What is a load?

[ChuckB]

The arithmetic on several machines doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Top loaders talk about tests using 14lb loads.

Yet machines that are rated at 18 lbs are called doubles.

Machines rated at 25 lbs are called Triples (Dexter).

and so on.

So what is a load? How much can a current generation Top loader hold?

Inquiring minds want to know!!

[Anonymous]

Its even worse that you think, because a "load" is in reality a volume of clothing not the weight of clothing. Things like towels weigh very little while sheets weigh an awful lot. That said, a load is assumed to be a mix of fabrics of different weights.

I believe a tradition load, or bundle, is 10 pounds. Most top loaders will actually hold 10-14 pounds, depending on mfg. Thus, and 18 pound machine will hold 1.8 loads which is two loads with rounding. I think Dexter is taking some liberties if they call a 25 pound machine a triple loader, but these words are all marketing tools anyway.

[Kitty]

What ever the capacity of a top loader is, the average customer crams 40 lbs into them. Some of these customers can not understand why their clothes are all wet with the exception of a thick layer that creeps over the top of the tub. They are positive, the machine is malfunctioning as they "do this" all the time...

Obviously some people do not know the concept on how to get clothes clean. There should be a class in high school that teaches kids how to wash. ( and how to balance a check book, fill out an appplication, act...) It might prove to be good for business!!!

Kirby, aren't towels heavier than sheets? What are your sheets and towels made of up there in the North? :)

[Andy]

As Kirby suggested, we all have this problem of customers overloading machines. As I red this thread I thought about posting signs in my mat welcoming customers to use our drop-off scale to determine correct machine loading. I really don't think alot of people would chose to weigh their clothes but if you saw someone plowing clothes into a top loader you could give them a demonstration as to just what 12#'s of laundry looks like. Or post a typical load like three pair of jeans, five pair of socks, four t-shirts and so on is approx. 12# blah blah .

What do you think?

[Andy]

Kitty actually suggested that we all have this overlaoding problem, and I believe she is correct.

[JSVLaundry]

If you want to talk about weight, what are the typical weights of clothing/bedding?

Body towels? Face towels? Shirts? Sheets (king vs. queen etc.)?
Jeans? sweat shirts? etc.

Is there a good site that has these and other items listed?

Vinny

[Anonymous]

Kitty, towels may seem heavy when wet, but when dry they are very light weight for the volume they take up. Sheets on the other hand are very heavy. Think about when you buy a package of sheets, they are in a very small package that is quite heavy.

[Kitty]

Your such a smarty pants!

I can never guestimate the weight of laundry......potential WDF customers sometimes call and ask me how much "I think" two loads of clothes will be? Back to the size of a load.

[Rondo]

I have 2 older Dexter 25#ers and they say Double Load on them. I don't know about the new ones. The standard load is 12#s and is based on top loaders. I seriously doubt that a toploader can hold 12#s and wash correctly and for that matter any of the machines can wash the amount they are rated at. A toploader is full when you drop and don't stuff clothes in till it's 3/4 full. maybe you could get 3 or 4 pair of jeans in them that way. 8#s is about all a top can handle, but most are rated 12#s. I do a huge amount of mopheads for a cleaning company and when I load one of my 40#ers with the amount I consider max. the dry weight comes out to 18 - 20 pounds. Mopheads are about the heaviest item that you can do in a washer because of the water retainage.
So I really don't know how they come up with the numbers.

Kitty, You nailed it with the schools missing out on educating kids with the most basic life experences, and don't forget about teaching kid's how to be married and raise kids. I know my first wife missed out on those classes. :D

[Anonymous]

Mop head hold a lot of water, they are actually very light weight when dry.

[Andy]

I think what we are really talking about here is density, which can be determined by dividing the mass (weight) by the volume.

Again Kirby is correct in stating that sheets are heavier than towels. What he is saying is that sheets have a greater density than towels. That is any unit volume (cubic inch for example) is greater in mass (weight for example pounds) than that same volume of towels.

The fact that towels may be able to absorb more water than sheets is inconsequential.

[Anonymous]

Yes exactly, or put another way - a pound of gold takes up a hell of a lot less room than a pound of feathers, even though the feathers will absorb more water.

[Andy]

Instead of posting signs asking not to overload machines maybe they should be changed to a sign stating that as more articles are placed in a machine the less water will used to clean your clothes.

This is the case, Think of a five gallon bucket of water, if you were to fill this bucket with water you would need of course five gallons. If then you emptied the bucket and placed several bricks in it and then filled the bucket to the same level as before, as you can see you would need less water to fill the bucket. The same is true with a washing machine. As you place more articles (all of which have a definite volume) in a machine you then consume volume that would have to be filled by water, therefore you need less water to fill the machine and less water will be available to wash clothes reducing the total solvent capacity.

[Anonymous]

That is a very interesting point, it begs the question how much less water. And while that may be true for a top loader that fills most of the drum with water I tend to doubt it is true for a front loader that will only put water in to about an inch or so above the bottom of the glass door. Even if you pack it solid with clothing there is still enough space and absorbancy from the clothing that I think the same amount of water will enter the machine.

[Rondo]

My point about the mops is that when they are wet in the washer and the retained water puts a extra load on the washer when it goes into spin. I agree that sheets are very heavy items when it comes to dry weight, but I was talking wet weight in the washer. Can we all agree that the washer capacities are bogus on all machines?

[mike]

This is why I consider my few toploaders as just marketing tools for the other 90% of my washers, which are front-loaders.

[pete f]

General rules of thumb I have seen, or learned..

The average person does not really care if thier clothes get clean as long as they get "wet" they think they are getting clean.

The average square laundry basket filled to the top is a double load.

A laundry cart filled, but not packed or overflowing, is a 25# load


2 average laundry baskets are a 35-40# load.

A king comforter, sheets and pillow cases need a 35/40# machine.

I have never wieghed any of these, it is all beased on my own use and what I have seen.

What is a load? I would say 12 pounds of personal clothes.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but customers have no idea either. I have seen many customers try to fit a 35# load in an 18# machine. I also have customers that use my 75# machines for their 6# load of laundry. Its all in a day at the mat ;)

[Lar Hylobates]

How about we don't worry about it. I'll be the first to admit my customers are dense, but they seem to find the coin drops just fine for the most part.

[Andy]

good point

[PeterH]

And remember, our coin-op top loaders are smaller capacity than the machines they sell for home use. I think only Whirlpool and GE have "standard" capacity washers for home which are the same as our coin-op machines. Maytag and Amana now only have the super capacity. I think a top-loader load is probably more like 8-10 pounds.