How Can I Find Lost Items in the Washing Machine

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The washing machine has a tendency to lose clothes. It shouldn’t occur too frequently, though, if you make sure your gasket is impenetrable and doesn’t overload.

Unfortunately, a common issue for lots of people is losing small items in the washing machine. Smaller objects may become trapped in pockets, hidden by bigger objects, or simply end up in the wrong place.

Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to make it simpler to locate your clothing and other possessions when this occurs. Continue reading to find out more about recovering items from the washing machine and preventing them from going missing again.

Table of Contents

Why Do My Clothes Keep Being Eaten By My Washing Machine?

If your socks or bras are becoming a favorite of your washing machine, there may be a more serious issue at hand.

There may be slits or holes in the rubber gasket, which could be causing a washing machine to eat your clothes. Small clothing items vanish through such openings as a front-loading machine spins rapidly. If you have a top-loading washer, overloading is probably what’s eating your clothes.

When a top-loading machine is overloaded, some items may stray off to the sides and fall between the machine’s outer walls and tub.

How To Find Lost Items In Top Loading Washing Machine

Check The Pockets

If you have any items that have been washed, you should start by checking the pockets. If you have a pair of pants without pockets, you should probably check the pockets of anything else that was washed along with them. The majority of clothing made today is made of a fabric that allows water to pass through. Accordingly, even if a piece of clothing lacks a pocket, there may be a crevice where water may collect and conceal a trapped object.

Check Under The Rubber Seal

The first thing you should do when looking for a lost sock or other item is to run your finger under the rubber seal because you’re likely to find it there.

To stop losing socks in the future, you can make it a habit to do this each time you do laundry.

Examining the seal’s condition is also crucial. You’ll probably lose a lot more clothes if it’s old, worn, and losing their elasticity. This is a result of the poorer seal.

Check The Drum

Initially, make sure the machine is off and ideally empty. Then illuminate the drum with a torch or flashlight to see if the objects concealed at the back can be located. Turn the inner drum slowly and feel for small objects in the minuscule perforations.

Spin the drum to check for resistance, then slowly pry the rubber seal to make a space between it and the inner metal drum rim. To search for lost items between the outer and inner drums, spin the drum while leaving a space.

Use a flexible, thin object, such as a wire pipe cleaner or a cable tie, to gently work around the exterior of the inner drum in an effort to feel any lost items.

How Can I Find Lost Items in the Washing Machine

Check The Lint Trap

You should start looking outside of your clothing if your item hasn’t been located after you’ve looked in all of your pockets. The lint trap in your washing machine is the most logical place to start. It might be possible for a small object, such as a button or earring, to slide down into a hole in your lint trap if it becomes stuck in the filter and can’t be removed when you open the washer.

Check The Heater

To check the heater, you must open the washing machine’s back panel. Frequently, a small panel under the large drum motor contains the heater. To access the heater, pull out the panel.

Similar to the interior of a radiator, the panel has the appearance of a metal tube folded on itself. Socks and other small clothing items might get caught on the heater. You should also think about spinning the drum and using your torch to peek inside the heater housing to look for objects.

Slide the heater back into its position. When it is snug inside its bracket, push it firmly into place.

Use Magnets Or A Metal Detector

The owners of top-loading washing machines only should use the final tip. Small objects might get stuck there and be unable to fall out when you open the washer because this type of washer has a gap between its drum and its door. Sticking a magnet inside your washing machine while it’s running is one way to check this area. If something sticks to it, you know there is something metallic inside that might be interfering with how water enters and drains from your machine. If you have one on hand, you could also use a metal detector in place of a magnet, though most people don’t have these lying around their homes!

How Do I Get Stuff Out Of The Washing Machine?

Look carefully for any lost items, then remove them using this opening. You might be able to see an object and push it through to the sump hose opening by shining your torch through the holes in the machine’s drum. This will allow you to grab hold of the object.

Conclusion

Before inserting a load, inspect your washing machine and its contents to make sure nothing is missing. Similarly, keeping an eye out for lost items after a load has finished washing can help to reduce the damage if something does go missing. By shaking out clothes before putting them in the washer, grouping like items in a laundry bag, and keeping smaller items in a pocket, you can lessen the possibility of items getting lost in your washing machine. If you need to find something in an area that is particularly dark or confined, a flashlight and a bleach dispenser can be useful.

If you have other problems with washing machines, welcome to check the following guides!