I went to the gas station the other day and I put my debit card in my back pocket when I was done. I never do this, I always put it back in my wallet. Well I forgot about it and my card went through the washer and the dryer. It came out a little bent, but it still works!
Oops! When I carried plastic, I was forever losing it so, now, I deal strictly in cash only. It's a little difficult when big companies expect me to pay with a card, but hey, hard cash is still legal tender right?
I'm not sure how long the cash is going to stay legal because there are some places that don't except cash. To me this sounds like a prelude to something that is very wrong. As for washing the cards, I've done it a millions times.
I did that once, and instead of washing it, I cracked it when I sat on it. Cracked right through the strip and wouldn't work anymore! That card went with an out-of-state bank that I had set up for auto-deposits so I wasn't able to get at my money for two weeks, while I waited for the replacement card.
My daughter did this a few years ago but it was her drivers license, time and time again I told her she would lose it or break it. She finally snapped it in half yesterday while visiting us for the fourth.