No one thinks of doing the laundry as a dangerous activity. Unpleasant? Sure. Risky for your health? Certainly not. Unfortunately, your washing machine can pose serious health risks that you are likely totally unaware of, but a simple solution can remedy the problem immediately.
Dr. Jason Singha physician based in Virginia and TikTok content creator, revealed that your washing machine can actually make you very sick unless you do one simple thing between washes. “Let me ask you this,” he said. “How many of y’all keep your washing machine door open for several hours or days after doing the laundry? And that includes the soap dispenser.”
“This is important because it does prevent mold growth,” he explained. “And so here’s the thing. When the door remains closed, the humid interior, which is right around 80 to 100% humidity, well, that creates an ideal condition for spore germination, and that can lead to mold colonies that can then trigger allergic reactions, respiratory issues, and potential mycotoxin exposure.”
Dr. Singh went into detail about just how exactly this can happen. “Mold tends to form most readily in the rubber door/gasket seal, detergent dispenser and certain hidden crevices where water pools and air circulation is minimal, so opening the door allows moisture to evaporate, increasing air flow, creating an environment that’s inhospitable to fungal growth,” he stated.
Dr. Singh said this is why it’s important to leave the washing machine door open after use to let it dry out. “So ideally, you wanna keep your door open, or your detergent dispenser door open, for at least two to three hours after each cycle,” he said. “Although leaving it open until your next load is even better.”
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Some might hear Dr. Singh’s suggestions and think it’s not really that big of a deal, but other experts confirmed that he was indeed correct.
Alessandro Gazzo from Emily’s Maids, a Dallas-based cleaning service, told Apartment Therapy that the washing machine is “a dark, constantly humid area that happens to be closed most of the time.” He also noted that front-loading washing machines are especially problematic when it comes to mold because they typically have rubber, something that mold feeds on.
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This can not only affect your personal health but also have an impact on your clothes. Yessica Bello, the owner of Maryland’s Bello’s Cleaning, told Homes & Gardens“Washing machines are dark, damp places, which, without proper ventilation, can be the perfect environment for mold growth. As a result, your laundry may develop musty mold or mildew smells.”
Leaving the washing machine door open is a great way to prevent this mold growth, but if you weren’t aware this was an issue, there’s a good chance that mold could already be living in your washing machine from all the times it has been damp when you’ve closed the door. Writing for Apartment Therapy, Ashley Abramson noted that there are ways to fix this. She recommended running either bleach or a baking soda and vinegar mix with hot water through the washing machine.
Logic and tradition may tell you to keep your washing machine door closed, but based on the comments section of Dr. Singh’s video, quite a few people already knew that leaving the door open was essential for their health.
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“The only time the doors are closed is when the washer is in use,” one person said. “I have a doorstopper to keep it open,” someone else added.
Despite how it sounds, Dr. Singh’s advice is far from an old wives’ tale. Leaving your washing machine door open really is a crucial step to take to improve your health.
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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
