Last Updated on October 26, 2026 by Umar Farooq
**Load the machine, choose the cycle, press the button with the clock icon, then press Start. The countdown holds the cycle until it runs out. The catch is that some machines count to when the wash begins and others count to when it ends — and on the same setting those are hours apart.**
That is the whole difference between a delay that works the way you expected and one that leaves you unloading at midnight. Almost no guide mentions it, which is odd, because the manufacturers are perfectly clear about it in their own documentation.
Delay Start and Delay End are not the same button
Most machines — Beko, LG, Whirlpool and others — call it Delay Start, and the number you set is how long until the wash begins.
Samsung, on many models, calls it Delay End, and the number is how long until the wash finishes. Samsung states it plainly: “Delay End: Set the cycle to finish automatically at a later time. Choose a delay time from 1 to 24 hours (in 1 hour increments). The hour displayed indicates the time at which the cycle will end” (cycles, settings, and features on your Samsung washing machine).
Samsung is not even consistent with itself, and the proof is on that same page. A few lines down it documents the other name too — “Delay Start: Choose a delay from 1 to 24 hours (19 or 12 hours on some models) to begin. The displayed time is the time the washer will start.” One page, two features, two opposite meanings for the number on the display. So the label on your panel is the only thing that settles it.
Work it through once and it stops being confusing. Set a 3-hour Delay End at 2:00 pm on a cycle that runs 2 hours, and the machine waits an hour, starts at 3:00 pm and finishes at 5:00 pm — the displayed number is the finish, so the wait is the delay minus the cycle length. Set a 3-hour Delay Start at 2:00 pm on the same cycle and it starts at 5:00 pm instead.
How to tell which you have in ten seconds: set the delay to one hour on a two-hour cycle and look at the display. If the machine says it will run for three hours, it is Delay Start. If it says two, it is Delay End and it will sit doing nothing first.
How to set a delay start washing machine cycle
The sequence is the same on essentially every machine, and the order matters.
- Load the drum and add detergent and softener as normal.
- Select the cycle and any options first. On a Delay End machine especially — the machine works backwards from the finish time, so changing the cycle after setting the delay moves the start.
- Press the delay button. It is almost always a clock icon, sometimes with an arrow.
- Press it repeatedly to step the hours up. Most machines go in one-hour increments; Beko’s go up to 24 hours, GE top-loaders on some models only 1 to 9, and Samsung’s range is 1 to 24.
- Press and hold Start. The countdown does not begin until you do. This is the step people miss.
Two cancellation notes worth knowing before you need them. Samsung’s instruction is “To cancel the Delay End, restart the washing machine by pressing ‘Power’.” Beko says the same thing from the other direction — switching the machine off cancels the delay. A power cut therefore cancels your wash rather than resuming it.
When a delay is genuinely worth using
- To finish when you get home. The best use by far, and the one that solves the real problem: not the wash, but the wet laundry sitting afterwards.
- To wash overnight on an off-peak tariff. Worth doing if you are actually on a time-of-use rate. If you are on a flat rate it saves you nothing at all — the machine uses the same energy at 3am. Numbers in how much electricity does a washing machine use. A washing machine you can start from a phone handles the same job without the arithmetic, since the start time can be moved after you have left the house rather than committed to before.
- To keep the noise out of the evening. A legitimate reason, especially in a flat.
- To stack laundry around a dryer that is still running.
What the delay quietly costs you
This is the part the how-to guides leave out, and it is short.
Wet laundry sitting is the real risk, and a delay can make it worse. If you set a delay so the wash starts while you are out, it also finishes while you are out, and damp clothes then sit sealed in the drum for hours. That is how a perfectly clean load comes out smelling. The window is shorter than people think — see how long can wet clothes sit in the washer.
Liquid detergent does not always wait well. On some machines the dispenser siphon can weep over several hours, so the detergent ends up in the drum before the cycle starts rather than during it. If you are delaying more than a few hours, powder or a pod dropped in the drum is the safer choice.
Nothing biological should sit for twelve hours. Nappies, gym kit, anything with food on it. A delay is a scheduling tool, not storage.
“It won’t start” is often a delay nobody set on purpose
Worth flagging, because it sends people looking for a fault that does not exist. An accidentally pressed delay button is one of the most common reasons a machine sits there ignoring Start — the display shows a clock icon, everything looks alive, and nothing happens.
If that is where you are, check for the clock symbol before anything else. The full permission checklist is in washing machine won’t start.
FAQ
Does delay start use more electricity?
No. The machine draws a trickle while it waits, roughly what a clock uses. The wash itself costs the same whenever it runs.
Can I open the door during the delay?
On most machines yes, because the door does not lock until the cycle actually begins. You may need to press Pause first.
What happens if the power goes off during the delay?
The delay is cancelled rather than resumed. Both Samsung and Beko document powering off as the way to cancel it, which is the same event.
Can I add clothes after setting the delay?
Usually, while the countdown is still running and the door is unlocked. On a Delay End machine, adding a lot more laundry can change the cycle length and therefore the start time.
Is it safe to run a washing machine overnight or when out?
It is a personal risk call, and the honest answer is that the failure that matters is not the machine — it is the supply hose. If you delay-wash unattended regularly, braided steel hoses are the upgrade that makes it sensible.
Why does my delay start washing machine finish earlier than I set it?
Because it is almost certainly a Delay End machine. The number you set is the finish time, not the start.
