# What to do when you suck a sock

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-to-do-when-you-suck-a-sock/67311>\
**Category:** The Show\
**Created:** [August 22, 2011, 8:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-to-do-when-you-suck-a-sock/67311 "2011-08-22T08:52:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dadoctah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@dadoctah](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dadoctah)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 8:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-to-do-when-you-suck-a-sock/67311/1 "2011-08-22T08:52:33Z")

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This takes it out of the category of automotive knowledge, but I can attest to the fact that it doesn’t take much to disintegrate a sock with machinery and heat. Tom, I believe, referred to the well-known observation that socks disappear in dryers all the time, but I may be one of the few people who have witnessed the actual disappearance of a sock in a dryer.

Seems that there was a glitch in the interlock on one of the machines at my local laundromat, and that particular dryer didn’t stop tumbling when the door was opened. I figured it would only take me two or three seconds to pull the lint trap out from its slot behind the door, give it a quick swipe to clear the lint, and stick it back into the vent, and there would be no harm in the dryer continuing to spin during those seconds.

What I overlooked was the fact that the vent continued to draw air while the dryer ran with the door open. With the lint screen out of the way, a light blue argyle sock was sucked right into the vent before my very eyes! I quickly replaced the screen and called the attendant over, but when he stopped the machine and opened up the service panel, nothing more than a couple of stray shreds of argyle were to be found; I’ve seen larger clumps of fiber pulled out of belly buttons.

So I can well imagine how quickly a 100% cotton sock could vanish without a trace in the much hotter environment of a manifold.

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**Author:** ![patrick24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a587f6/32.png) [@patrick24](https://community.cartalk.com/u/patrick24)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-to-do-when-you-suck-a-sock/67311/2 "2011-08-22T16:04:53Z")

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Any idea if that question was a repeat from many years ago? I’d like to hear what the guy says if they bring him back for Stump the Chumps. I tried using the Search for a Show feature but only came up with last week’s show.