Weigh your dry laundry and enter the usable weight you have chosen for one load. Select kilograms or pounds for both numbers. The result is a weight-only minimum: sorting fabrics, colors, or care requirements can increase the actual number of loads.
From a laundry pile to a load count
The calculation rounds the weight-to-capacity ratio upward:
The upward rounding ensures the last partial load is counted. For 12 kg of laundry and a chosen limit of 5 kg per load, 12 ÷ 5 = 2.4, so the minimum is 3 loads. Dividing the laundry evenly gives 4 kg per load. The combined 15 kg capacity has 3 kg unused.
| Dry laundry | Chosen limit per load | Minimum loads |
|---|---|---|
| 10 kg | 5 kg | 2 |
| 12 kg | 5 kg | 3 |
| 16.8 kg | 5.6 kg | 3 |
| 16.8001 kg | 5.6 kg | 4 |
| 0 kg | 5 kg | 0 |
The decimal boundary is intentional: an exact multiple fits without an extra load, while a genuinely larger entered amount needs another load. No rounding is applied to the entered weights before counting.
Choose the capacity for your situation
Use your machine and program instructions when choosing a usable limit. The default of 5 kg is an example input, not a recommendation for a particular appliance or fabric. The tool does not judge whether an item fits physically, account for absorbed water, or determine safe loading from the machine’s drum volume.
Weigh dry items and subtract the basket’s weight. Keep both inputs in the same unit; changing the unit selector changes the interpretation of the entered numbers rather than converting them. A clothing count alone does not establish weight. If care instructions require separate batches, plan each group separately and add the load counts.
The average row assumes an even split across all planned loads. The unused-capacity row is the total across those loads, not necessarily the room remaining in one final load. Readout weights are rounded to six decimal places, with scientific notation for very small values. Zero laundry returns zero loads and zero average weight; a zero or negative capacity is invalid.
Use the resulting count in the laundry time calculator or laundry cost calculator. For the existing detergent assumptions, see the laundry detergent calculator.
Sources
- BIPM, The International System of Units, 9th edition, version 4.01 — defines the kilogram and quantity/unit notation. The load-count arithmetic is derived from your entered weight and capacity; this source does not prescribe appliance loading limits.