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Don't mock the missing sock: Lost laundry costs us £240 a year
Last updated at 11:56 AM on 29th January 2011
The curse of the lost sock isn't just a domestic nuisance - it can cost a staggering £240 a year per household.
Missing socks are most likely to affect male members of the household, resulting in 80 per cent of young men ending up wearing mismatched ones at least once a week
Researchers haven't resolved the mystery of where they go, but they have established that a family of four will lose up to sixty socks every year.
And it's not just cheap everyday socks that disappear in the washing machine.
Costly ski socks, football socks and walking socks are just as likely to vanish.
The result - apart from the cost of replacing them - is that 82 per cent of young men say they'll end up wearing odd socks at least once a week.
Missing socks are most likely to affect the male members of the household, a national survey of 1,500 Brits by laundry specialists Dr. Beckmann found.
Northern men are top of the list as the most likely victims of sock disappearances, with 67 per cent reporting that they lose up to 15 socks a year.
Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds are the next most likely places for socks to go missing.
Black socks are the most likely candidates to go missing, with 78 per cent of those surveyed complaining that these are the most difficult sock colour to pair up after a washing cycle.
Young men aged 14 to 25 are at a higher risk of suffering from missing socks and 82 per cent of this age group admit to wearing odd socks on a weekly basis as a result.
Conversely, females in the same age bracket are most likely to be able to keep track of their sock pairs as only 21 per cent said that they regularly lost a sock in the wash each week.
Laura Unsworth, from Dr. Beckmann, said: 'The majority of people in the UK have fallen victim to lost socks whilst doing their laundry. This phenomenon has long been an affliction of regular washers - these research findings will surely resonate with everybody who has pulled a single sock out of the washer drum.
'Where the socks go is one of life's great mysteries - clearly this is causing some distress and a great deal of inconvenience to Britain's washing population.'
We at Barkers can help you! Arrange to have your laundry collected from your home or work on a weekly basis and we will keep an eye on your socks and make sure they come back to you in pairs...matching pairs!!
Call us today on 01202 291295 and arrange your FREE collection and delivery...you will not regret it and it will even save you time and money in the long run as you won't have to keep buying new socks!
