A family washload consists of a variety of fibers, fabrics, and colors. These might include terry cloth towels, household linens, sturdy fabric garments, delicate fabric garments, heavy work clothes, lingerie, wool sweaters, and diapers. Follow the care label instructions and use them as a guide when sorting various loads. Washing clothes together just to make up a full load can result in all sorts of washing problems. For example, washing just one or two towels with a corduroy garment causes linting and wrinkling.
Automatic washers are available in compact and full sizes.
The full-size washers have either a standard tub or a large tub. The tub construction varies with different brands. All automatic washers have an inner tub, which holds the clothing being laundered, and an outer tub, which holds the water and the inner tub. If your washer has water-level controls, use them to adjust the water level to provide only enough water to allow the clothes to move easily. The total amount of water used in a wash and rinse cycle is as important as machine capacity.