We’ve all been in a hurry for the washing machine to finish drying our clothes so that we can get them into the tumble dryer in the hope we have clean clothes for the morning.
Many of us have experienced our washing machines telling us lies as a result of this. You check the time left on the washing cycle and see it says 10 minutes, only for 20 minutes to go by, and it’s still running.
As frustrating as washing machines can be at this moment, there is a good reason for them taking a bit longer than stated.
Why Do Washing Machines Lie About the Time Left?
The reason that your washing machine may be taking longer to finish than stated is because of the spin cycle. The spin cycle gets rid of all the excess water in your clothes allowing them to dry as quickly as possible after the wash.
So, if the sensors in the machines notice that the clothes are still very wet, the machine automatically extends the spin cycle. So, a 10-minute spin may turn into a 20-minute spin.
All of this is done to ensure that when your clothes come out of the washing machine, they are as dry as the washing machine can get them so that drying them fully, either in the tumble dryer, or hanging them up on the line, is quicker.
So, while the washing machine may seem like it’s lying to you in this situation, and frankly, it sort of is, it is doing it for a good reason.
Removing your clothes while they are soaking wet will increase the drying time by a lot longer than the time it takes the washing machine to remove the excess water in the spin cycle.
Are the Times on Washing Machines Accurate?
While we are talking about washing machine times, you may be interested to know how accurate the times are on a washing machine.
While accuracy may differ depending on the make and model of your washing machine, the times stated on most are actually pretty accurate.
So, if your washing machine states that it will take 45 minutes to do a wash, then it will take about this long, give or take a few seconds.
Modern washing machines can be even more accurate than this, though. With sensors weighing each load and more accurate programming available, you can really dial in each load of washing and get a very accurate time for how long each washing cycle will take.
You can even get updates on your phone during the washing cycle, so if something does change during the spin cycle, you won’t need to get up and check if the washing machine has finished or not.
To Recap
If a washing machine senses that there is excess water left in your clothes, it will extend the cycle to remove it. While this is a bit frustrating, it is the faster way of removing this water from your clothes.
We hope this look at why washing machines lie to us sometimes has been helpful. For more information just like this on washing machines and tumble dryers, please explore In The Wash further.
We also have the best washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers available in the UK right here too.
