How Washing Machines Work

Cleaning Clothes

Operating a washing machine is pretty simple:

There are a few things to decide before you start your load of clothes, such as how big the load is (small, medium, large, extra large), what temperature the water will be for the wash and rinse cycles (cold/cold, warm/cold, warm/warm, hot/cold), how the machine should agitate (delicate, knit, permanent press, heavy), and how long the cycles should last (number of minutes, based on how soiled your clothes are).
After you fill the tub with clothes, the machine fills the tub with water, and then stirs the clothes around using an agitator.
After some time agitating, the washer drains the water and then spins the clothes to remove most of the water. Then, it refills, and agitates the clothes some more to rinse out the soap. Then it drains and spins again.