Make sure you read the whole owners manual and follow it to the last word. Use HE detergent only and a small amount, usually 2 tablesppoons is good, unless the load is really soiled. I wash similar clothes of the same weight together, it helps with balancing, also when you dry them in a dryer, the lightweight stuff is not getting "over dried" while the heavier items still contain too much moisture. What brand and size of FL did you get?

I got the Miele 4842. It's 4 capacity I believe. (large)

I'm not sure what to do when it comes to something such as a thick cotton queen size blanket....I feel like I should add a few towels to the load in case the blanket bunches up somewhere. (say the blanket doesn't stretch completely to cover the entire drum) It seems a blanket like that will be heavy when wet also, so I'm not sure how much weight will be too much.
Anyway, I'm probably paranoid! :) Oh well, I'll learn eventually. Thanks for the advice. I'll study that manual.

I made the mistake of washing sweatshirts with sheets and a very large drum...
something I shall never do again! :)

What happened? I had a GE FL with 3.8 cu ft capacity and washed small loads without issues, and I don't think it would have been thrown by the weight differential between sweatshirts and sheets (I washed sheets and towels together without issues).

I have a set of small Miele's now (w1215 for the washer) and quite honestly, I don't think I do anything in particular, except layering in the laundry (which just means I load it one item at a time... something I did with my Kenmore TL ages ago anyway). I've read the manual for fun, but I don't think it needs to be studied!!! Finally, re: detergent, I used to use 1-2 tbsp but I've found that I really get better cleaning results by using slightly more. And I have soft water so if you have harder water (as 85% of the US does) you might try more detergent if the smaller amount is not removing stains etc.

I have a king size cotton blanket Monaw, that I wash seperately and it doesnt just fine by itself. My machine is the same size as yours as well. I wash it alone, because it can throw lint, its white and I wash it in hot water unlike my dark sheets which are washed in warm water. It will take you a little bit of time with this learning curve, please feel free to continue to ask any questions you may have.

Take more care to make sure all pockets are completely empty - I've seen pennies, nickels and small pencils jam the water pump and that is not a fun job to fix.

Thanks guys,...I think definitely user error on the one vibrating load I had. I had one heavy sweatshirt in with a set of sheets and a few other lighter shirts.

I'm wondering if anyone has washed down filled pillows or other decorative pillows. It is advisable and if so do I throw towels in there with them? Should I just take them to the cleaners?

I have washed my down pillows in my machine. The pillows are king size and I can do two of them at a time and I use the highest spin speed with no issues. I dont put anything else in with them. If you want to use Woolite on them, make sure it is the HE version. The regular version is way too sudsy. I did some sweaters once..OMG!! I came back to a huge cool whip container! LOL!!! Live and learn right :)

Thanks gates, The two king size l pillows must be large enough to fit around drum...I'm wondering though if standard size might require three pillow to keep the load balanced. (biting fingernails)
Maybe I'll just take them to the cleaners. :) Don't want to make "Bessie" mad.

I too have standard size pillows, three works in "Bessie" LOL. You wont make her mad. I can wash 3 6ft kitchen runners at one time...no problems. Save yourself a trip to the cleaners and do them yourself