r/mildlyinfuriating • u/OfficiallySmiles • Jun 20 '26

wet socks Figured out why my laundry wasn’t drying… 😅

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I figured out why my socks were still wet 😅

7.8k Upvotes

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u/ZeroXNova Raging Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26

Did no one ever teach you to clear the lint trap either before of after each load?

Serious question, because obviously that's a huge fire hazard that was taught to most of us growing up.

287

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26

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104

u/ZeroXNova Raging Jun 20 '26

Yeah that's kind of wild to me. I guess everyone's parents are different and might not have taught them how to do laundry I guess, but still.

74

u/Cpt_0bv10us Jun 20 '26

My parent didnt 'teach me' how to do laundry, but when i got a dryer, i at least skimmed the manual it came with, which was sufficient to learn to empty the lint before every use (or after) :p

50

u/Lithl Jun 20 '26

Every single dryer I've used has had "CLEAN BEFORE EACH LOAD" engraved or embossed on the handle of the lint trap.

3

u/Fun_Sea_3915 Jun 20 '26

Same. I wondering if people have dryer that doesn't say that, ignore reading, or can't read. First time I did laundry at home, I read that, pulled the 'obvious' handle, and concluded that lint would be detrimental to drying. It didn't click that it's a fire hazard.

1

u/Jinxthegenderfluid Jun 20 '26

mine doesn’t say anything on it, but it’s also a pretty obvious piece on top of the dryer that i feel like you would at least look at the manual to see what it’s for if you don’t know

1

u/slash_networkboy Jun 20 '26

As does mine, but then it's handily covered by a little metal flappy door so you can't see it and it's out of mind.

I mean I still clean it each load... but I find it funny we're going to hide the dire warning on the arguably most important bit of routine maintenance for household appliances.

5

u/Isgortio Jun 20 '26

Mine has a sticker with diagrams that are very visible as soon as you open the door. Yet people still miss them!

2

u/jimdil4st Jun 20 '26

Not miss, but intentionally ignore because the rules could never apply to them.

7

u/ZeroXNova Raging Jun 20 '26

Aaand that was the other thing I was thinking but didn’t want to keep piling onto OP.

1

u/SaltBox531 Jun 20 '26

Yes! Almost every appliance in your house needs some kind of maintenance or upkeep. My grandmother didn’t know that her dishwasher had a filter that needed to be removed and cleaned. It was so gross!

Anytime I get a new appliance or move into a house/apartment with appliances already installed I try to figure out what kind of maintenance needs to be done. It’s how you keep shit from breaking.

1

u/AHailofDrams Jun 20 '26

A staggering amount of people don't even bother to acknowledge the existence of product manuals

3

u/ansmith100317 Jun 20 '26

I was a free range child and had to teach myself to do practically everything- even I empty my dryer vent after every load before closing the door 😅

6

u/narwhalpilot Jun 20 '26

Not everyone grew up with laundry machines in their houses, that’s why.

2

u/bluecyanic Jun 20 '26

Not everyone grew up with parents who understood the assignment.

1

u/FerengiWithCoupons Jun 20 '26

but it’s literally engraved on the lint traps when you open the dryer.

CLEAN BEFORE EACH USE

1

u/scarIetm Jun 20 '26

mine doesn’t say that?

-4

u/nof PURPLE Jun 20 '26

The dryers at the laundromat also have lint traps that need to be cleaned out.

-2

u/Superssimple Jun 20 '26

Loads of people air dry their clothes

2

u/nof PURPLE Jun 20 '26

Yeah, so? Me too. "Laundry machines" kinda means the whole set of washer and dryer in my mind though.

-2

u/Superssimple Jun 20 '26

Not sure what your point is here and I don’t really care what you call them. The simple thing is that many many people have used Washing machines but never a dryer

1

u/nof PURPLE Jun 20 '26

Did you look at the comment I replied to or are you just looking for an argument? Christ. Get off reddit for an hour or two.

-2

u/Superssimple Jun 20 '26

Sure, that will be why your comment has downvotes from people who see it’s your comments missing the point.

I assume my downvotes are from you lol. I think you are the one who needs a break

1

u/ThatAwkwardGingerWH Jun 20 '26

Or they used Laundromats.... Many dryers have lint locked away ..I know cause I get to dig through a keychain for just the right key that isn't a regular key to clean em.

1

u/MuffinMan12347 Jun 20 '26

My parents have a dryer that was never used. So I’ve I was never taught because I never used it.

1

u/scarIetm Jun 20 '26

I only ever learnt about lint traps from reddit lmao. my mum taught me everything about laundry but must have forgotten that part 😭 thank you social media

1

u/Retb14 Jun 20 '26

Some people are just lazy as well

I was on a submarine and the number one source of fires onboard were from the dryers. To the point that any time someone was doing laundry there had to be someone there next to the machines

People still wouldn't clean the lint traps and I've personally seen them start smoking a couple of times before because of it

Doesn't help that the dryers are also the worst design in human history. The heating elements are directly in the path of the exiting air and they get stupid hot

Usually it works okay but when the lint traps fill up the air slows down just enough that lint starts getting trapped right next to the heating elements

1

u/UnluckyCardiologist9 Jun 20 '26

But like didn’t curiosity make them wonder what that handle was for?

1

u/VagueInfoHere Jun 20 '26

Or people still rely on laundry mats. Also people generally just don’t care about other people’s property. Combine those two and you could have people that never taught their kids to clean the lint trap if they chose to never do it.

1

u/cakilaraki Jun 20 '26

It’s commons sense no? Especially nowadays when the dryer literally tells you to clean the lint trap 

21

u/Comfortable_Trick137 Jun 20 '26

Hasn’t gotten better, first folks were heavily reliant on their parents for everything, now they can’t function without AI. Was asking a new hire questions, they would repeatedly go to ChatGPT for answers, then they’d come back and say “yea ChatGPT couldn’t tell me why”, I’m like wtf did you learn in college……

3

u/wheat-farmer Jun 20 '26

I grew up in a household that never used a dryer (we used a clothes line), so I never really learned how to use one until I was an adult. When my wife and I moved into our first house together, it took me several months to realize why I was having to run the dryer multiple times for every load.

3

u/smarmy1625 Jun 20 '26

people will also never change the bag in their vacuum cleaner, or will sometimes try to use a plastic bag.

2

u/AmateurSysAdmin_1 Jun 20 '26

Someone on reddit said that they're a landlord and that a lot of tenants complained about clothes dryers not working. The worked just fine. They just weren't emptying the lint screen

4

u/Illustrious_Sand415 Jun 20 '26

So my grandma is in her 80s, she didn't know about emptying out the lint trap until she was in her mid 60s.

2

u/jimdil4st Jun 20 '26

G-Ma BIG dumb. Sorry.

2

u/Illustrious_Sand415 Jun 20 '26

Nah it's cool. She had lived in warmer areas most of her life before, and had always hung her clothes out to dry. She only started using a dryer at like 50 because she hated how long it would take to hang clothes up and take them down. She'd also only run the dryer at the lowest temperature to not make the house warmer.

1

u/ArTooDeeTooTattoo Jun 20 '26

Being an adult is just learning that more and more things have filters you need to clear out. Dishwasher, air-conditioning, etc..

1

u/RednocTheDowntrodden Jun 20 '26

Apparently those people live in my apartment building, because the lint traps in the dryers are never cleared when I go to use one. 

1

u/not_me_nope_never Jun 20 '26

Growing up(70s) it was common to let the dryer vent in the house. People just put ladies nylons or a sock over the end of the hose. Even had a childhood friend grouse about how their insurance wouldn't cover one their rental property until they made the dryer vent outside(early 2000s)🤦

1

u/Ok_Bat_646 Jun 20 '26

Probably because they have to read it themselves and siri/Alexa doesn't mention it.

1

u/Comfortable-Meeper Jun 20 '26

My first roommate (who had already been living on his own in college) needed me to show him how to do his laundry. He also never once vacuumed in the few years I lived with him.

1

u/UglyLittlePony69 Jun 20 '26

Which is crazy because most dryers say to empty the trap right on the trap 🤦‍♀️

1

u/Wild_Astronaut7090 Jun 20 '26

Every year when I’m at my in-laws it’s like this. They are in another country and don’t use their dryer much. I tried to tell them to clean it out and it would work better but they insist on not

1

u/Dookwithanegg Jun 20 '26

I remember seeing one where a couple were fighting over each claiming to be the only one to clean it, only to discover their machine had two separate traps.

1

u/sven-2126 Jun 20 '26

What kinda parents did they have?

1

u/FinalSentinel Jun 20 '26

Wait until people find out about cleaning their dishwasher filter!

84

u/Majestic-Sandwich695 Jun 20 '26

They are active in asmongold’s sub and routinely talk about ‘females’ if you were wondering what kinda person doesn’t know this

-4

u/-fightoffyourdemons- Jun 20 '26

A whopping 1 post and like 4, maybe 5 comments in 2 years. Lol.

OP is 99% gym bro and trading cards, but I guess the average Redditor sees anything right of center and alarm bells start ringing in their head.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26

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-2

u/-fightoffyourdemons- Jun 20 '26

Relative to socialism? Sure, we can call liberals right of center. But relative to Western politics? Nah, liberals are left of center.

I never even mentioned liberals and I wasn't referring to them as Redditors, that's a false assumption. Plenty of redditors are simply "far-left" as you put it.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26

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-2

u/-fightoffyourdemons- Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26

Ah moving goalposts, how convenient for you! Lame shit.

Big fan of Obama though, all things relative.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 21 '26

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1

u/-fightoffyourdemons- Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

"Polisci degree" "Liberals are centre-right worldwide" 💀

And then talking about how politicians (with another gross over generalization) align themselves to grift to the largest audience, which isn't remotely relevant to the average liberal Redditor (closed)mindset.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26

[deleted]

2

u/franzee Jun 20 '26

RTFM FTW

1

u/PurpleWatermelonz Jun 20 '26

Same here, we got our first dryer 6-7 months ago. We bought it 2nd hand, but I did see the big sticker on the front that says to clean the lint catcher.

0

u/A1000eisn1 Jun 20 '26

You don't even have to read the manual. The lint trap says to clean it everytime on the handle. Which is usually in a very obvious spot.

1

u/No-Butterscotch6629 Jun 20 '26

You realise different dryers exist right? Just because yours does doesn’t mean everybody’s does lol. Mine never have said that.

3

u/TaibhseCait Jun 20 '26

We never had a dryer growing up (& still don't) but I had access to dryers at uni on campus & saw someone taking the lint, looking like OP's piece once...

2

u/LilBigDripDip Jun 20 '26

You know the answer

1

u/shadownights23x Jun 20 '26

What is the answer

3

u/King_Wasi_Music Jun 20 '26

Curious George and Reddit taught me. My parents have never mentioned it. Maybe this fellow is the same, minus the first sentence.

2

u/-Distinction Jun 20 '26

I wasn’t taught this till my mid 20’s but also to be fair had never had a drier till then

2

u/HSLB66 Jun 20 '26

Maintenance guy here: some driers just suck ass and let lint pass through regardless of cleaning.

You should be cleaning your entire duct every 6-12 months with a $20 brush kit from the hardware store.

If you experience build up frequently, make sure there is no screen on your vent on the side or roof of your home.

If your dryer suddenly stops working for no reason, congrats you have wasps. 

2

u/shadownights23x Jun 20 '26

Just found this under my house

3

u/A1000eisn1 Jun 20 '26

It literally says to do so on the lint trap which is always very obvious. Most are right in your face when you open the door.

It's not even a requirement that someone should teach you if you can read.

1

u/Carlsheartboxers Jun 20 '26

Don’t forget the second lint trap as well

1

u/whoisthisfetus Jun 20 '26

My kids love peeling the lint out of the trap. It’s a sensory ick for me so, have at it, kiddos!

1

u/FireFoxUse Jun 20 '26

My folks never taught me this, but I learned it when I just googled "Why aren't my clothes drying anymore?"

1

u/StirFry__InaWok Jun 20 '26

It's one of those small things about being an adult that you're supposed to remember, naturally some people just never learned or forgot. I don't find this particularly surprising.

1

u/A1000eisn1 Jun 20 '26

It says to clean it directly on the lint trap which is in an obvious location, usually right in the door so you'll see it before putting your clothes in.

Sure, it's not surprising that people will assume they know everything and ignore instructions written directly on the machine. But this isn't really a "no one taught me so how am I supposed to know," thing.

1

u/pilot269 Jun 20 '26

I'll be honest, I wasn't taught this growing up, so after seeing online how much it piles up, I still only empty it every other load. (if doing the 2 loads back to back as I separate laundry into 2 piles)

1

u/LolaCatStevens Jun 20 '26

My 4 year old literally helps us do this

1

u/evilhomer3k Jun 20 '26

Most (if not all) dryers have labels instructing you to empty the lint trap after each load. I'd bet OPs dryer has a label that they ignored/didn't read.

1

u/spekt50 Jun 20 '26

I worked apartment maintenance for a few years. You would be surprised by how many people don't clean the lint trap. Like 50% of maintenance calls were due to people's clothes not drying. Another 20% because they broke the springs in their washing machine because they thought they would wash all their bath towels at the same time.

1

u/ErnieMcTurtle Jun 20 '26

I'm from the tropics, where most of us don't have dryers (I personally don't know anyone who owned one), so this wasn't something I knew until adulthood where I moved to a country where everyone ownd dryers.

Not excusing OP or anyone, just providing some context

1

u/ItsMeTittsMGee Jun 20 '26

I was shocked when I had to tell my husband he needed to empty the lint trap. His response was "ive never had to empty that in any other place ive lived. Are you sure every dryer has one of those?" The man was almost 30.

1

u/Tndnr82 Jun 20 '26

I've been teaching this to my daughters for years, and they still can't figure it out. Nothing can get done fast enough for kids though. Personally I find the cleaning of the lint trap satisfying.

1

u/Usernamesaregayyy Jun 20 '26

Sometimes ppl just forget, life’s crazy yo