Hints From Heloise

Dear Heloise: I’m hoping you can settle a disagreement. My husband is retired, and I work. He insists that you can wash a California-king-size set of sheets (fitted, flat and two pillowcases) along with a full-size set of sheets (same pieces) and four other pieces of clothing. I say it’s not good for the clothes or the washer – i.e., the clothes aren’t getting as clean as they should be when you jam so much in, and it’s not good for the life of the washer, since it wasn’t meant to have so many pieces jammed in. Please advise. – To Wash or Not to Wash in California

Depending on variables, the consensus seems to be that a normal load is around 6 to 20 pounds of dry clothing, sheets, etc.

Also, when you put clothes in the washer, they should not be stuffed in! They should be loosely piled, so things can move around freely. To get the best results from your washer, loads should have items of different sizes and weights included. Hope that this helps out on laundry day. – Heloise