Does the Dryer Eat Your Socks? Use This Simple Laundry Hack to Solve the Problem

Doing laundry is never fun, but when your pile of apparel emerges with socks missing, it can turn into an investigation worthy of a homicide detective. Whether they're Nike, Gucci, or Gold Toe, no sock is immune to foul play—and typically, no suspect can ever be located.

Socks get “lost” when they cling to the washer drum, disappear into a pair of pants, or fall out of the hamper on their way back to the sock drawer. It’s also possible for a washer to “eat” a sock by allowing it to tumble out of the drum and get stuck in an inaccessible portion of the appliance. Some socks have even made it to the water drain or pump in their desperate bid to avoid your feet.

Reader’s Digest has a solution to this phenomenon: Use a safety pin. When you take your socks off, clip them together with the pin. By utilizing this sock buddy system, the pair will never be separated in the wash. It’s also far less likely for a pair to be obscured by other clothing or to cling to a hidden surface like the washer or fall by the wayside in a crevice.

If you’re concerned safety pins might damage your washer, you can opt for plastic sock clips like Loc A Sock. A pack of 40 clips is just $15 on Amazon.