8 common appliances people have been using wrong their entire lives without knowing it

It’s a universal experience: that sudden, forehead-slapping moment when you realize you’ve been doing a basic task completely wrong your entire life. A recent viral thread on Reddit’s r/mildlyinfuriating invited people to share these humbling discoveries, and thousands responded with hilarious and all-too-relatable confessions.

From laundry blunders to kitchen catastrophes, here are eight of the best stories that will make you laugh, question your own habits, and feel a little less alone in your mistakes.

1. The dishwasher debacle

A dishwasher filled with dishesCanva

Redditor u/Pedal_up_hill hilariously confessed:

"I just found out I’ve been using my dishwasher wrong for 7 years, and honestly, I’m questioning my life choices.
So, picture this: I’m at a friend’s house last night, casually sipping on a lukewarm cider (by choice, don’t @ me), when I see them load their dishwasher. And then it hits me.
THEY PUT THE SOAP IN THE LITTLE COMPARTMENT.

For SEVEN years, I’ve been just chucking the soap tablet straight into the bottom of the dishwasher, like some feral raccoon who accidentally found modern appliances. 'Why isn’t my dishwasher working well?' I’d think, as I scraped dried pasta off plates. I thought it was just vibes."

Safe to say, their dishwasher probably heaved a sigh of relief.

2. Fabric softener-only laundry

Liquid fabric softener being poured into a cupCanva

How does a science teacher not know how to wash clothes? Redditor u/ElectromechanicalYes revealed:

"I dated a guy (a science teacher!) who thought all you needed to wash clothes was the fabric softener. I like to think I helped him suddenly seem much cleaner."

It’s a reminder that book smarts don’t always translate to life smarts.

3. The Mysterious Missing Part

This one might make you feel better about your own blunders. Redditor u/Null_Singularity_0 shared:

"I overheard a conversation at work, someone was talking about how their sister found a strange plastic thing inside their dishwasher and just threw it away. For years afterward, she didn’t understand why her dishwasher was working so poorly. The thing she threw away was the spinny arm thing that sprays the water.

So remember: no matter how dumb you feel, there is always someone dumber."

4. Lint rollers are reusable?!

Woman uses lint roolCanva

Redditor u/ZenMoonstone confessed:

"I used to think a lint roller was a one-time-use thing. I had no idea you could pull off the tape for a fresh roll underneath."

Imagine how many lint rollers they wasted before discovering this life-changing fact.

5. Microwave preheating?

This one is a doozy. Redditor u/Opening_Dig_5307 recalled:

"My friend's girlfriend used to preheat the microwave like you would an oven."

We’re just going to hope she never tried broiling something in there.

6. Fuel pump struggles

Gasoline nozzle filling up car tankCanva

Redditor u/Cowboy_on_fire told a classic tale of gas station confusion:

"I have a mate that spent 5+ years holding the trigger on the gas pump the entire time he was pumping. When I showed him the lock and explained that it will shut off when the car is full, his facial expression was priceless. Like a man who just found an entire world inside his own house."

Sometimes, life’s greatest joys are in the simplest discoveries.

7. The stove’s hidden slot

Redditor u/pckldpr uncovered an oven mystery:

"It’s like learning your stove has a slot in the door to clean the inside of the window…"

Their revelation had the thread buzzing with people discovering this hidden feature for the first time. Turns out, you can also flip up the tops of some stoves to clean underneath.

8. Mattress protector fail

Redditor u/SquirrelMoney8389 shared a mistake that left them shaking their head:

"I got an old stained mattress removed by the company I bought it from after buying a big fancy new one from them. As they took it out to the truck, they unzipped and removed the full mattress-top protector that had been on the top the whole time, leaving a gleaming fresh untouched mattress underneath."

Their response? Quietly shutting the door and pretending it never happened.

These confessions show that no one has it all figured out. We’re all bound to miss the obvious sometimes—and if we’re lucky, we end up with a great story to tell.

This article originally appeared earlier this year.