The inductive displacement sensor measures how much the outer drum of a washing machine drops when loaded to optimize operation and washing results. It also measures drum deflection during spin-drying to tailor the spin speed, improving machine performance and spin-drying effectiveness. The sensor provides an output signal proportional to the weight to allow full drum utilization and detergent amount determination. It has a 50mm measuring range and is simply mounted and controlled via the washing machine's microcontroller.