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I've been told that I shouldn't just take clothes out of the washing machine and put them directly in the drier without first snapping them to get them to become uncrumpled. I have tried both ways and anectodally don't see any difference.

I was wondering if there's actually any sound truth behind what people keep telling me (three separate people on different occasions have told me this).

Sam I Am
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Mike Axiak
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  • @Suma so was I, but the reason given was that it reduces creasing, making for easier ironing, not quicker drying. – jwenting Feb 06 '12 at 06:55
  • Comments deleted, I try to provide an answer instead. – Suma Feb 06 '12 at 09:10
  • I suggest closing the question, unless more people will confirm such claim is commonly known in some country, as the advice seems very rare to me (e.g. no internet articles found recommending it). – Suma Feb 08 '12 at 08:33

1 Answers1

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I figure it is unlikely that there have been any formal peer-reviewed, rigorously controlled and blinded studies on this important issue, so I went to see what the manufacturers recommend.

I randomly sampled some manufacturers (with perhaps some skew towards major manufacturers having manuals available online), and chose one manual each.

Of the five I sampled (e.g. [1], [2]), four had lots of advice, such as turning pockets inside out and being careful of zippers, but no mention of snapping.

One came close when it suggested:

To achieve a better drying result, loosen up heavy loads before loading it into the dryer

I assume that is referring to large sheets and blankets and the like.

In conclusion, any effect of snapping out the clothes is too small for the manufacturers to recommend in manuals that are otherwise filled with minutiae on improving the dryers' effectiveness.

Oddthinking
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