An evening with the Hoovermatic Deluxe

[mickeyd]

Gee I had no idea there were DOG ads--that's awesome

But if you love and have fed a lot of dogs, you can't help but think of one when you're feeding the clothes to the Hoover, the way it first grabs then quickly wolfs down the garment. You're makin' me fell tapped into the universe. Thanks.

 

[tlee618]

Thanks Si for the neat pictures. That is such a beautiful machine. I loved the Hoover-WashDog ad, so fun!! Thanks for sharing. Terry

 

[lederstiefel1]

My wash-dog

Hi - that are great pix!!!
My wash-dog did its last load last week - now it is on vacation.... in the cellar-beauty-farm! Going to get a new face!!! Therefor my new AEG Lavalux had it's re-birth this Sunday! I got two of these machines - both not ready to be used - and formed a new one out of both; the rest is going to the garbage, except some parts for spares. It had it's maiden-wash yesterday afternoon! Three small loads of Delicates with PERWOLL with low water level (20 liters filling) and three full loads of Dark Coloureds/Wash'n'Wear with ARIEL COLOR LIQUID at normal (high) water level (30 liters filling). I washed them all in luke-warm water and gave them at least three rinses with cold water each. Unfortunantely our camera is broken so I couldn't take some pix.......sniff...boohooo...
It really did a good job!
Still I'm waiting to get a new HOTPOINT SUPERMATIC DE LUXE T 9414 from the UK - can't await it. In the meantime I will try to finish the HOOVERMATIC 3301L. Has to be stripped and completely re-painted... KIRBY and DREMEL are waiting already to start with the beauty-cure in the cellar...

Ralf

 

[hoovermatic]

Its when I see piccys like that I realise I should have kept hold of my 3314L. I don't know what it is about that model but everything seemed perfect; the colours, the design, the features. Even today, it looks almost timeless. I love some of the older models particularly the 3301L but they didn't have the autorinse and the wash tubs weren't as shiny. Have loads of fun with it!!

 

[lederstiefel1]

hoovermatic

Hi, Hoovermatic!
(What's your real name, please! My twinnie Hoovermatic 3301L doesn't read this internet file....lol, just kidding!!)
OK....where were we? Ahh yes...
Well same mistake I did several years ago... I gave my Hoovermatic T5054 away b ecause my former girl-friend (how could I ever be so wrong to have a girl-friend....tz..tz..tz...!??), well, she insisted on selling it before I bought my HOTPOINT Supermatic de luxe 9414... I sold it to an English who was on exchange-work in Frankfurt...
Well, one cannot have everything...can we?
So, now I have my 3301L; saved it from the garbage.
The 3301L is older than the 3314L, and at that time stainless steel wasn't developped - or still to expensive - so they used somrthing different for that purpose. The 3301L has no Autorinse, yes but I have several machines to choose from, so I don't bother.

Cheers, Ralf

 

[rolls_rapide]

Hi everyone,

I just had to register, after seeing all the old machines.

Simon: that Hoovermatic DeLuxe machine is my mother's first washer to a tee! She was given it as a wedding present in 1969; and it did indeed wash nappies - mine, my sister's and brother's! lol.

Apparently twintubs washed cleaner than the automatics of the time. Mum never used the autorinse, as it never rinsed properly (apparently as a baby I had terrible skin problems), so she would rinse in the kitchen sink instead (double sink-unit).

Mum used "Ariel" in the machines (Dad came in with "Bold" once, and mum said it was rubbish. "Bold" had the porthole of frontloaders as the 'logo', if I remember correctly).

The machine lasted until 1980, when it started leaking. So my grandparents supplied a copy of Which? magazine, and the Hoover A3110 "Electronic 1100" received a good test result, so my parents purchased that.

My gran was impressed by the A3110, so she also got one in 1982, to add to her 1974 Hoovermatic twintub (orange controls) and 1960's Rolls Rapide model! Her's was more refined: the programmer gave extra clicks before the final spin!

Oh the things you remember! lol

 

[mayken4now]

LAWD, what fun.

Steve

 

[hoovermatic]

Ralf - my name is Paul - I always mean to sign off with my name and almost always forget!

I have vivid memories of the 3310L. As a child, our neighbours had one and I used to go in on Monday mornings during the school holidays as it was washday. She was about 65 years old in the early 1970's so Monday washday was a tradition for her. I remember everything always being the same each week. She had no hot water supply so used to heat up kettles and large saucepans to help fill the washtub and always brought the temp up to 85 degrees before starting with the whites. She was VERY fussy about her washing and always rinsed everything in the sink. Bizarrly, she used to add a tiny amount of Tide to the rinse water!!! What was that all about? It was the blue Tide that we used to get in the UK years ago and I imagine she believed the bluing effect was beneficial and that the fragrance was good. I guess softeners were a bit too modern for her at her age!! id you, my Mum took some persuading to start on Comfort in the mid 1970's!!

 

[lederstiefel1]

Hi Paul!

Same with me! I also have so many vivid memories of the (wash-)days during 1963-1972. To explain the matters: I was born 1961 and from 1972 on I went to school in an other town-part, so had no time to watch wash-days regularly and also at this time most people in Germany had already automatic FLs in their apartments.
But back to the time mentioned.
A bit further down in our street there lived an old lady who still did the washing in the laudry room in the basement and as the window of that "wash-kitchen" goes towards the pavement I could always watch her doing the washing. She still used a water-pressure driven woodden tub-washer (Miele or Holighaus, I guess) and I remember so well the clank-clank-clank-clank from the cylinder on top of the woodden lid, going back and forth, moving the woodden agitator underneath the woodden lid to stir the washing in the suds.
Our landlady did the same in our house until 1964 (she was one of the first who had an automatic MIELE FL in our street) and I watch frequently from the door-gap the wash-day in our basement taking place. The steaming copper-boiler, the MIELE woodden-tub wringer-washer with electric motor underneath, humming and moving the "wash-cross" (woodden agitator in cross form) back and forth in the steaming suds, not to forget the whirríng spinner with still copper spin-can! And all that splashy rinsing in the concrete basins afterwards...!! The used rinse-water flooded the floor when the basins' tube-plugs were lifted off the drain-holes and the water disappeared slowly through the drain in the floor while the women walked through it in rubber-boots...all gone...!!!
Other women had already twin-tubs or pulsator single-tubs with wringer so the copper boiler was not in use anymore in these households.
Concerning the adding of Tide to the rinsing: in Germany we had a rinsing agent called SIL (STTP and oxygen bleach which is nowadays available as a booster without STTP in stores) to break down the water-hardness in the first HOT rinse which was essential as in the old days washing-powders contained soap! (In the time "before" SIL appeared on the market, people used to add some washing-soda or bleaching-soda or used rain-water.) May-be that was the purpose?
My mom started on LENOR in the early sixties but stopped that again after about 10-15 years because of the disadvantages of this stuff. Neither my mom nor we use conditioners anymore at the moment and there is no need to when you wash in TUB-WASHERS as they do not harden the items as tumbling does.

Greetings from a rainy Germany - Ralf

 

[hoovermatic]

When I had my 3314L I rarely used softener as I was able to use proper soap flakes, which apart from being great at stain removal leave the clothes beautifully soft and they smell out of this world without the need for a cocktail of chemicals. I am definately going to get another twin tub at some stage. I have no room for one now but it looks like I will be moving to London within the next 12 months and am going to insist on a utility room that can house my 2 Hotpoint TL's (slimline and traditional) and a twinnie.

Paul

 

[jetcone]

Hey Mike

Nice Vid from our wash day in the garden!

Those are fun machines to play with. I like the washdog analogy. Thats just how Aloysius grabs clothes except I end up with teeth holes in them!

Did I read right that Jon's little plastic portable twinnie blew up??

Jon

 

[johnbirmingham]

Hoovermatic Washdog

John from Birmingham UK here (ChesterMikes partner in crime!)

Thought I would add a few pics of my Hoover Washdog I think it’s the best deluxe twinnie Hoover ever made. I used it again today after fitting a new wash sump hose it ran like a dream. I have an AEG 1800 rpm auto but prefer to get the Washdog barking any day or maybe I am barking ! (mad)

Two more images posted below & will add more pics of machine in action soon.

All the best folks x

 

[johnbirmingham]

Hoovermatic Washdog 2

Other Pic
This machine manufactured November 1974

 

[johnbirmingham]

Hoovermatic Washdog 3

Another Pic

 

[nickuk]

Many happy memories using this exact machine. My Nana and Grandad had one and I did loads of washing in it. Was replaced in late eighties with a Hotpoint twin tub but the spinner went after about 3 years (apparently it `flashed') and just stopped. They loved their Hoover and never really rated the Hotpoint as much and that wasn't just the reliability thing. I never did find out quite what went wrong with the spinner. If I recall, the spinner in Hotpoints didn't use a brush motor did they so I guess the flash was the motor burning out. The Hoover I think did use a brush motor for the spinner, at least the noise suggested it did.

Well done you guys for keeping these great machines going. Thanks for the vid at the start of the thread too - brought back some memories, I tell you.

Nick

 

[hoovermatic]

This machine is the reason that washday became a thrill for me - it is such an exciting machine in every way and the fact that the operator is in control makes it even better. Wonderful pics!

 

[rolls_rapide]

Would I be correct in saying that this particular model was produced for several years?

The model my gran had, had orange controls, and the 'new spinner-release catch' (no handle on spinner lid).

The only thing that my gran didn't care for, was the fact you had to fill the wash tub with water, to cover the activator.

The Rolls model had the activator on the floor of the tub, so a 'half load' could be washed quite successfully.

Thanks for all the photos.

 

[sudzreturn]

Orange Controls

Yeah, my dads mom had both of these machines, the 3314L and the one with orange controls/orange latch lever and orange filling spout. Only thing that was different was the inlet was on the top right of the machine, the 48c was replaced with 50c and of course, the latch lever thingy. I had the latter machine up until a few years ago, and its still going strong at my friends house. Wish i could get another HMDL of this type, my Thomson is driving me mad without having a heater!

 

[sudzreturn]

Oh and.....

Anyone else noticed the pattern of the colour schemes in the whole of the Hoover range, ie orange-silver on the autos too, then the black with green lettering, then the brown and white lettering, then last of all, the grey with white lettering, i remember an aunt had the last of the HMDL then she bought a Hoover auto not long after which was the same colour scheme.Anyone know the dates of the colour schemes?

 

[lederstiefel1]

JohnBirmingham

Hi, John!
Are you the one who refurbishes and overhauls Twinnie to sell them at Ebay's?
If so, just a question here, as I cannot contact you via Ebay at the moment....
How far is my Twinnie (Hotpoint Supermatic de luxe T9414)?
Ralf