lace garments, ties and memory foam pillows, just to name a few.

If some of these seem a bit strange, or you have been doing it with zero repercussions, then note that it depends. Suits, embellished clothes, and laced garments might seem like a no-brainer, but why are some of the others in this list? They’re there to serve as a warning.

Clothes with zippers and buttons are fine, as long as there is not delicate clothing in the same wash as zippers are notoriously predatory pieces of fastening and can rip thin materials into shreds. And that’s a whole other can of beans that won’t come out in the wash.

Baby socks, like many other tiny clothes, can easily get sucked into the innards of the washing machine; bikinis and anything with elastic can become less elastic really quickly; bras can get hooked on internal washing machine parts easily; many blankets are surprisingly dry wash only, so watch the tag; pet hair can quickly suffocate your washing machine; leather accents often peel off of clothes (and then get gobbled up by the crevices of the drum), and things like sweaters made of wool, velvet or cashmere demand delicacy in general—just hand-wash them.

Washing machines function very similarly to humans in the sense that everything has to be done in moderation. Hence, too little or too much laundry detergent or soap might lead to disappointing washing results. Since a lot of the machine’s cleaning efficiency depends on clothes rubbing against each other, too much soap might reduce friction to a degree where it doesn’t really clean itself. And too little detergent is self-explanatory.

Besides that, too much detergent, yet not enough water to rinse it off in the end might also lead to skin irritation while wearing the clothes. It might even lead to dermatitis.

Oh, and, apparently, too much detergent might also mean your clothes might smell bad in the end. How? If there’s not enough water to rinse it off, that means both the detergent and whatever odor-causing bacteria that’s present there won’t come off. So, that nasty stain you got there on your sweater might become even nastier without you really noticing it.

But that’s just one side of the coin—the washing machine wants some love and care too.

To finish off with the previous point of too much detergent, using the right detergent and less of it is also key to keeping the washing machine healthy. Modern detergents are designed for modern machines, which use less water with higher efficiency. Otherwise, there’s going to be a lot of suds out there.

Besides that, keeping the washing machine level means it’s not gonna lose balance and go for a stroll. Or collapse altogether.

Regularly inspecting the water-fill hoses for cracks, cleaning the dispenser drawer and the lint filter of any suds and lint buildup, and preventing mold by doing a drum clean cycle every month are key to a healthy washing machine. Otherwise, the smell is going to be the least of your concern.

But if you take care of your machinery and need a different takeaway from this listicle, why not throw these fun washing machine facts in casual conversation:

The first commercially-available washing machine for regular Joes in the U.S. was called Thor and it was released in 1908; the first ever washing machine was rolled out in the 1760s and it was basically a manual-rotation wooden box; it took 4 decades of innovation to reduce water consumption per cycle from 181 liters to just 45.

Have any washing machine nightmares of your own (whether it was just a dream or you experienced it firsthand)? Share your stories in the comment section below!

But if you haven’t had your fill of washing machine campfire horror stories, you can always jump into the Bored Panda rabbit hole to see another disastrous laundry listicle.