How to Balance Your Laundry Load in the Washer

To get the best wash without residential laundry services, you need to make sure your washer is balanced. If your loads are too large/small, too heavy, or crammed into the washer, they won’t get an even wash. They might not even be washed properly. Your wash is only as good as your technique. See below for mistakes people make when balancing their wash & fold 2laundry—mistakes you also could be making.

Don’t use large or small loads

Loading up your washer until there’s little air space between your clothes and the walls will prevent your clothes from getting a thorough wash. There should be enough space for the clothes to tumble and get an all around wash. A good way to tell if there’s allowance for tumbling is if the clothes take up ¾ of the spinner. If the load is too heavy, the clothes pressed to the agitator spoke could take damage from constant friction. On the other hand, if the load is too small, you’ll waste electricity and water. Your energy bill will go up if you constantly use small loads, and it will chip into your free time. Wait until you’ve collected enough dirty laundry to fill ¾ of your washer before running your next load.

Check the manufacturer's guide for a weight limit

Filling your washer until it’s ¾ full isn’t the rule when your laundry contains heavy materials, like sweaters, coats, blankets, and other fabric that gains weight with water saturation. If your laundry is heavier than a typical load, check your washer’s manufacturer’s guide for a weight limit. If you go above it too often—even with a load that takes up ¾ or less space—you could damage the washer’s motor or frame. First, stick to within the weight limit, then make sure your load doesn’t exceed ¾ space.

Disperse clothes evenly throughout the machine

Finally, make sure your laundry is spread throughout the washer before you turn it on. Every article of clothing should have the opportunity to rotate and get its share of water and detergent. Instead of stuffing your load into the washer, put in a few articles of clothing at a time and keep them loose. Zip up and button any sleeves or pockets so they don’t catch and pull on fabric, or lace different clothes together into a net that prevents the rest of your load from a full tumble. 

 Properly loading your washing machine will get you a step closer to guaranteeing a complete wash. Once done, you’ll need to use the proper drying technique, whether it’s necessary to line-dry your clothes or tumble them in the dryer.