Doing laundry seems pretty straightforward, you put the clothes and detergent into the washer, turn it on, and a few cycles later, you’ve got clean clothes ready for the dryer.
But there are two simple mistakes that can leave you with dirty laundry or a broken washer. Both mistakes are pretty easy to make, too.
Over or underfilling your washer with clothes can cause a lot of problems whether you’re using a top-loading or a front-loading washer.
Dirty Clothes and Damaged Washing Machines
If you stuff the washer with clothing, towels, or a too-large comforter, your laundry won’t get clean. It might get a little wet, but there isn’t enough room or water to actually clean the clothes.
Even worse, an overfilled machine could actually overflow. Frequent overloading of a washer can permanently damage it.
On the other hand, too much water compared to the amount of laundry in the washer causes problems as well. Clothes can end up on one side of the washer drum which causes the machine to shake violently during the spin cycle. Your washer might shut down or even break under the stress of the vibration.
Where To Fill Your Machine
So, what are the rules for filling your machine? For a top-loading washer, you’ll want the drum filled at least halfway but no more than three-quarters full. For a front-loader about halfway is the sweet spot. Don’t cram the laundry in there. It should be loose, not packed tightly.
Some washers have settings for small loads that use less water. Other washers have ‘deep fill’ cycles to offer extra cleaning power for really dirty items. However, it’s not a good idea to use that feature with every wash.
Is It Time To Change Washers?
What do you do if you need more (or less) washing capacity than you have? If it’s just the occasional large comforter that’s overfilling your washer, you may want to just make a special trip to the laundromat or pay a laundry to clean it.
If you just have a lot of laundry to do and prefer not to break it up into smaller loads, it might be time to upgrade to a washer with a larger capacity. On the other hand, if you normally do small loads, a smaller capacity washer might be a better choice.
If your washer is shimmying and shaking, making an odd noise, or not working properly in any way, the professionals at Appliance Center Service are here to help. Call us at 419-893-3374 or click here to contact us online.
Or click here to shop our large inventory of in-stock washers.