Dumb question from newbie. Can bike shorts go in washing machine?

[kiwi girl]

I must admit I am VERY lazy about laundry. I never sort colours (except very dark or bright stuff for the first couple of washes only) and all my bike gear just goes through the normal cycle in the wash with everything else and then either on the line, or more often than not, the warm cycle in the dryer. Although Ground Effect (who make most my gear) say line drying is preferable, the only ill effect I have ntoiced is that the emergency puncture repair patches that Ground Effect sew into the seams of all their gear does tend to fall out eventually under this sort of treatment