Britons have incurred more than £2.7 billion worth of damage over the last year due to accidentally putting items in their washing machines.
New research from Halifax Home Insuarance shows that £163 million in cash has been destroyed by being put through the wash, while mobile phones worth £251 million and iPods totalling £13 million have similarly been broken.
Halifax Home Insurance, which conducted the survey, says that broken and leaking washing machines caused by such items has cost UK residents £2.25 billion in the last 12 months.
“Leaking washing machines have the potential to cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to peoples’ homes,” commented the insurer’s senior manager of underwriting Vicky Emmott.
The survey also reveals that more than two million people have failed to get to work after accidentally leaving their travel card in the washing machine, while men were more likely to forget to empty their pockets when washing their clothes.
The moral of the story being that a washing machine is designed to wash clothes, not anything else.