Are you having trouble getting your washing machine to properly clean your clothing? You’re not alone! Many people report problems with the washer not cleaning clothes properly. What if we told you the problem may not be the washer?
The first step to achieving clean laundry is knowing how to properly load a washing machine. Here’s exactly how to load your washer for an optimal clean:
How To Load A Washing Machine
- Take some precautions. Check the pockets for any contents, zip up zippers, tie drawstrings, and unbutton all buttons. This helps negate the risk of any part of the clothing getting caught or broken off. Also, turn any dark clothing inside out if you wish to lessen any fading of color.
- Load in the correct order. For most machines, the best order is detergent first, laundry second, and then turn on the water. If you’re adding any bleach or fabric softener, do that before the laundry and water as well. Doing it in this order will help prevent excess sudsing and damage to sensitive fabrics caused by highly concentrated detergents.
- Pay careful attention to the amount of detergent. Don’t add more detergent to the load than is required. If you’ve ever noticed a mildew smell coming from your washer, this is likely why. The excess sudsing can cause bacteria to grow in your machine’s drum! It also can hurt the effectiveness of the rinse cycle. When filling your detergent cup, be sure that you don’t exceed the line for large loads and use less than that for smaller loads.
- Load laundry properly. The instructions for this vary slightly depending on whether you have a top load or front load washer (LG top load and LG front load washers pictured above). When it comes to top load models, evenly load the clothes around the center agitator. For a front load, it’s recommended that you put clothes items in one-by-one, as to help prevent tangling. For either type of washer, it’s best not to fill your washer more than three-quarters full.
Following all of these steps will help get your clothes cleaner and keep your washer from noisily shifting around (due to being off balance).
