Laundry etiquette?

On our regular site there is a laundry with two washers and one large dryer that I have used occasionally.

I have sometimes been in there (to do the washing up) and noticed the washer or dryer full of laundry but the machine has stopped running.

So, if you went to the laundry and there wasn't a machine free but someone's washing/drying had finished, would you take the clothes out and put them in a basket or on top of the machine so you could put your own load in or would you just keep going back until one was empty?  Personally I think I would feel a bit awkward about handling someone else's laundry but what is the "done thing"?