On average, washing machines can handle about seven kilogrammes of dry laundry. However, you should always check the owner’s manual for more accurate instructions before doing a load. On the whole, however, while it’s tempting to want to throw in a couple of extra t-shirts in with your wash cycle, you should always ensure that you never overload a washing machine. In this guide, we look at why load size matters and provide some useful tips on how to know if you’ve overloaded a washer. Let’s take a closer look.
The importance of load sizes
Washing machines are designed to carry a certain amount of dirty laundry. This is illustrated either in the owner’s manual, on the front of the machine itself through a sticker or both. However, load size is important because it can lead to overloading washing machine problems. An accurate load size can help you save on water and electricity bills, while ensuring your clothes get clean. Meanwhile, an overloaded washing machine can result in a damaged appliance that will show washing machine error codes which will require washing machine troubleshooting and ultimately, costly repairs.
Consequences of overloading your washing machine
There are many reasons why you shouldn’t overload your washing machine. For starters, you place additional strain on your appliance and this can affect the bearings and drum of the machine itself, and this can cause premature appliance failure.
But apart from this, an overloaded washing machine will mean that your clothes will be unable to move around. This means that they will not get clean evenly - some will have excess detergent while others will have none. The former can lead to spots, stains and suds on your clothing while the latter means you’re stuck with dirty clothes, which you’ll have to have washed again in any case.
Furthermore, you can even damage your garments as they can get lodged between the door seal and inner drum and this can lead to tears, holes and permanent damage. In addition, zips, buttons and other accessories can get stuck to other garments and also cause damage.
Other issues that may arise include damage to the washing machine itself. For starters, you can experience drainage issues. For example, small items such as socks can get sucked inside the drainage line and the water will not be able to drain. This can be avoided by not overloading your washing machine.
In addition, when overloaded, your washing machine’s motor may be strained due to the extra weight. This can even cause it to blow, resulting in costly repairs. On top of this, your machine can start leaking on your floor, a drum that’s too full can apply extra pressure on the bearings, the alignment, the motor and subsequently cause the glass to crack.
Why you shouldn’t underload
While overloading your washer comes with many challenges, underloading can be problematic too. For starters, it’s a waste of energy, detergent and time. The washing machine will also thump more loudly as well as place your appliance off-balance during the spin cycle.
How to tell if you’ve overloaded your washer
Managing your washing machine’s load so that your machine is not overloaded is important. In order to tell if you’ve overloaded your washer, you need to place the laundry in the machine and then try to put your hand at the top of the load to see if there is about 10 cm of space between the top of the drum and the laundry. This space should give the washer more space for the laundry to circulate evenly and not damage the drum and the washing machine’s components.
Professional washing machine repairs in South London
One of the first signs that your washing machine is overloaded is an error code that will appear on your display. If, however, you’ve removed some of the laundry load from the washing machine and you’re still seeing error codes and your machine is not functioning optimally, then you may be in need of professional washing machine repairs. At Exclusive Repairs, you can rely on our trained appliance technicians to ensure that you get more peace of mind by offering you affordable, time saving and efficient washing machine repairs. All it takes is getting in touch with us!
