How to Calculate the Water Volume of a Washing Machine

Retailers sell a variety of washing machines with impressive features, not the least of which is water capacity. A washing machine with a water volume that's too large or too small could increase your water bill unnecessarily. Select a machine of appropriate size when you can calculate the volume of water held by the drum in each machine. You can perform this calculation with a mathematical formula.

Tape measure

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the distance across the mouth of the drum to obtain its diameter.
- 2
  Divide the diameter by two to obtain the radius. The radius, r, is the distance from the center of a circle to its circumference. For instance, if the diameter is 4 feet, the radius is 2 feet.
- 3
  Calculate the area of the mouth or base of the drum. The mouth and base are circular shapes so you can use the formula for the area of a circle, A= πr2 (π (pi) is a constant that is approximately 3.14). For instance, 3.14 x 2 x 2 = 12.56 feet.
- 4
  Measure the height of the drum. Height is the distance from the edge of the opening to the bottom of the drum.
- 5
  Calculate the volume of the drum. Use the formula for a cylinder, V = Bh. B is the area of the base of the cylinder and h is the height. If the height is 3 feet, for instance, the calculation for the water volume is 12.56 x 3 = 37.68 cubic feet.

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