Overloading a washing machine

The basics of a washing machine

The main purpose of the washing machine is to remove dirt from our clothes and items that we put in itto wash. It is a common knowledge that to wash clothes properly you need to remove the dirt that hasaccumulated on the articles using basic ingredients that include, detergents, washing action and heat.The purpose of detergents is to lift the dirt that has settled on the garment out of it and make it clean.The washing action like rubbing, rinsing, kneading etc. helps in aiding the detergents to pull off the dirt.The heat helps the detergent to loosen the dirt since most of the ingredients in dirt are oily that getsloosened up when heat is applied.

What exactly is the meaning of overloading a washing machine

As the name suggests, overloading means filling the wash tub of a washing machine to its full capacity which thereby affects the performance of a machine in fulfilling its basic purpose of cleaning the load.There are various problems that can arise with overloading a washing machine. Some are immediate while some take time to show. But both of them are not good for the life of the machine. If we over load our machine there will be no room for the garments to move. This therefore will restrict the moving action of the washing machine thereby affecting the process of removing dirt. While putting load onthe machine the user must take care to provide ample space for the load to move in the drum of themachine and letting the water and detergent reach all the clothes evenly. This will help your machine to work efficiently and give it a long life as well.

The various problems that overloading a washing machine causes and why not to do it

1. If a machine is packed with clothing, only the clothing that is placed in the center will not get washed properly. Since the movement is hampered, the detergent and cleaning action cannot perform their job. In extreme cases the machine is not able to move at all which makes it hot and the chances increase for the machine to stop working altogether. This is because when the motion of a machine is hampered seriously it puts a load on its bearings. This increased load might result in
the failure of the bearings in the machine or the dryer area.

2. Sometimes when a lot of clothing is put in the machine some parts get caught between the inner drum and the seal of the door in the washing machine. In the terms of service personnel they call it “clothing getting lodged”. If the machine is let to work even after lodging, thereare chances of marking the clothes due to dragging or in some cases tearing as well. In order to check whether the lodging is happening with your machine or not you can check for small items like socks and handkerchiefs that place themselves in the areas between the door seal and the door glass of the washing machine during the course of washing. If something like this is happening to your washing, try placing less items in the machine and save yourself a lot of hassles.

3. Although the movement affects the quality of the performance of a machine there is another factor as well that needs to be taken care of. Machines generally accept detergents for the normal load of washing and when a lot more is put in them, they are unable to clean the load properly leading to inefficient washing. There is not enough detergent in there to lead to propercleaning of the clothes.

4. Another problem that might occur is the detergent residue left in the clothing. Since there is not enough water movement inside the washtub, the detergent does not get dissolve completely in the water. This residue that is unable to dissolve sticks to the clothing and does not get washed off leaving white streaks on the clothes. Sometimes, detergents contain bleach in them which can further damage the clothing leading to a very unsatisfactory wash.

It is important to load a washing machine properly

If you have still not guessed the importance of not overloading a washing machine here are some pointers that might help you. Apart from giving tips about how to avoid overloading, these points also act as the guide on how to wash your clothes more effectively.

1. Put all your clothing that needs to be washed in front and then separate them according to their colors. Put all the light colored clothing together and dark color clothing in a separate heap. This will help you control the load on the machine as well as with this you can avoid color bleeding from one garment to the other.

2. While washing larger items like bed sheets, curtains etc. you might like to feed them around the drum so that the weight of these heavy garments gets evenly distributed around the drum and does not become one lump which gets difficult to penetrate with water and detergent.

3. Care should be taken to fill the wash drum to a level where there is a gap of around 10 cms between the door of the machine and the drum. All machines generally have a maximum mark and minimum mark marked on their tub. You can refer to these marks as well if not sure.

4. The modern machines are fitted with balance sensors which helps you further to work efficientlywhile washing clothes.
Washing machines are a very common item at homes these days. Although it is not a difficult task, overloading a washing machine should be avoided so as to let your machine work efficiently and effectively for a long time.