El ciclo de lavado realmente dura poco.

Because ciclo is a masculine noun in Spanish, so it takes el in the singular.

• el ciclo = the cycle
• los ciclos = the cycles

The ending -o often suggests a masculine noun, and in this case that pattern fits.

De lavado means of washing or, more naturally in English, washing.

So:

• el ciclo de lavado = the wash cycle / the washing cycle

Spanish often uses de + noun where English uses a noun as an adjective.

Examples:

• máquina de café = coffee machine
• ciclo de lavado = wash cycle

Dura comes from the verb durar, which means to last.

In this sentence:

• dura = lasts

It is third person singular present tense, because the subject is el ciclo de lavado.

Conjugation of durar in the present:

• yo duro
• tú duras
• él/ella/usted dura
• nosotros duramos
• ellos/ellas/ustedes duran

Realmente is an adverb meaning really or truly. It modifies the idea that the cycle lasts only a short time.

In Spanish, adverbs like this often go before the verb or before the part of the sentence they emphasize:

• El ciclo de lavado realmente dura poco.
• El ciclo de lavado dura realmente poco.

Both are understandable, but the original sounds very natural. Placing realmente before dura poco emphasizes the whole statement: it really does last a short time.

Usually here it means really.

So the sentence suggests:

• The wash cycle really doesn’t last long or
• The wash cycle really is short

Although realmente can sometimes overlap with actually, in many contexts actually is better translated as en realidad or de hecho.

So in this sentence, really is the safest interpretation.

Because Spanish often leaves out tiempo when it is already obvious from the verb durar.

So:

• dura poco
• dura poco tiempo

Both mean basically the same thing: it doesn’t last long / it lasts a short time.

The shorter version is very natural and common.

Here poco is being used adverbially, meaning not much or for a short time, so it does not change for number.

• dura poco = it lasts a short time / it doesn’t last long

If poco were describing a plural noun, then it would change:

• pocos minutos = few minutes

But in dura poco, it is not directly describing a plural noun, so poco stays singular.

Yes, you could, but the nuance is a little different.

• El ciclo de lavado dura poco = The wash cycle doesn’t last long
• El ciclo de lavado es corto = The wash cycle is short

These are very close in meaning.
However, dura poco focuses more on time passing, while es corto describes the cycle more like a characteristic.

Both are natural.

Because lavado is part of the expression ciclo de lavado, where de links two nouns.

In this structure, the second noun often appears without an article when it expresses the type or purpose of the first noun.

Compare:

• ciclo de lavado = wash cycle
• botella de agua = bottle of water
• cepillo de dientes = toothbrush

If you added an article, it would often sound more specific:

• el ciclo del lavado could suggest the cycle of the washing in a more specific context, which is not the usual meaning here.

In this sentence, it functions like a noun.

The word lavado comes from lavar and can be related to the idea of washing, but in ciclo de lavado it is best understood as a noun meaning something like wash or washing.

So:

• lavado here is part of a fixed noun phrase: wash cycle

Yes, but the original order is the most neutral and natural.

Possible versions:

• El ciclo de lavado realmente dura poco.
• Realmente, el ciclo de lavado dura poco.
• El ciclo de lavado dura poco realmente. — possible, but less natural in many contexts

Spanish allows some flexibility with adverbs, but the original sentence sounds smooth and standard.

The original is already perfectly natural. But depending on context, native speakers might also say:

• El ciclo de lavado dura muy poco.
• El ciclo de lavado no dura mucho.
• Ese ciclo de lavado dura poco.

These are all common ways to express the same general idea. The original sentence sounds a little more emphatic because of realmente.