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I usually mix other clothes with quilts or blankets when I wash them in the washing machine. Sometimes the machine jumps up and down while rotating fast. This doesn't happen all the times so I was wondering whether there is some configuration of how to put the blanket (perhaps try to spread it out as much as possible?) in the washing machine.

How can I minimize the chances of putting a quilt or a blanket in my washing machine and it not hopping up and down? Also is it a bad idea to put other clothes inside? Should I wash just the blanket?

Update: it is front loader

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3 Answers 3

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The machine has to be stable and level. Most washing machines have 4 feet that are adjustable in height.

  1. Place a spirit level on top of the machine.
  2. Adjust the feet until all 4 feet are firmly on the ground, and the machine is level in both directions (front-back and left-right).

When one of the feet is off the ground the machine will wobble, sometimes it'll walk across the floor.

A stable and level machine is reasonably tolerant of unbalanced loads. In my front-loading machines I've never had to pay any attention to loading.

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  • Do the feet need adjustment from time to time? I am wondering how this suddenly started happening.
    – papakias
    Jan 31, 2019 at 9:55
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    It's possible: the foot is usually on a threaded rod, so vibrations may cause the foot to rotate and shorten. Or maybe the washing machine has been moved a bit and the floor isn't perfectly level. Mine has that problem: some of the tiles are slightly off, so if I move the machine 5 cm to the right it isn't level any more.
    – Hobbes
    Jan 31, 2019 at 10:33
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Assuming a top loader, if the washing machine is "jumping" then your load balance is uneven. This will cause your washing machine to fail eventually. However you do it, your wash load should be distributed evenly in the machine. The easiest way is to put the blanket in first, creating a nice ring, then layering any additional load similarly.

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  • No it is not a top loader. let me update the question
    – papakias
    Jan 29, 2019 at 13:48
  • Hmm, I don't have a lot of experience using front loaders then.
    – pboss3010
    Jan 29, 2019 at 13:56
  • I will try your suggestions anyway. I'm trying to find why sometimes the issue doesn't happen and why sometimes it does. Load distribution should be at least one of the causes.
    – papakias
    Jan 29, 2019 at 13:58
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    I would imagine that something is being rolled into a lump and landing with a thud in the washer. I suppose one answer would to be to add more laundry, but then you're just spinning the basket and not really washing anything. You might want to try switching between putting in the blanket first and last and see if it makes a difference.
    – pboss3010
    Jan 29, 2019 at 14:05
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tl;dr Switch it off and on again.

Explanation:

The behavior of a front-loader machine to speed up to a spinning cycle is typically so that it will speed up, slow down, speed up some more, slow down and so on, until finally going full speed. I always thought this is to let all the washed items slowly find "their place" for spinning, preventing the unbalanced load and jumping.

Sometimes, esp. with large and heavy items in the load, this just does not work. But it's a chance effect. So when I hear the machine doing that, I just go there, switch off the spinning until the items fall down from the drum's sidewalls, and then just restart the spinning. The probability that the items will find their right place this time is quite high.

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