Kids left laundry in the washer for over a week?

Question

i went away on a trip and came home to find out that my kids had washed the clothes but failed to put them in the washer...and now they are wrinkled and dried up. should i wash them again? would that ruin them? what should i do?

Answer 1

For over a week?  Wow, that would also smell like mildew, right?  I would be pretty mad about that, children left home alone for a week ought to be old enough to know better.  Overnight is one thing if you're doing laundry, a week is another.

I would definitely wash the clothes again, and ensure that they're immediately put in the dryer - if they smell like mildew, throw them out but get the approximate value of the clothes/water used and set a price to it.  Since they were neglegent, make the kids work it off at home by doing chores around the house (not garbage/dishes, I mean scrubbing basement steps/cleaning out gutters etc.)  That ought to make a big enough impact on them.  I honestly don't know if the clothes will be OK or not.

Answer 2

rewash them and keep going on it won't hurt them

Answer 3

Wash them again! They're going to smell gross! Just wash them how you did before.  Hopefully there are no visible mildew spots because those can stain, but at this point there is no avoiding that if it's happened. Just wash them again. If they tolerated one wash, another won't hurt.  Add soap and everything. You'll want to get that smell out.  You may even need two washes- depending on how mildewy they smell.  

That reminds me- I need to do some laundry today too!