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Considering that we spend hours every week on laundry, it can still be surprising to find out how much a load of laundry weighs. From years of laundry expertise and developing our own pricing model based around this, this is NoScrubs guide broken down by load size, fabric type and washer capacity.
A typical load of laundry weighs somewhere between 6 and 15 pounds. That's a wide range, and the reason is simple. What you're washing matters more than how much of it you're washing.
According to Gain's load size guide, a medium or regular load of dirty clothes weighs about 6 pounds. A large load runs closer to 11 pounds, and an extra-large load can hit 21 pounds. Molly Maid reports that most washers handle between 6 and 18 pounds per cycle, depending on the machine.
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If you're trying to eyeball what all of this means, one armful of clothes is roughly a medium load. If you need two arms or two trips to the machine, you can typically call that a large load.
There's no universal standard here, but these ranges show up consistently across appliance manufacturers and laundry services.
Think a day or two of clothes for one person.
This looks like a few t-shirts, some underwear and a pair of pants. This is about enough laundry that you can carry one-handed and should be fairly light.
This is the most common load people actually wash. Half a week's clothes for one adult, or a couple days for a small family. Your washer drum should be about half full at this point.
Full week of laundry for one person or a family's mid-week wash and you’ll see that the drum is about three-quarters full. You can still fit your hand between the clothes and the top of the drum.
End-of-week family loads, or when you've fallen behind. At this weight, you really should check your machine's rated capacity before stuffing everything in. Overloaded washers don't clean well and they wear out faster.
A load of socks and a load of jeans can take up similar space in the drum, but the weight difference is massive.
A cotton t-shirt weighs around 5 to 8 ounces while one pair of jeans can weigh over a pound and a half. Bath towels run about a pound each, and a single bed sheet can hit nearly two pounds depending on thread count and material.
This is why washing just towels feel so much heavier than your regular mixed load.
Wet laundry is another story entirely. Cotton absorbs a lot of water, so a 15-pound dry load can weigh over 20 pounds once it's been through the wash cycle. But if you've ever lugged a wet comforter out of a front-loader you already know this.
Not all washers are built for the same weight. A compact apartment washer might handle 5 to 7 pounds comfortably. A standard top-loader can usually manage 12 to 16 pounds. Large-capacity front-loaders go up to 20 pounds or more.
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The National Park Service notes that the average American family does about 300 loads of laundry per year. That's a lot of wear and tear on your machine, so staying within its rated capacity is worth the effort.
Here's a rough guide to washer drum sizes and what they hold:
You can check your washer's manual for its exact capacity or measure the drum yourself. But the half-full rule is a decent shortcut: fill the drum halfway for a regular load or three-quarters for a large one. Remember that the quickest way to increase the longevity of your washer is by following the guidelines.
If you want a real number instead of a guess, there are a few easy ways to do it.
The simplest: step on a bathroom scale holding your laundry basket and then step on again without it. You can subtract the difference to check how much it was or you can also use a luggage scale with a hook which works well for heavier loads.
Some laundromats have commercial scales that you can use. If you're using a pay-by-the-pound laundry service like NoScrubs, we weigh everything for you!
For a rough weekly estimate, one person's week of laundry typically runs 15 to 20 pounds, while a family of four averages 30 to 40 pounds per week.
A standard 20lb load of laundry looks like a full laundry hamper and is a mix of these different clothing items below.
These are approximate weights for individual items. They vary by brand, size and fabric but will give you a ballpark estimate to work off of.
Washing machine longevity
Consistently overloading your washer strains the motor, bearings, and suspension. It also means your clothes don't tumble freely, so they come out less clean. If your clothes smell off even after washing, overloading might be the reason.
Detergent dosing
Detergent amounts are calibrated to load size. Too much detergent in a small load leaves residue on your clothes. Too little in a large load means things don't get properly cleaned.
Laundry service costs
If you use a wash-and-fold service like NoScrubs that charges by the pound, knowing your load weight helps you budget. Most services charge between $2 and $3 per pound, while NoScrubs charges $1.25 per pound and has multiple weight based plans.
NoScrubs is the fastest laundry delivery service, handling everything from pickup, wash, dry, fold and deliver in as little as 4 hours! Our pricing is completely weight based so you never have to count out items again. Simply choose a weight plan that works for you and bag your laundry. If none of our plans meet your needs we’ll work with you to create a custom plan that does! Simply schedule your pick-up today and say goodbye to stressful laundry days.
Whether you're juggling work, family, or just want your weekends back, NoScrubs makes laundry easy. Book a pickup now and never do laundry again!
Book online or through our app. We are available 7 days a week!
We pick up your laundry within your scheduled 2-hour window
Get your cleaned, fresh laundry back in as fast as 4 hours!
Whether you're juggling work, family, or just want your weekends back, NoScrubs makes laundry easy. Book a pickup now and never do laundry again!
Book online or through our app. We are available 7 days a week!
We pick up your laundry within your scheduled 2-hour window
Get your cleaned, fresh laundry back in as fast as 4 hours!
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