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Do You Leave the Washer Door Open or Closed?

Taryn Williford
Taryn Williford
Taryn is a writer, editor, content strategist, and homebody from Atlanta. I might have helped you declutter your apartment through the magic of a well-paced email newsletter. Or maybe you know me from The Pickle Factory Loft on Instagram.
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updated Jul 16, 2020
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There are some questions in life that—when opened up for advice from well-meaning family, friends and Google searches—will always give you conflicting answers. Should your baby sleep on his back or his stomach? Does the cheese course come before or after dessert? And, our personal favorite, should we leave the door to the washing machine open or closed after we finish a load?

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(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

The truth is that there’s no right answer. Depending on your living situation, your family and the layout of your home, either answer could be right for you.

Reasons to leave the washer door open (or ajar):

  • You’re letting the interior dry completely to cut down on mold and odor (A problem in many front-loading laundry machines)
  • You share a communal laundry room and you’re signaling that the washer is available.

Reasons to close the washer door:

  • You didn’t know to let it dry completely before and now it reeks too much with the door open.
  • You have small children or pets who think crawling into a washing machine is fun.
  • The washer is out in the open (or in the kitchen) and it’s in the way, or you think it looks terrible.
  • It’s in a closet, and you have to close it to close the door.

We’re sure there’s a million more reasons to leave the washer door open or closed. So let us know in the comments whether you’re Team Open or Team Closed and why.


(Images: flickr user Shemer under license from Creative Commons, flickr user me’nthedogs under license from Creative Commons)



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