My mum has a top loader, but the drum is horizontal like in a front loader (basically you open a hatch in the side of the drum to throw stuff in).

I also never knew anyone to throw in an item mid cycle except when they forgot it previously, and I've done family laundry, including athletic jerseys quite often, never had a problem with just adding them to the rest. And if dinner napkins are cotton, they can probably just be chucked in as well.


Good luck with the work, Aimless - don't be like my dad who started a project like that which was supposed to be done within a few months, but ended up taking a few years to complete