Washing machines are notorious for taking longer than expected, leaving people wondering why the time left on the wash is so inaccurate – but turns out there’s a good reason
Many of us believe we’ve got a good handle on time, until we’re waiting for our washing machine to finish its cycle.
It’s a well-known fact that the time given on a washing machine is usually shorter than the duration of the actual cycle. It prompted a puzzled Reddit user to ask: “Explain like I’m five: Why does the last minute on the washing machine always take several minutes?
“I put on a wash, and it says 40 minutes to go. I come back in about that time, and see there is 1 minute remaining so I stick around to transfer the clothes to the dryer or rack.
“Several minutes later, there is still 1 minute remaining. Why does the machine lose sense of time in the last minute?”
According to Home and Gardens, there are a number of reasons why this might be. H2O Plumbing’s appliance connoisseur Rich Mullins said it’s mostly down to modern washing machines which are able to tweak the length of cycle based on the fabric, soil level, and detergents.
He explained: “Factors like the size of the load, the type of fabric, water temperature, and the level of soil on the clothes can significantly extend the cycle duration. This results in a ‘lie’.
“These adjustments are made for optimal cleaning and care for the fabric, even if that means more time is tacked onto your washing. For instance, if the machine senses a hefty load, it may lengthen agitation or rinsing durations for thorough cleaning.”
Modern washing machines might also tack on extra minutes to your laundry cycle to ensure all the detergent is rinsed out. Mullins suggests mentally adding five to 10 minutes to each load, as there’s not much you can do to guarantee a 30-minute wash will stick to time.
One social media user explained: “If it’s like my washer, it’s because the times are only estimates, and the rounding errors accumulate on the last minute for each stage. Instead it’s probably actually driven by sensors in the machine.
“For example, the spin cycle in ours runs until the amount of water coming out drops to a certain level. The actual duration is driven by the types of clothes inside, a big fluffy comforter seems to be more porous, so it drains faster than my dense load of socks and T-shirts.”
Another frustrated user chimed in: “Mine does that too and it seems to be getting worse. Drives me nuts.” A third person said: “It’s because the first half of the wash (the tumbling and the soap and the water part) is timed. The second half is based on a state the machine is in.
“Once the timer finishes (it’s set to finish with 1 minute remaining), it starts draining water and spinning hard to get most of the water out. This takes a couple of minutes, but it’s not timed on the machine’s clock. The above is an educated guess. All washing machines work differently.”
Lastly, another person said: “Because you’re sitting there watching it, noticing every second instead of say, reading.”
