Martha Stewart Says It’s Fine to Leave Wet Clothes in the Washer Overnight

Maggie Parker

It’s 11 p.m. and you’re tucked into bed, falling asleep to the sounds of Keeping Up With the Kardashians reruns when you remember: You didn’t put the laundry in the dryer. Before you jump out of bed, totally waking yourself up and ruining any chance you had at getting eight hours of sleep, know this: Martha Stewart says it’s OK to leave wet clothes in the washer overnight.

The lifestyle guru called into Today on Thursday morning to settle a debate about leaving wet clothes in the machine, and in doing so, changed all lives everywhere. “A mother sparked quite the debate online after asking a question about some chores,” Savannah Guthrie began the segment. “She’d just put in a load of laundry when she got tired and just said, ‘You know what, I am going to go to bed.’ So she left the wet clothes in the washing machine overnight. Then she decided to ask the Internet, ‘Is that OK? A lot of strong reactions came in.”

When Guthrie asked her panel for their opinion, Willie Geist said, “It’s a hard no.” Guthrie admitted to having done it, and Al Roker said, “Yeah, I don’t think that’s bad … I mean you don’t wanna leave them in there for a week, but overnight I don’t think is bad.” To settle the debate, Guthrie called her “lifeline,” Martha Stewart.

“I would say that was perfectly all right,” Stewart said. “I mean, don’t leave it for a long time. Al said, don’t leave it for a week. If you get up in the morning and throw them in the dryer, it should probably be OK … One way you can kind of tell is if it smells all right,” she continued. “I mean that’s mold and that’s bacteria that starts to grow on damp clothing in closed environments … That’s very pungent and you can really smell any bad stuff.”

So it’s official, straight from the lifestyle queen’s mouth: You don’t have to jump out of bed to change the laundry. Of course, Stewart says, don’t make a habit of it. But one night of wetness likely won’t turn your washer into a mildew factory.

Not only do you not have to put your clothes in the dryer right away, you might want to nix the dryer altogether.

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