In the manual it says to use certain settings for certain loads. Maybe try 'High' on the spin setting. Also for the wash setting maybe try putting it on 'Heavy Duty' or ' Bedding'. I think this allows for heavier fabrics like jeans or towels, that do soak in a lot of water. I have not had a problem with items being soaked with water after the load is finished accept for one time and maybe one of my kids did a light load and changed the settings and I just assumed it was on the higher setting that I usually use, I'm not sure I didn't check, but the fix was just turning the wash setting to 'Spin' and it gave it that extra spin cycle to get rid of the extra water. My son pointed out to me that he forgot to add the fabric softener during a wash that he did and so when it finished washing he put the softener in the little pull out drawer and then set it to 'Rinse + Spin' and it worked perfect! Oh just one last thing, we fill the washer and don't worry about the middle. I just washed pillows and they were definitely in the middle, so I don't think you need to worry about that.