I'm just inquisitive about how language works and how its structural rules may be deciphered. IronJack had an interesting take on the subject,
The infinitive "to be washed" serves as a noun form, receiving the action of "needs." It isn't a true object of the transitive, but that's only because of the dual nature of the verb. If you ask yourself the question, "What does the laundry need?" the answer can be "Washing" or "to be washed." In the latter example, the infinitive is a verb construct that serves as a noun, nearly the same as the gerundized "washing."
but I need a little help, Jack, with the sentence I've italicized, specifically "isn't a true object of the transitive" and "dual nature of the verb." I'm having trouble tracking the distinction between the infinitive object and the gerund object.
The infinitve and the gerund don't HAVE an object; they ARE objects. Both are verb forms of "wash" that serve as nouns. To answer your question simply, there IS no distinction, at least in grammatical function.