are you sure you are using the 100% of the capacity of your washer?

[haxisfan]

@joe_in_philly... Definitely!

That's another thing I was meant to mention in my previous comment... small/medium loads come out of the dryer completely crease free ;-)

Euro size dryers are not that petite anymore nowadays... so, even a reasonably large load of clothes can be arguably wrinkle free after drying. I still find that large cotton sheets would be a bit of a challenge for the ironing maniac... not me.

 

[dj-gabriele]

European dryers

You can buy a 9 kg washer and a matching 9 kg dryer.
Gosh, even washer-dyers nowdays can cope with 6 kg of drying!

 

[iheartmaytag]

I always wash full loads where applicable. On TL washer to the first row of holes. FL I was advised to do a controlled wad and stuff not pack.

Towels, sheets, items of such a full load stuffed not packed once wetted are about 1/2 to 3/4, a load I did this weekend was
2 King sized sheets
4 pillow cases
2 Twin Sheets
1 pillow case

I have in the past also added the 2 full sized sheets and 2 pillow cases but it took forever to balance, so by lightening the load it finishes quicker.

Now for No iron, permanent press items. I usually only load about 1/2 to 3/4 full dry so they have room to tumble with minimal wrinkles. I do notice more wrinkles with the FL machine than I did with the TL.

The matching dryer is an 7.5 or 8 cu. ft monster and I was always told to load a dryer 1/2 full of wet items so they had room to tumble. For the record, the sheets were hung on the line to dry.

My main objective is the same with the dishes. I put dirty items in, I want to pull clean items out. I am satisfied with the outcomes with my German made, American machine. (Maytag -Duet clone)

 

[mich]

I don't wanna start anything..

But, American (FL) Machines are a completely different level of Washing, compared to European anything.

It takes a lot of adjusting, to even get a decent amount of Tap COLD water, in the few "Rinse" cycles were allocated. Let's not even forget the fact that, it's hard to even get ours to fill with so called "Hot" and "Warm" temperatures.

Despite "advanced" load sensing senors, and electronic controls running them, there so Water conscious, that we simply can't overfill, and get clothes even barely damp.

I, along with other Americans, simply cannot comprehend the idea of loading them so tightly packed. Well, I guess, some can, but, I don't think there really paying attention to whats going on in the tub.

Don't even get me started on our Environmental & Eco Mess...

 

[whirlpolf]

always full (hand width rule)

I pack both my EU front loaders and my US top loaders as full as they can get:

Front loaders: Just chuckablock minus a small air space (turning your flat hand on top of the clothes must still be possible).

US top loaders: upper row of perforation holes means full.

I don't own a US front loader, but I used a friends Bauknecht Big machine (equivalent to the Whirlpool HEt3 machines, or is it HE3T?) - the only difference: The Bauknecht is self-heating, the US Whirlpool is just mixing hot and cold water from the taps.

Besides, I HATE the Euro kilogram indication, most of the time it is a fake.
You simply cannot get an 8 or even 10 kg load into a 85 x 60 x 60 cm machine (6 or 7 kg may be a realistic maximum).
For any larger loads than 7 kg you need to have an oversized (meaning oversized for regular Euro kitchen measurements = American sized) larger washer with larger drum diameters (so it must be 90 cm high or more such as Bauknecht or Hotpoint Ariston).

Cubic liters or cubic feet are much more honest, I think = that is the real space volume.
Then again "normal" or "super" or "extra large", even "king size" or "canyon capacity" machines do not sound like neutral facts either...

Whatever: When clothes do not flop and tumble down (FL) or do not raise and get sucked down again respectively (agitator TL): That is when I have overfilled them. (A learning curve)

 

[joe_in_philly]

I believe the Bauknecht Big is equivalent to the Kenmore HE3t (made by Whirlpool), or Whirlpool's "Duet" version.

Some models have a built in heater, but not as powerful at the Big's heater. The HE3 is the Kenmore model without a heater, and the Kenmore HE3t has a heater. The "t" stands for "thermal." The Kenmore HE3, HE3t, HE4t, and HE5t are no longer made. The Duet name lives on with Whirlpool's current models.

 

[frontloaderfan]

I fill my 2012 Frigidaire FL to the very top of the drum with dry laundry when I wash. When the clothes get wet, they come about 3/4 of the way up to the top of the drum. An average load of whites in my house is five pairs of baker's pants, five white t-shirts, five pairs of socks and two or three bath towels.

In order to get hot water in the machine, I run the adjacent tap until it comes out as hot as it will go then I start the machine. The machine tries to dumb down the hot water by adding extra cold water, so I'm there with my two gallon watering can full of hot tap water. I usually add an extra two gallons to each of the "rinses" as well. Until I get my water level sensor modified, this is the only way to ensure that the clothes actually get clean.

I wrote Frigidaire about the machine not spinning after the wash cycle because the clothes were so knotted due to the low water level in the machine and received no reply, so I stand there like it was 1913 instead of 2013 dumping water into the machine with a watering can. Welcome to doing laundry in the 21st century...

 

[aptone1]

The bigget load I put in my tl was 5 pants, 13 shirts, 3 towels, 13 underwear, and 13 pairs of socks. It was full to the middle of the top of the plastic balance ring when dry. After it added water it was about 2 inches below the top of the metal basket. It turned the load very well and when it was finished spinning the load was about 1/3 of the way up the basket. It did a great job on my two week bachelor load. I work in an office so none of the clothes were really dirty but it did get out a food stain or two. The dryer seemed to take forever, it does not seem to match the size of the washer. I don't really care about the water savings but it did save a lot of time. Three or four loads in one shot worked out great. I had to use cold water due to the colors but adding a long soak seemed to even things out on the cleaning front.

 

[launderess]

Since My AEG Lavamat Has Load Sensing Technology

That will display in percentage the amount of laundry in tub we can "see" what makes a full load.

Based upon two recent loads; one a mix of bath linen and cottons, the other a queen sized cotton blanket with a few terry cloth hand towels thrown in for balance measure, reaching 120% load factor each time.

This seems odd to me since each load once fully saturated with water left about 1/3 to 1/4 of free space between top of load and wash tub. In short much more than the proverbial fist distance, but never the less Lavamat said the weight was more than 100% of load factor/capacity.

Yes, the washer performed flawlessly and got the job done without all the banging, clanging and OOB problems of the Miele. However in interests of preserving long washer life have made notes and won't be doing such things often if indeed again.

 

[washer111]

Nope!

You see, when you start using the more "specialist" cycles on the Miele, rather than bog-standard "generic" cycles, one cannot load as heavily due to increased water usage/decreased maximum load sizes.

 

For instance, Automatic Plus has a maximum level of 5.5Kgs, Delicates/Minimum Iron 3.5Kg and Darks/Denim at 3Kg. These cycles also use far more water than Cottons (For example Minimum Iron Washing at Door-Seal level, Rinse 1/2 way up the glass), take less time and are much better on your clothes with the increased water-level.

The result of this is your clothes are cared for much more than when you just "stuff it in" on Cottons, you get better rinsing and your laundry is done in half the time (About an Hour for Delicates/Min. Iron/Darks/Denim). It might not save water, but it saves clothes, which ultimately is far better for the planet (Compare extra water usage with the manufacture and transport of clothes half way round the globe from China and having to replace these items more often)

 

The fullest we get is maybe sheets/towels, which are 3/4 of the way up the drum when dry. The sheets don't tumble too much, so we always use Pre-Wash and Water Plus at the very least (And always wash much hotter), adding a Soak if we have the time for it. This ensures the results are good.

 

But on full loads, Euro machines are quite a bit more "liberal" with their water usage. I think the American machines need to focus on being ability to wash the full load with water levels comparable to Euro machines, rather than just huge capacities that will never be realistically cleaned and rinsed.

The other issue is that Euro machines can be absolutely "stuffed," and good results can still be expected, even if the machine is only "tiny" in comparison to the load (5Kg machines can possibly loads larger than this with no issues).

 

[electron1100]

Load Sensing

As Dj-Gabriele states machines in fact going back to the 70s as far as I remember have had load sensing, albeit not digital but mechanical via the water pressure switch, the machine will have minimum water level for washing at, if this drops due to absorbent loads the pressure switch senses the water/pressure drop and opens the inlet valve to raise the water to the required level so yes machines have had load sensing for a very long time, and of course being mechanical they are adjustable )).........not that I have ever fiddled with mine ;-O

 

[launderess]

Load Sensing

Am here to say that my Miele w1070 yes, will sense the load in that it will keep water levels at certain preset. That is about five US gallons for "normal" cottons and permanent press, and ten for rinses. However as to using less water automatically for smaller loads, no it does not do that at all.

Pressing the "half load" button will cause the rinses in "normal/PP" to use less water (the default wash level IIRC), but does not affect the main fill for the wash.

One knows this because tested the thing several times when unit was first purchased. Easy method was to allow the machine to fill on a normal "cottons" cycle but with a full load and the "Half Load" button pressed. If the unit did take on less water trust me this machine lets you know when it is unhappy. In particular the pump when air is being sent down. Not a bit of it; washer filled as normal and carried on.

The other test would be to release the "Half Load" button which would cause the machine to fill to full level, again not a bit of it. However if one does this during a rinse cycle the machine will stop and top off the drum with another five or whatever gallons of water.

Of course the Lavamat and Miele are two different beasts from different ages. The Miele simply starts to fill with whatever water level a cycle calls for (again absent modification by the HL button. OTOH Lavamat starts each wash new wash cycle by first tumbling drum with wash but no water, then sending down a small amount of water. Only after this "test" does the machine begin to fill for the wash. Lavamat knows how much laundry it has to cope with and gives water levels based upon that information. It will stop and top off the tub if water is absorbed by the wash causing the level to drop, but unlike the Miele it can adjust water usage to match load size.

Like the Miele however one is advised to load the tub differently for silks, delicates, woolens, easy irons and fashion fabrics. For cottons and "easy care" the cycle choice is the same but the machine can "tell" what it's got and is programmed to vary the cycle accordingly.

 

[electron1100]

AEG

Gosh such refinement is astounding, makes us wonder how we ever lived without it

 

[passatdoc]

@ronhic: agree

I have a laundry center with three sorting bags, and I divide routine laundry into three categories, each of which has its own washing or drying needs in my machines:

1. All-cotton perm press shirts and trousers (my office wear), which need either Perm Press or Normal wash cycle/Warm, and Perm Press drying cycle on Medium heat

2. Towels and bed linens: Heavy cycle on Hot, with Towel cycle drying on Warm or Hot.

3. All-cotton t-shirts, jeans, etc which won't get dry on Perm Press dry, so I wash these on Normal/warm and dry on Normal/Warm.

I wait until the each sorting bag is full: I have more than enough clothing and towels and linens to last for weeks in the closets/cabinets. The drum on my Frig 2140 FL is roughly 80% full when I wash. The only time I might not run a full load would be for something special like sweaters or sofa pillow covers (delicate or handwash cycle on Cold) simply because I don't have enough of the items to fill the machine.

 

[DADoES]

 
Every load is not a maximum but I'm surely not afraid to push it to the limit when opportunity arises.

 

[logixx]

Some manuals for US washers list weight in kilos. This is the manual for the Mexican LG WT 5101. Kind of disappointing to see how low the recommended load for some cycles is.

 

[logixx]

And here's a recent Duet doing a full load of towels - with the time adjusted.

 

 

[launderess]

She is from US and she works here the last 3 years.

There you have your answer to many of your questions.

If the person in question had no previous experience with front loading washers until her or his arrival in Austria, or for that matter even if she or he had the American way of laundry is always where possible have a large washing machine.

This tradition comes obviously from top loading washers with central beaters dominating the washing machine market. Even if such machines have capacity from 2lbs to 20lbs water levels can be manually adjusted to suit.

The other thing is Americans have *LONG* been wedded to the tradition of doing the wash once a week or even putting it off longer. We know of persons who literally do not do the washing until every last bed linen, undergarment, bath linen, shirts, and so forth are soiled. When you wait that long to do the washing you're going to need a large washing machine, at least in theory.

Again with top loaders if there was say only a "medium" load of darks the water level could be set to that amount. Therefore in theory water is not being wasted. If the front loader in question does not "load sense" to mean less water is used for smaller loads, then it can be rather wasteful.

One hears from repairmen and washing machine repair sites that this trend of Americans of purchasing uber-sized washing machines but rarely using full capacity actually harms the washer. Aside from special cycles a H-Axis washers are most efficient on so many levels when loaded at or near rated capacity. It certainly does the bearings or support systems any good if the washer cannot balance properly due to an inability to distribute loads that are too small.

Have never understood the logic behind purchasing 15lb or higher domestic front loaders when in actual use loads rarely go above eleven pounds. Oh but they say "we have bulky bedding like duvets and quilts". Yes, but how many times per year do you launder such items. Or, are you laundering them to death just because now you can at home?

 

[ronhic]

Average loads

Launderess,

I think you'll find that average loads are even smaller than that.

Our consumer magazine, Choice, asked consumers to fill either a top load or front load machine with clothes until they thought it full. When choice weighed the washing, the average was about half the stated capacity of the machine.

As a result of this, Choice now test every machine with a 3.5kg (8lb) load.

Apparently its about the same in the UK too when it comes to how much people put in a machine.

It may be different in the US and Canada because the machines have more volume, but doesn't your own consumer magazine test a given weight across the board?

 

[DADoES]

 
Large load.