There are people who collect individual socks. Not because of a crazy passion for collecting, but because pieces keep getting lost during washing in a seemingly mysterious way.
Claim: Socks get lost in washing machines.
Rating: This is partly true, socks dissolve in some devices.
Facts: If socks get into the seal on the door during their rounds in the drum, in some devices they can be pulled into the interior of the washing machine through a gap in this rubber lip, explains Joshua Jahn, project manager for energy advice at the Brandenburg Consumer Center. This is why some washing machines actually eat socks.
According to Jahn, the socks and other very small items of clothing inside the device then get caught in the machine’s heating coil. Their rescue is usually hopeless: due to heat and friction, the material dissolves completely following a while. If a craftsman has to open the machine anyway as part of a repair, you might let him look for socks or their leftovers. But if you don’t have any knowledge of electrical appliances, you shouldn’t unscrew them yourself, advises Jahn.
“Probably not that high”
However, according to the experts, not many devices have the slot-like wastewater drain anymore. “The older the washing machine is, the higher the likelihood that it has this gap and that socks will be pulled through,” says Jahn.
Claudia Oberascher from the HEA specialist community for efficient energy use, which includes large household appliance manufacturers, confirms this. “If you have a very old device, this can happen more often, but not really with a fairly contemporary model from a local brand manufacturer.” According to the household appliance expert, they have further developed their construction methods accordingly, as substances that get inside through the gaps might lead to failures at some point.
“And even with these devices with a gap, you have to say: the likelihood of socks getting into them is not that high,” says Jahn. “You don’t have to worry regarding a sock disappearing once a month.” It doesn’t affect larger items of clothing anyway: even if a piece of sweater gets into the slit, the rest of it will be pulled along by other items of clothing in the circle, thus freeing the sleeve.
Special sock clips
Joshua Jahn’s best tip for owners of affected older devices: use special sock clips to collect the individual footwear or put them in a laundry bag. Oberascher also recommends a bag.
“And you shouldn’t fill the washing machine to capacity,” recommends Jahn. “The likelihood that the socks will be pulled towards the gap increases the more fully the washing machine is loaded. You should leave a hand’s width of space in the drum.” Or you just have one type of socks. “Then it’s not so bad if some people disappear.”
By the way: May 9th is considered the – of course not official – memorial day for all the missing socks in the world. It follows No Socks Day on May 8th.
