Drum Size

The drum of a washing machine is it's centre piece, located directly in the middle of a machine's width, height and depth. A washing machine drum is a barrel like metal container.

Open ended on one of it's sides, it is spun around by a motor, so that the garments inserted within it are covered and cleaned by a mix of water and detergent.

The size of a washing machines drum is measured in kilograms or kg for short. The kilogram is an internationally recognised system of units. And is part of the metric system, which was first devised and adopted by France over two hundred years ago.

When it comes to the drum size of modern washing machines, they can be categorised into the following five ratings.

• Below 5 kg
• 5 - 5.9 kg
  
• 6 - 6.9 kg
  
• 7 - 7.9 kg
  
• 8 kg and over

On average most washing machines have a drum size of between 5 kg and 7 kg. This capacity will suit the needs of most people. But for those with large families or who prefer to get their washing done in as few cycles as possible. Then a machine with 8 kg capacity and above is desirable.

A 8 kg drum should be able to contain the following garments,

• Four medium sized towels
  
• Five pairs of trousers
  
• Thirty pairs of socks
  
• Four jumpers
  
• Three bed sheets
  
• Fifteen shirts

Provided below (2010) is a list of the machines which exceed 8kg capacity.

• Baumatic MEGA10W
• Bosch WBB24756GB
• Fagor FU7814X
• Hotpoint-Ariston AQ9D69SV
• Hotpoint-Ariston AQ9F49UH
• Hotpoint-Ariston WMD960
• LG F1402
• LG F1403
• LG F1443
• Maytag 3RMTW4905TW

The LG F1443KD is the machine with the highest capacity, at 11 kg. The minimum price of a 8kg plus machine is £600, rising to £1200.