The washing machine is not spinning out the water. Needs to be repaired.

Are you supposed to throw in the detergent before the clothes, or after?

You haven't stated what kind of washer. If the machine is a toploader without a detergent dispenser then detergent should be placed on the bottom of the drum before loading clothes.

Is oversudsing occuring? Excess suds to the point they don't rinse away can drag down the spin RPM.

Have you investigated whether or not the machine is spinning properly? Is it in your apartment or in a common/public laundry area?

I just got a worker to show me how to use the washing machine properly in the laundry room on the 1st floor. Apparently, what I was doing wrong was using one machine instead of two (comforter in one, pillow and sheets in the other), using normal mode instead of heavy duty, and not putting enough detergent in. It said on the machine that you put the detergent in first, but the worker said putting it on top of the clothes is fine too. I'll update in 1 hour. I'm getting sick of this. If they come out soaking wet again, I'll report it to the landlord.

It worked. I asked a few people in my building, and they don't have problems. The next 5 or so times, I'm getting a staff member to help me with this washing machine.

Noooooo, never put the detergemt on top of the laundry. Optical brighteners especially in liquid detergent can permanently streak the fabric. Dont ask how I know this. :-p

Well, that's what I was told to do lol. Don't want to risk it happening again.

I used to live with my parents, so this stuff is new to me. I'm going to need assistance the next few times. It sucks being disabled.

The amount of detergent you use has no bearing on how wet things come out of he washer.

You're overloading the machine. Just because things can fit all the way to the top of the machine doesn't mean you load it to the top of the machine. Here's how to load a washer.

It will take getting used to but you can do it! Congratulations on being in your first apartment! It’s an exciting time with lots of new things to learn. Every washing machine is different- key things to know are not overloading the machines while you determine their idiosyncrasies, keeping the loads separated by color/ items. Meaning wash your clothes separately, socks & underwear separate, towels separate. Etc. laundry may take longer but you will figure out your best system.

I also recommend checking out the site apartment therapy- it’s a nice community of apartment dwellers that are very supportive. If you give details of issues in your initial question or then follow up with more details the community can help to resolve. And just like in life, ignore any snippy or rude comments as they aren’t helpful.

Good luck with your laundry!

Too little detergent has no effect on spin performance, but too much detergent surely can by way of excess suds potentially 1) causing drag on the drum that reduces the spin speed and 2) causing an airlock on the pump which prevents the extracted water from draining. Some washers can sense oversudsing and react by running water flushes / extra rinses, some don't have that capability.

Most likely in the OP's case, severe overloading caused the items (comforter and pillow) to contact stationary parts of the machine's structure and prevent spin from reaching full speed, or from running at all.

Just washed my pillow/bed sheets (not the comforter), and they came out soaking wet. The comforter didn't. I used half a cap of cold water detergent for both (same as last time). Why is this happening? Last time I did this, they were all dry when the washers finished. I'm doing what the staff told me to do (they even showed me). They are in the washer again right now with no detergent (the one I washed my comforter with). This is really getting ridiculous.

Stephen, can you take your phone with you to the Laundry Room next time you are there, and take some photos of the washer and post them here? Everything you have posted leads me to believe it is some sort of top load machine, yet the bedding being wet sounds to me like a front load that can not balance the contents when going into the final spin and therefore does not go into spin, or spins at such a low speed you are having the trouble you are having.

One bedpillow with a set of sheets in a toploader may also have balance issues. A saturated pillow is much heavier than sheet fabric. The machine can't split a pillow into multiple pieces to balance it around the basket.

I agree with dadoes... it's likely a balance issue. The machine cannot spin properly if there is a heavy, wet pillow on one side of the machine and just sheets on the other. By the way, most people do not wash their pillows every week. That's why we use pillow cases. If you want extra protection, use two pillow cases.

The same with comforters. You may want to get a duvet cover to put over your comforter and you will not need to wash it very often. Just take it out of the duvet cover (which is like a pillowcase for your comforter) and just wash that.

You'll have this figured out in no time. We all had to learn at some point in our lives. Enjoy your new independence!