Ever Wonder Where All Your Lost Socks Go After a Wash? One Mom Took A Photo That Might Finally Have The Answer.

Mar 28, 2019 by apost team

Do you suffer from loss of socks when doing laundry? I know I do! But what is really happening to them?

There are many theories to where they go. Some of those stories include the laundry monster eats them, they are being thrown away by accident, and some even go as far to say that they simply just dissolve. Plus, there are many other theories too. Could any of these really be true?

Now you can rest easy knowing that we have found proof with where the socks are actually going. Cathy Hinz has photo evidence. She took the photo below and posted it on the internet. Sarah Rose found the post and shared with a caption about not feeling crazy any longer for losing socks.

apost.com

The original poster, Hinz, states that she and her husband were having trouble with the community washer in the laundry room. This is when her husband decided to take things a part and see if he could fix it up a bit. To their surprise, when he popped it open they found some lonely, single socks lying at the bottom.

And, it wasn’t just socks. They also found change, a credit card, and some underwear!

The Today Show happened upon Rose’s post. They found it intriguing and shared the post also. They then looked into things a little further by checking with an expert.

James Darmstadt, GE engineer, stated that most of the time the rubber gasket located at the front of the machine is likely the culprit. This is because when there is a gap or hole in the seam, items can easily slip though during the spin cycle.

To avoid this from happening, Darmstadt suggests checking for tears when cleaning your washer.

Top loaders usually have issues with items ending up between the walls of the machine and the wash tub. This is because the spinning can toss them about during washing. It’s suggested to keep your loads to the suggested fill line and not to overfill in order to avoid loss of items. Another thing you can do is to use mesh bags in order to keep your items together and avoid loss altogether.

Be sure to take time to take care of your machine. You need to clean the drain pump. It won’t take a lot of time and can even save you a lot of frustration in the long fun. Always unplug your washer prior to doing any maintenance.

So now we have found out that washers are the sock thieves right? Well, that’s not entirely true. Dryers can have a hand in it too. Darmstadt states that a damaged or missing lint screen in a dryer can also be a reason your socks or other small items go missing.

The items can even leave the dryer completely and end up in the exhaust pipe. This will end up causing your more problems than lacking a pair of matching socks.

Maintaining your machines can save you a lot of headache in the long run. And when it comes to fishing out your lost items, just leave that to a professional.

Have you found a graveyard of single socks in your washer or dryer? Or maybe you have a more unique story of where your “lost souls” ended up. We would love to hear about it in the comments below.

Did you already run to your laundry room to see what you could find? Let us know the results in the comments! And don't forget to send this story on so others will have a chance to find their sock mates, too!