A laundry washing machine and method automate the selection of a load type for a laundry washing machine based in part on sensing multiple times during an initial fill phase of a wash cycle and based in part on a fluid level sensed by a fluid level sensor operatively coupled to a wash tub. The dynamic selection may be based at least in part on a first time at which the fluid level sensor senses a predetermined fluid level while water is being dispensed into the wash tub and a peak time at which the fluid level sensor senses a stabilization of fluid level after water is not being dispensed into the wash tub. The dynamic selection may also be accelerated by skipping the sensing of one or more times in response to determining that an earlier reached time meets a predetermined criterion.