Yes, once they've been through a spin cycle. Dripping-wet clothes straight from a sink or bucket are a different story and shouldn't go in.
Pulling a load out of the washer only to find it's still heavier and wetter than usual makes anyone pause before hitting start on the dryer.
What matters isn't whether the clothes are wet, since they always are after washing, it's how much water is actually still trapped in them.
A washer's final spin cycle removes most water through centrifugal force, leaving clothes damp but not saturated, typically retaining about 50-70% of their dry weight in water. That level is completely normal for a dryer. Clothes that never went through a spin cycle, or that got hand-rinsed in a sink, can hold two to three times that much water, closer to 150-200% of their dry weight.
A dryer pulls moisture out with heated air circulation, not by squeezing water out. An overly wet load can take 90 minutes or more to finish instead of the usual 40-50 minutes, run hotter for longer than necessary, and strain the motor, belt, and heating element on older units. It also raises the chance of a musty smell if part of the load does not dry evenly.
Run the washer's spin or extra-spin cycle again, even for just 3-5 minutes, before drying. If you are hand-washing, wring items out or roll them in a dry towel and press firmly to pull out excess water first. Heavy items like jeans, hoodies, and towels benefit most from a second spin since they hold the most residual water.
Cotton and denim hold more water and take longer to dry than synthetic blends like polyester or nylon, which release moisture faster. Mixing very absorbent items like towels with quick-drying synthetics in the same load often means pulling the synthetics out early to avoid over-drying and shrinking them.
High-efficiency washers typically spin at higher speeds, often 1,000-1,200 RPM, and extract more water than older top-load models with agitators, so clothes coming out of an HE machine usually need less dryer time. If your washer feels underpowered, running a dedicated spin-only cycle after the wash finishes is a quick way to shed extra water before the dryer starts.
Normal washer-wet clothes are exactly what dryers are designed to handle. The only real caution is skipping the spin cycle or overloading the drum, both of which turn a routine dry into a long, inefficient one.
If water drips out when you squeeze a garment, it's too wet. Clothes should feel heavy and damp, not saturated, which usually means at least one full washer spin cycle first.
Yes, most hand-washed items can go in the dryer after you wring or press out excess water, though delicate fabrics like wool or silk often do better air-drying flat.
An overly wet or overloaded load blocks airflow and forces the dryer to run much longer than a normally spun load, which wastes energy and adds unnecessary heat exposure.
It won't hurt the machine, but damp clothes left sitting for more than a few hours can start to smell musty from bacterial growth, so move them within about an hour or two.