Laundry, Shipping and Luggage Scale Education

Q.  Why are scales needed in the Home or Commercial laundry room or Weighing Airplane Luggage

A. Simply, to not damage Front Loading wash machines and help reduce obstructed drains. 

    To provide much longer front load wash machine life with proper size laundry loads.

    Helps prevent foreign material entering wash machine and clogging drains from i.e.; combs, paper, pens, garbage etc.

More and more front-loading wash machines are entering homes and businesses.  For two decades or more front-loading wash machines have been used in commercial and industrial laundries due to high efficiency and exceptional water savings. 

A front-load wash machine tumbles and washes the laundry on a horizontal axis.  A full load of laundry in a front-load washer is a must!  A small or under loaded front-load washer is similar to unbalanced wheels on a car.  If the basket cylinder in the washer is unbalanced during the spin cycle it can cause the basket and basket bearings to wear prematurely and cause serious damage over time.   In most front-load wash machines the instructions may require a certain weight in pounds be loaded into the machine.  Many front-load wash machines call themselves 18 lb, 20 lb, 30 lb and up.  This means the capacity in pounds of laundry that needs to be loaded.  Under loading a front-load wash machine is much more harmful than overloading.

  Myth: Overloading Front-Load washers can cause great damage to the wash machine!  False

Overloading causes poor wash quality, linens or garments can not effectively tumble and clean.  Front-load washers require agitation by friction with other garments or linens and tumbling in a shallow bath water with detergent.  More damage will be inflected over time by under loading than overloading a front-load wash machine. 

Q. How does a Scale help prevent foreign material entering a wash machine & possibly obstructing the washer or building drain pipe?

A. Counting and separating linens or garments while loading wash machine reveals foreign material hidden in soiled laundry.  Please read below. 

    Example:  With a laundry basket on a scale, start loading alike materials into the basket/scale. When the scale's weight reaches the weight that your front-load washer requires, stop loading the scale.  Now count the amount of linens, i.e.; towels, sheets, shirts etc. while unloading the scale.

Write down on paper the amount of linens that equaled the weight.  Simple!  Do the same with different types of linens you wash. 

TIP:  You should ALWAYS wash alike linens or garments!  Different linen or garment types retain more water and weigh much different during the washer spin cycle and can produce Out-of-Balance problems.  Never mix sheets & towels in the same washer load!

Make a list of the number of linens or garments that equal the washer's capacity, place it near the wash machine for reference.  As you load the wash machine you must separate and count the linens or garments entering the wash machine.  Foreign material such as pens, combs, paper etc. can be seen easily and removed.  Over the years I've seen thousands of laundry room attendants just grab and stuff wash machines and over time this poor habit can become very costly.

 This method is used in many commercial laundries and should be performed at home as well.

*NOTE*  This information is for education and reference only.  You should ALWAYS refer to and follow the manufacturers operating manual instructions for proper use of your laundry equipment. 

Luggage Scales:

Purchasing a platform scale for home is an excellent idea for frequent flyers or anyone unsure about luggage weight.  Bathroom scales are very unstable and not very accurate under 50 lbs.
Most arilines have a 50 lb weight limit for checked baggage or luggage.  One pound over-weight can cause you to pay upwards of $40.00-$50.00 per bag.  A small investment could save hundreds of dollars and save embarassment and time at the airport