Laundry experts finally settle whether your socks are being 'eaten' by the dryer

Laundry experts have finally weighed in on the mystery of whether your disappearing socks are getting 'eaten' by the dryer.

Clorox's in-house scientist Mary Gagliardi, who fittingly goes by Dr. Laundry, emphasized that socks are transferred from the hamper, to the washer, to the dryer, to the basket, and are then finally folded - leaving a huge transportation gap for them to get lost in the tedious process.

Mary shared with Better Homes & Gardens: 'Dryers are closed systems, except for the lint filter, which if not properly inserted, could allow small items to enter the lint trap, so it's unlikely a dryer could "eat" a sock.'

She revealed: 'If its not in the link trap, it's unlikely it's in the dryer at all.'

P&G Tide's fabric care senior specialist Sammy Wang added that unlike larger adult socks, smaller socks such as a baby's, can go missing in a washing machine's gaps, if it's running on a high-spin speed, but not in a dryer's gaps. 

The smaller socks could possibly get trapped between the metal and outer plastic drum.

Sammy added that she has personally witnessed socks end up in the washer's drain pump or filter screen, and she recommends overall checking the area as a regular maintenance step.     

If you cannot access your filter screen, service professionals can disassemble the machine for you.

Some washers have a gap between the metal exterior and the interior basket through which small items can pass through, which could result in socks settling on the floor between the tub and the outside of the washing machine.

If you have a front-loading washer, there is a possibility that socks can also get lost inside the folds of the gasket. 

So how does one protect their socks from pulling a disappearing act?

Sammy advises using a mesh laundry bag in both the washer and dryer.

She added: 'Just make sure not to over-stuff the mesh bag so that the socks have room to move around and get clean and dry.' 

As for where the smaller items disappear during a laundry session, Sammy argued that articles such as bobby pins, paper clips, or coins can easily slip into the dryer's gaps.

Sammy explained: 'When small items like coins or clips get lost in the dryer, they can slip into the gaps between the inner dryer drum and the outer dryer drum.

'Because of this, the only way to access them is by disassembling the dryer completely, which should only be done by service professionals.'