Plan your loads

• Washing machines are like ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’. Not too much. Not too little.

  • A good load of laundry should be at least enough to fill up and close one five-gallon bucket. A good load of laundry should also be no more than three separate five-gallon buckets (with lids on).

• Your load should have similar weight (read: density) for best results. When the washer spins, different weights will cause a lack of balance.

  • Think of putting the same fabrics together.

  • Cotton bath towels, cotton hand towels and cotton washcloths will make a good load.

  • Mixing jeans with synthetic shirts will make a bad load.

• Items which contain abrasives (e.g., sand) will damage the machines, and are forbidden.

• Items contaminated with flammable or corrosive chemicals are potentially dangerous and are forbidden.

• Some items are impermeable to water, like the bottom of some bathroom rugs. These cannot go into washers because they won’t spin out and will damage the equipment.

• Small items must go inside a laundry bag. Think of anything you could hide inside a coffee cup. Those items may disappear into the drain pump and cause damage.

  • Masks.

  • Lingerie.

  • No-show socks.

  • No-show panties.

Look first

• Is the machine empty? Rotate the drum by hand and feel on the inside to be sure. Look in the rubber bellows.

• If you find an error code or an unhygienic machine, tell me. My number and email are posted in the laundry room.

• If the machine doesn’t look like it normally does, please investigate before paying.

Washers

• Try wipe ‘um down first.

• Put your stuff in the drum.

• Close the door gently but firmly until you hear a ‘click’ from the door latch.

• Add HE detergent to the labeled compartment of the dispenser tray. Powder or liquid work equally well.

  • 2 tablespoons.Never more than ¼ cup (4 tablespoons, about 60 mL).

  • Pods are not permitted. Pods are meant for larger equipment such as those found in homes, and are harder to use correctly.

• Pay.

• Select cycle and temperature. Press Start!

• A few minutes in, look through the door. Suds mean too much soap. Use less next time.

• Examine and wipe down the machine afterwards.

  • Rotate the drum by hand and feel for anything you might have missed.

  • Remove any debris from the bellows. Clean any laundry products such as scent boosters that may remain inside the machine.

  • Long hair may accumulate where the glass from the door meets the rubber seal, on bottom.