Care of Aluminum Tube in a Maytag E2L

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marymaytag

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Jun 27, 2017
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5
Location
Philadelphia PA
Hello everyone, it's nice to be here. I'm getting a Maytag E2L with the aluminum tub which is a bit oxidized. Can you recommend a great way to get it looking bright and shiny? Also, what laundry detergent(s) would you recommend for use in the machine as not to harm the tub in anyway (powder, liquid?) Thanks for all your help and your collections are fantastic!!

marymaytag-2017062707162200727_1.jpg
 
Buy some

Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish at the auto parts store and prepare to go through a LOT of rags! I use any detergent I want. Tide, Gain, whatever. I also use liquid bleach. It's a WASHING MACHINE and I'm not concerned with the appearance of the tub. If it gets dull, you get out the Mother's Mag. It's like routine maintenance.
Have Fun

e2l-arry++6-27-2017-09-17-9.jpg
 
I am old enough to remember a grandmother and two aunts with these machines. I do not recall the tubs being darkened, although I also do not recall them being like mirrors, either. Regular powder detergent (one aunt used Cheer with that heavenly aroma) was used by all, but the secret was the thorough rinsing all parts of the machines received after the wash day ended followed by the drying of the tub, the wringer head being opened, swung across the tub with the agitator placed on its side in the bottom, a towel placed over the top of the wringer and the lid closed to lean against the wringer head so that everything air dried. These were big investments and well taken care of. If more people today remembered this history, not only would better care be afforded their washing machines, but they would not be closed up before they dried. 
 
When I was teen my Mom bought a Maytag wringer washer like this one, only the newer 1968 version with the turquoise agitator. We used either Tide or Cheer as a rule, and chlorine bleach for the whites. I never saw the aluminum tub get any darker than it was when we first got it. And just like Tom writes above we took the agitator off and rinsed out the tub after using it and let it dry with the wringer rolls opened apart. And like e2l-arry says, IT'S A WASHING MACHINE, use it like it was intended to be used. If the tub gets dull, just polish it if you like it to be shiny.

Now enjoy this wonderful Maytag, they were built to last and do a great job.
Eddie
 
Mary, are you sure that letter is a "D" in the numbe

I checked my manual with the serial number index and nothing corresponded to that. Please verify the number/letter and I can check again.
 
Whoopsy!! Eyes are gettin" old but Maytag's still a

Sorry about that. The first number is a 1 instead of a 4 so it's

131489D and the sticker on the back says last patent July 27th 1948.

I've been cleaning the white body and wringer head with Arm and Hammer Total

Care Toothpaste with Baking Soda and Peroxcide and it turns the yellowing paint

into a brilliant white ( I definitely wanted to keep the original paint)

Thanks for looking that up and have a Happy Canada Day!!
 
My mother had a red agitator model too

The aluminum dulled slightly but never became rough, dark or corroded. After use the washer tub was rinsed and allowed to air dry with the lid open. Rarely used bleach. Bluing was used in rinsing whites.
 
Fun thread to read people's stories. Since Mary's Maytag is from 1951, I'm not sure if it has the heavy, cast aluminum tub or a spun aluminum tub; will have to research when Maytag switched over to the spun aluminum. Certainly a big difference in overall weight to the machine!

The cast aluminum was a Maytag standard for a lot of years; all the early models (like Brad Ross' machines) were made from cast aluminum. Sometime after WWII, Maytag switched to making spun aluminum tubs; they were more formed from sheets of aluminum. I have a 1948 Model E2LPT and that tub is cast aluminum and weighs a lot.

I've found that the softer the water you have, the less likely you are to have a stained, or darkened, tub. That aluminum is malleable and I've discovered that using hot, hot water and plain old Tide detergent keeps it looking great.

I've got a 1982 Model E2LPS (spun aluminum tub) and a couple of weekends ago, decided to use it on the patio to clean garden blue jeans and some rugs. I used Fels-Naptha, Borax, washing soda, and also Calgon water softener to make water even softer. Boy, did that tub darken!! I used the machine again the following weekend with just hot water and Tide and it brought it back to it's shine! Still trying to understand the chemical reactions to aluminum; maybe I don't want to know. :-)

Larry's right ... it's a washing machine. Use it and have fun! You can always clean stuff up if you want it to look different!!
 
How can you tell?

That's interesting to know that there were two kinds of tubs. If it helps any, the sides have a straight grain to them, and the bottom has a circular swirl to it.

Now, I don't know if that was someone too lazy to clean it and just power grinded it or that's the way it was made. Anyhoo, I'm just going to not worry about the shine too much, heck, I'm not as shiny as I used to be either.

I love washing in this machine, it is a true symbol of the postwar/baby boomer generation (which I am proud to be a part of) when brave men were coming back from war and having big families who needed a reliable washing machine.

Here are some pictures that the gal who sold me this took.. I guess you could call them the "before" pics.

 
Oh boy, Mary ... that's a sharp looking machine!! You bet ... a wonderful piece of Americana. :-) A little bit of elbow grease and toothpaste and voila ... you've got a fun piece of laundry equipment! If toothpaste is too expensive to use, go to the auto parts store and get some rubbing compound (#2, I think); that will pull off stains. Polish it up with some liquid Turtle Wax; that works well, too. To get grease off, put some lacquer thinner on an old white rag; takes grease right off ... don't rub too hard, though; could soften paint.

From the looks of the tub, I'd say that's cast aluminum. That lid is definitely cast aluminum; I believe it will even say so in the drain ports of the lid. The lid was designed for sorting wet clothes on. Like putting all the socks together before running them through the wringer; the water would flow back into the tub from the drain ports on the lip of the lid. I've seen pictures of the lid on dealer show room floors; Maytag would polish the inside of the lid so shiny!!

Did you extend the legs so it sits higher?

If you ever want to turn it on its side and see the workings underneath, make sure you take off the wringer head (turn to swing and lift straight off) and lay the machine on its front (decal) side. You can lubricate the wheels that way with a few drops of 3-in-1 oil or adjust the leg extensions.

Have some fun with it!
 
Thanks for the tips Geoff!!

Since I'm only 5'2 I dont see any anvantage to raising the machine. I was lucky

to find some Colgate with baking soda and peroxcide in a 9oz tube for only 1.49 a

tube so I got four of them.. Where I live, there is a big hispanic population and

they seem to like ZOTE for their laundry so they carry it my local supermarket,

but most of the time it's sold out .. I heard that some people have a hard time

finding it.

I really like the old Maytag stickers from the 1930's models.. do you think it

would be sacreligious to apply them on my machine?

 
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