Have you ever wondered what’s going on inside that big box when you throw your dirty clothes in and start it up? Washing machines are pretty incredible inventions that make laundry much quicker and less hassle. Let’s take a look step-by-step how modern washing machines work their magic.
Adding Clothes
First, you load up the washing machine drum with your clothes. The drum is that big container inside the machine that spins around. Make sure not to overstuff it! Then you close the washer door.
Filling with Water
Next, when you turn the machine on, it starts to fill up with water from the house pipes. There are a couple hoses attached to the back of the machine that carry in water or drain it out. The water comes in through special valves into the wash tub. There is also an electric heating element that warms the water to the temperature you set with the dials.
Soap and Detergent
After the machine fills with the right amount of water, it’s time to add soap or detergent into a special compartment inside the washer. Adding soap helps lift dirt and stains off your clothes. The machine will mix and dissolve the detergent to spread it around.
Agitation
Here comes the mechanical part – the central agitator! It’s that rod sticking up in the middle of that wash drum. When the machine starts washing, this agitator twists back and forth to scrub the clothes. The movement rubs clothes against each other to help dislodge dirt and grime.
Spin Cycles
After the washing cycles finish, the wash drum spins very fast – up to 800 – 1,000 times per minutes! This spinning uses centrifugal force to pull water out of the clothes so they’re not dripping wet at the end. The washer might do several fast spins in a row to remove more water.
Draining
There’s also a drain pump that gets rid of all the dirty water out a tube at the bottom or back of the washer. This kicks in when the water needs to be emptied out before a cycle change or final spin. The drained water goes into a sink drain pipe or other outlet.
Done!
After all the fill, wash, rinse, spin and drain cycles, your clothes come out clean, fresh and ready to wear! Modern washers also have lots of settings so you can customize the cycles for different fabric types. Pretty neat how a simple machine can get clothes so clean without us hand-scrubbing everything in a river.
References
How Washing Machines Work – Home Appliances at HowStuffWorks
Inside a Washing Machine – YouTube Video from Jared Owen
Laura has had an enthusiasm for laundry ever since she was a teenager experimenting with wash cycles. She went on study textile science in college before working in product testing.
Soon, Laura found friends and family constantly asking her laundry advice, realizing she had become an unofficial laundry guru. The questions kept coming in, so Laura decided to start sharing laundry tips online to help more people. The enthusiastic response led her start the blog “Laundry How”.
Now in her late thirties, Laura uses Laundry How to tackle all kinds of laundry topics – stains, fabric care, detergents, and more. She provides advice from both her studies and experience testing techniques out firsthand. Laura continues to grow an engaged community of laundry learners, feeling fulfilled empowering people to make laundry an easy, confidence-building ritual rather than a dreaded chore.