Interesting, but half of what exactly? 2/3s of what exactly? By weight? Or by volume? When I see instructions that are incomplete I am suspicious that they don't really know what they are talking about.

Some of these machines are so big, that I can only presume doing small loads is a problem as they certainly were not designed for small loads. That is why I bought a compact machine because my loads just aren't that big. In arriving at that conclusion I took the time to weigh the amount of laundry that I was actually putting in the machine and it was about 6 pounds.…by volume it conveniently fits into a compact machine.

To me, failing to properly level the machine would still give the greatest wear and tear and I suspect that most people don't take the time to level the machine so long as it isn't walking...

Next up would be not letting the machine dry out when not in use.... And finally, too much soap or other laundry additive.

!/2 tub 2/3 tub full of clothes. That's what that means.(volume) In fact I typed it just the way the techs said it but I knew they meant washer tub. Sorry I left that part out. Didn't mention leveling but did say only 1 Tbls. detergent per load.

Thats how I do my laundry. But the machine still has trouble balancing towels sometimes. The machines should be made so that bearing wear is minimized for heavier items. Towels are a normal load for everyone.

Maybe I am just lucky on the balancing, the compact Electrolux has had no problem with doing that. I have always tried to use as little soap as well get the job done and 1 tablespoon of the new types of soap makes a lot of sense for a small load.

Hm, what's the quality of those LG bearings like, I wonder?

Bearing jobs are common problems on machines today. They are also EXPENSIVE repairs. I suspect those techs were, if ineloquent, were trying to give sound advice. Load balance, detergent use, load size and installation can all drastically shorten a life of a machine if not paid attention to.

This makes me wonder how to best combine loads. I will start a new thread. Thanks, sparky and all.

1 Tbsp of detergent for a full load in an approx. 4.0 cu ft drum? One must have '0' grains soft water and very lighty-dirty load, to do that.

I guess I'll kill our Miele before it's time. We have a mixed wardrobe of poly and cotton garments, and not enough of either to warrant a dedicated full load, unless we wait a month and still there is not enough room to store those dirty clothes.

This advice would upend a lot of people's laundry routines. For some it's impossible to follow without buying new clothes and linens, or a smaller washer. And it doesn't make sense to me. Even with a 2/3 full drum of identical items, the spin won't start out perfectly balanced. The asymmetric forces from such a load could be just as bad, or worse, as from a smaller load. And, during the tumble phases, the big load exerts more force on the bearings than a small load. So I don't know what the answer is, but I don't think this is it.

BTW, Cavimum, I doubt that you have a Miele with a 4 cu ft drum. The W48XX series drum is a little over 3 cu ft. The originally advertised 4 cu ft was IEC capacity, which means it holds as much as an agitator washer with a 4 cu ft drum. IEC isn't used anymore in the US. For a present-day example, look at the LG WM3170CW on the US and Canadian LG sites. It's 4.3 cu ft in the US, and IEC 5.0 cu ft in Canada.

The advice from the LG techs is hokum. Seems to me that bearing failures in under 5 years is more a poor design and part quality problem.