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Happy Festivus! And now for the airing of grievances.
For the first six or seven years we lived in San Francisco, we did our laundry in a laundromat. One day I was horrified to watch a homeless man walk in out of the rain and throw his filthy, odiferous, soaking wet jacket into one of the dryers. I was repulsed and of course didn't use that dryer that day; in fact I never went back to that particular laundromat. But when you do your laundry in public places, you never know how clean those machines are.
So you can imagine how mortified I was on Sunday when I went down to our garage, opened our dryer to check on my clothes, and was hit in the face by a wall of steaming-hot, rancid B.O. reek. Dave had ridden 80 miles in the rain with a friend and they came back to our place to warm up. While Dave was in the shower, the friend stripped off his revoltingly filthy, smelly, wet cycling clothes -- with 80 miles of sweat, snot, grimy road spray, and god knows what else on them -- and threw them into our dryer. Our CLEAN dryer. He even took our clean clothes out of the dryer to put his disgusting stuff in. The stench of superheated armpit and crotch stink made me gag. I am not exaggerating.
I pulled the stuff out of the dryer and scrubbed the inside with Windex*. The friend got a very stern lecture, but -- this is the amazing part -- apparently he still doesn't think what he did was wrong. He doesn't see any problem with (a) using someone else's laundry machines without asking their permission; or (b) putting the dirtiest, most bacteria-encrusted lycra imaginable into a machine meant to dry CLEAN clothes.
And he thinks I overreacted.
So, I'm curious. I've asked a few people but now I'll ask the rest of you. Did I overreact?
*Several times. I can still smell the reek, faintly.
December 23, 2008 9:56 AM
There's only one correct answer, of course: It doesn't matter what he thinks! It's not his dryer! Carry on.
I fully and wholly agree with you - that is just plain disgusting. You did not overreact at all.
Totally rude, way out of line, and just GROSS. WHO DOES THAT? A sane and normal person would NEVER put dirty stuff in a dryer. A normal person would never TOUCH someone else's laundry without discussing it beforehand (except maybe at the laundromat to empty a dryer of abandoned dry clothes). Maybe he has always had his laundry done for him?
I said it before, but completely and totally NOT overreacting. Also, try spraying some Febreze on it. I'm endlessly amazed by what that stuff can do. If you wish to be more eco-friendly, (or don't have Febreze on hand) white vinegar might also work...
Absolutely not an overreaction. I'd have made him bleach out the dryer while wearing his now damp and smelly gear.
I hope that guy is not married, otherwise, I feel really sorry for his wife. He sounds pretty clueless. You did not overreact, what he did was rude.
That is so wrong on so many levels. Everything else aside, who uses someone else's dryer without asking? That right there is pretty bad manners. And the rest of it, well, gross.
You are, of course, in the right. But here's my question: Why did he not want to wash them?
Seriously, the thought of that guy's skanky dirty gear in your dryer has been haunting me since you posted this the other day. Eeeeeewwwwww!! I have the same question as Sara: why dry the dirty stuff? That just bakes in the skanky smell.
Just ew. Not overreacting.