How full should a washing machine be?

Load the machine without pressing anything down, then place a hand flat on top of the laundry. If the hand fits between the load and the top of the drum (or the door glass), the fill is right. If you have to push the hand in — or push clothes down to close the door — take items out.

• Cleaning: agitation IS the wash — clothes rub past water and each other. A packed drum moves as one lump, so interior items barely wash.
• Rinsing: detergent needs free water flow to leave; crammed loads come out with residue (stiff towels, dull darks, itchy skin).
• Wrinkling: compression plus spin sets deep creases.
• The machine: overweight loads strain bearings, belts, and suspension — repeated overloading shortens machine life.
• Balance: one dense wad slamming the drum during spin is how machines walk across floors.

A single small item in a big drum can't distribute during spin — the machine either compensates loudly or gives up. Two or three towels, or a small load's worth of company, is the practical minimum. (This is why one heavy bath mat washes better WITH towels than alone.) Very small delicate loads work fine because delicate cycles spin slowly.

• Towels and jeans absorb multiples of their weight in water — a drum that looks three-quarters full of towels is a heavy load; err smaller. See washing towels.
• Bedding: one comforter or one sheet set IS the load — it needs the space to move, not company. See washing sheets and bedding.
• Weighted blankets: check the machine's rated capacity in pounds/kilograms against the blanket before it goes in at all.
• Puffy items (pillows, jackets) compress in water — fine to load by volume, but wash in pairs for balance.

A three-quarter load takes the detergent cap's "medium" line, not the full line — and a half load takes less again. Overdosing a small load is as common a mistake as overstuffing a big one; how much detergent to use covers the dosing logic.