A Question For The Experts

[mrcleanjeans]

Why was the Bendix Duomatic the ONLY front loader in its time that washed as least as well as a good top loader yet all other front loaders in that era were rated poor to fair in washing ability including the other Bendix front loaders? Could the two feet plunge per revoltion of the load or the "high" speed 505 RPM spin be the reasons?What do you think?

 

[mrcleanjeans]

And wasn't the 1958 model the best?

 

[laundromat]

Bendix/Crosley--Westinghouse,GE

The front loaders available from the 30'sthrough the 60's were similar in many ways but performance and frequency of repair differed tremendously.The Bendix/Crosleys had four evenly distributed arms that would make the clothes tumble a lot faster and wash and rinse more thoroughly than any of the other brands.If you placed a Bendix next to a Laundromat,you would immediately see the difference in the turbulance of the tumbling.The Laundromats had three evenly distributed arms with no perforation that were rounded and less effective in cleaning.The Laundromat's tub was also tilted back about 15 degrees.The GE combinations were also more turbulant because they had 6 evenly distributed perforated arms.Even now,the front loaders that have the perforated arms and straight as opposed to tilted tubs, do a much better job in cleaning loads in a more uniform manner.Because the reverse,there is less tangling,less wrinkling and more thorough washing and rinsing of the many different natural as well as man made fabrics.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

Thanks Chuck,very interesting info. Why did all Bendixes except the Duomatic also get low washing ratings?

 

[laundromat]

Back then,the detergents as well as soaps were all high sudsing and Dash wasn't introduced untill the late 50's,early 60's. All and Ad were out but their prices were higher than the average detergent and housewives back then bought items in bulk when they went on sale. Our neighbors,the Jeckles,had a 1958 Bendix and Ms.Doris,always measured her Oxydol. She used only 1 TBSP. per load and the suds only became visible through the window. Once in a while,the suds would climb but not until just before the first spray rinse. She also always used the prewash option. That machine was there as long as I can remember. And she hung out some of tghe whitest whites and brightest colors in the neighborhood.She also used LaFrance in her wash.Her husband caught our rabbit in their garden one day and brought it back to us saying if he saw it there again,he'd bring it back fully cooked!He was only kidding. He would always calol and pick my sister and I up to go to Patterson Park with him and his grand daughter,Karen to play on the swings and stop at Gino's on the way home for a burger,fries and a coke. My Mom was his teller at the drive through.My brother,Mickey,now owns their house!

 

[turquoisedude]

I don't have a lot of experience with front-loaders, but I am very impressed at how well the 56 GE combo of mine washes. I have an early model with only 4 vanes in the wash drum, but it churns the water around pretty well.
The spin leaves much to be desired, though; articles washed in the combo are REALLY drippy. I'll just hang them on the line as is and they will dry eventually - unless I am in a hurry and I'll toss them in the Inglis for a spin!

 

[hilovane]

Dash detergent was introduced sometime in 1956. Ad in 1954, and All in 1948 Interesting bit of history about All. It was originally made by a small company in Columbus, Ohio. By the mid-50's, the chemical company Monsanto acquired the rights to the product, and around 1957, Unilever (then known as Lever Brothers) manufactured All, and continues to do so. Ad was discontinued by Colgate-Palmolive by the mid-70's, and Proctor & Gamble discontinued Dash sometime in the 80's.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

Thanks everyone, whoever has even more knowledge to share on this
subject, I appreciate it. Thanks again.

 

[combo52]

Front loader cleaning

The diameter tub of the makes a huge difference in cleaning ability. The slant front westinghouse washers were poor cleaners because of the small size of the tub and the slant of the tub they also tangled almost as badly as the uimatic washers. I have never seen a slanted tub front load washer that did not have tangling issues . The small eurpion FL washers only really clean well because of very long wash cycles and built in water heaters which early bendix and westinghouse washers did not have.