Childhood washers

[MikeS]

It Started With A Westy

When I was growing up in Canoga Park, California, the first washer I remember was the Westinghouse front-loader in the small laundry room (early 1950's model, I believe). There was no setup for a dryer at the time, so Mom washed the clothes and hung them to dry in the backyard. When I turned 5 or 6, the Westy was replaced with a Sears Kenmore. I can't remember if it was a Lady Kenmore, but it had the eight pushbuttons, Roto-Swirl agitator with scrubbing cap, and dispensers for bleach and fabric softener. Around that time, Mom decided she was bored as a housewife, and pawned off most of the housework chores to my sister and I. (I took the laundry, because I didn't want to wash dishes every day.)
Every Sunday, I'd collect the clothes, sort the whites from the towels and the colored items, and wash them. (I can still remember the smell of Cheer and Ajax, my mom's two favorite detergents, along with the aroma of Final Touch.)
Sadly, the Kenmore broke down on a regular basis; no matter how much I complained, the washer was repaired instead of replaced. (Dad did the repairs.) I did managed to gripe loudly about hanging the clothes on the line, so my father hooked up a gas pipline to the garage and found a used frog-eye Kenmore dryer for $35. I still had to run from the laundry room to the garage, but the dryer did the job.
When my grandfather came to live with us as he was dying of cancer, we inherited his newer Kenmore 500 series washer. It did the job and didn't keep breaking down. By this time, the old frog-eye dryer was replaced with a newer Kenmore slantback console dryer. (You may see signs of a pattern here, along with the use of a Sears charge card.)
We moved from our home in 1973, and lived in apartments ever since. It wasn't until I bought my own condo a decade ago that I finally had my own washer/dryer (a Roper pair that still work like a charm today).
Ah, the memories.

 

[paulg]

1958 or 1959 Hotpoint washer

Of course we had a Hotpoint as Dad worked for Hotpoint.
However in all the years I've been on this website I've never seen a picture of that model.
We added a Silhouette-clone dryer in 1968.
The washer just LOVED to walk across the basement.

 

[tlee618]

Oh Robert what a cute picture!!!! Looks like your grandmother made something good to eat.

 

[pturo]

We had that 1957 Whirlpool that was the pink photo of the day, but ours was white, and I don't remember much but my mother never used the "other hose" that went to it, nor the switch for return, which she thought was bad, and dirty water. It was a beautiful machine, and we had the matching dryer. I was born later,but remember this set till we got a Norge in about 1966,which was crap,but the Whirlpool dryer lasted until about 1972, and then it was Maytag all the way, that work to this day.

 

[tolivac]

StepMom and Grandmother-Pregnant Roto Swirl Kenmore.
Mom-Norge(can't remember if it was timeline)GE Filter flo(Copper color filter dish)Maytag-mom after divorce-mom-kenmore Penta-Swirl 1975)still has today-stepmom and Dad-1980's Maytag-replace a 1972 model that went thru the Rapid city flood of 1972-was rebult by the local Maytag place and worked until sometime in the 80's.

 

[hilovane]

Until 1960, lived in an apartment complex, where there were the coin-op cylinderical Bendix washers, Bendix dryers that looked like the '53 Duomatics, and Bock extractors. Sometimes, my mom would go to a Speed Queen-equipped laundrette near where my dad worked. Occasioanlly, we'd visit either of two of my mom's aunts, who let her do laundry at their homes. One aunt had those iconic '53 Westinghouse "Laundry Twins"; another had a '57 GE pair (in yellow-no less).
My grandmother had a Blackstone 150, which would scare me s***less when it went out of balance during the spin cycle. She never had a dryer, do my mom never did the laundry there. It was replaced witha BOL Norge in '63; I remember when she got it, because only a few weeks later, JFK was assassinated.
We moved to the house my parents kept for 40 years to the month; my mom got a 1960 Hotpoint kitchen, with a "Touch Command" washer and matching dryer. The washer's tranny died a premature death, so it was replaced with a Maytag 606, which lasted 20 years.
Another aunt of my mom's had a Bendix Economat.

 

[tolivac]

A freind of my Mom had one of those Blackstone 150 washers-that had the two front doors covering the "works" she would open it for me and let me watch the works "Now don't you touch anything in there"I was too little to see what was going on up top.the videos here revealed the secret!!

 

[aquarius1984]

Ok here goes

LOL

Where do I start with what my parents have had in their utility room over the past 20 years.....

197/8*? - 1988 Frigidaire FL 600rpm

1988 - 1989 or so Candy Domino 4 1000rpm Variable Temp dial, half load/on off/ door release buttons.

1989 - 1989 (while the candy was being repaired) Bendix 7147 Loan machine

1989 - 1991 Candy was back but yet had multiple repairs in the meantime.

Sept 1991 - Sept 1991 Electra clone of the Hotpoint/Creda 1000rpm Supaspeed. Sent back to Manweb due to the side panels being a different shade of white than the front. It did 2 washes before it got sent back.

Sept 1992 - Feb 2000 Electrolux EWF1130F (Essentially a Zanussi Jetsystem) with variable temp dial, heavy soil, super rinse, spin care 1000 down to 850rpm button, door release/on off.

Feb 2000 - May 2000 Candy Activa 1000 Vari spin, temp, deep rinse, rinse hold,

May 2000 - June 2002 Hoover Quattro 1300 Express AA230. Vari spin temp, crease guard super rinse and express wash.

June 2002 - Dec 2005 NIB Hotpoint WM62 1000/900rpm Economy wash and super rinse. Got absolutely hammered and took it but changed due to it being the wrong colour.

Dec 2005 - present LG 1200rpm Direct Drive 6kg Currys exclusive,

In the 27 years they have been married managed to plow through 7 machines.

Mind you we have only had 2 Tumble dryers in that time.
Creda Debonair and Hoover UltraCare 6kg vented HDV6.
R

 

[aquarius1984]

Insert this between Sept 1991 - Sept 1992.....

Candy Domino 4 back and was persevered with until a new machine could be afforded.

Mum used to keep a hammer on top of the washer to whack the drum spider so it would turn the drum and do a wash.

Everytime it went on she did this.

 

[aquarius1984]

On the flip side

Pauls folks have had 3 machines in roughly the same time.
Mine 7

When I think about it I ownder if there is a trend?

7 Washers
2 Dryers
3 Dishwashers
3 cookers
6 Kettles
2 Toasters
11!!!! Irons
1 Mixer lol....
4 Microwaves
8 Vacuum Cleaners
2 Fridge Freezers
2 Chest Freezers
4 undercounter Fridges

Scary when you think of it all.

 

[programcomputer]

Childhood washers....

Dads parents-

This grandma was my favorite. She used to let me vacuum and play with different stuff to my hearts content. She noticed me one day sitting on a box staring silently into the window of the washer, which was RARE for me as I was NEVER silent EVER! Gram went out an bought me a little green stepstool so I could pull up and sit and watch the whole process from start to finish. Most of my fondest washer memorie were in her basement quietly watching that Laundromat. I miss that lady so.. However, my gram was very frugal, used the cheap Amway powder that came in the huge barrel, which I believe smelled like lemons, and used the very CHEAP pink fabric softner. There was plenty of "Revolving Agitator" action, but NEVER any suds to speak of...

Her washer then was I was very young was a 1963 Westinghouse Laundromat LBB-30 and matching electric dryer. It wasn't the program computer model, but one down from it I believe. I used to watch that thing for HOURS. There is a pic of the day with the lady having money thrown out at her, into her apron. That was the machine, or was VERY close to it.Up at the cottage, on the back porch she had her earlier Maytag Master Wringer with a pump red agitator, release bar and the fancy Maytag insignia on the front. Helping her open up the place one year I believe 1988-89, we were washing up all the blankets and sheets, pillowcases, towels all the things that were stored there over the winter. Towards the end of the wash, doing up a thick blanket; I ended up putting my hand thru the wringer almost to the knuckel's. It hurt like hell, but suprisingly no bones were badly broken, if at all. The doctors gave me a perscription and put my hand in a brace type of thing. The rest of that two weeks was really not that bad, but anytime I tried to use my right hand, it throbbed like a SOB...LOL Her next set came before the wringer incident. She ended up buying a 1983 Maytag Fabric Matic Extra Large Capacity set. I came to her house one Friday in the first grade on one of my weekend to be with my dad, and my beloved Laundromats were gone, replaced by these almond right dial boring makers. The dryer finally died in 2004 and she passed in 2006. My youngest cousin, who is a new mommy has grams old Fabric matic washer. It still churns away in her apartment...(She has a hookup)

Moms parents- Had an early 70's set of Lady Kenmores. In fact there was one just found in white like hers ( the washer) in a recent thread. I was NEVER permitted to look at, or fool with them tho. My gram bought herself a new Maytag Fabric matic pair in 1979 when my mother did, and has the washer still. The dryer is a newer Norgetag Performa thing.

My mother- We had a Maytag Fabric Matic set MOL that my folks bought in 1979 from J.W. Knapps in Lansing Michigan. Those lasted thru some pretty rough times for my family, including many basement floods, several timer rebuilds and so forth until 1990 or 91, when the washer and dryer were replaced by a cheap White Westinghouse set. We had moved from the first house, and our new place was in the country. ( Of course we had well water at the time, and the tub turned orange on it's maiden wash we left that washer and dryer in that house.
No one cried...

We lived in an apartment then for a few years, and in the basement of the place were several old Filter FLo's half of which were missing their filter pans.Our next house (my most favorite) of all our houses came with a late 1960's Whirlpool set that had the controls all on one side in the little box. The rest of the panel was a shorter metal thing. There was a POD of a Brastemp recently that had an close looking machine to our set. That was the pair that the dryer caught on fire when we were not home drying a load of towels from the pool party we had the night before. It ruined our laundryroom, and what was beneath it in the basement, not to metnion smoke damage everywhere...Those were replaced thankfully when my great grandmother went into a home just a few months later (we went to the laundrymat during that time we were rebuilding the laundry and renovating the house) with her TOL Right Dial Maytags in that same boring beige color. Great Gram had bought those in 1988. By then I had come to appreciate the Maytag sound and washing ability by then. I loiked those machines quite alot. Those Maytags lasted utnil just recently. Imagine my suprise when I came home to do some laundry one weekend ( as I now am an apartment dweller for the time being, and my Frigidaire front loaders are in storage)...she had a BRAND NEW WASHER and DRYER!!

When I flipped on the overhead flourescent lights I about cried....She now has a new Whirltag washer and dryer the Maytag Centennial series. BLAH... When i asked her why..she said that the old one smelled funny and I just wanted new...I need to get my own place back. At least I can see clothes sloshing over and over again with my own washer...

Most aunts and uncles had BOL or MOL Kenmroe sets. and I do not remember seeing many of them growing up. I was usually looking for their vacuum cleaners. Washers were merely incidental at the time.I do rememebr my nice friend and neighbor Mrs. Wright at the first house having a mid 60's GE Filter Flo set with a lighted backgaurd. The set that I found in Detroit a few weeks back, was the identical match to what she had. So I assume she got hr set in 1965-66 or so...There are a few more machines that I remember, but arent; anything fun or to whrite home about. In Michigan, you either had Maytag, Whirlpool General Electric or Sears Kenmore it seems.

Chad

 

[whirlcool]

When I was growing up we have a 1949 Kenmore gas dryer, my mom used to say how reliable it was. I don't know what kind of washer went with it. Probably a Kenmore.
In 1963 they bought a Frigidare Custom Imperial set with matching gas dryer. I loved the lighted control panel on it. This set lasted until I was in college (70-74) and soon afterwards they replaced this set with a GE Filter Flo set that they kept until 1990 or so.
Sorry, I don't have any photos of any of them.

 

[foraloysius]

Here's the Bosch from my childhood. We had it from 1966 till 1976. We had a Candy before this one, but I didn't like it and it didn't last very long. The Bosch really stimulated my interest in washers.

 

[foraloysius]

After the Bosch Miele made it's appearance in our home. We had a W423 from 1976 - 1997.

 

[jonvance1990]

One of my most favorite washers from my childhood was my parents 1970's GE portable Peddler washing machine wich we owned from February 1996 to March, April, or May of 1996 until it died after the motor blew up causing smoke to billow out of it. it was on the drain cycle and just shut off seconds after the drain cycle started and imediatly a burning smell started stenching up the laundry room and smoke blew out from all directions. It was scary. When Mom was on the phone with the apartment complex office to ask someone to fix it she was in the laundry room for some reason and was coughing throghout the phone call. Were lucky it didn't catch fire but it never got fixed and was repleced with a new Kenmore portable washer. Also my moms friend had a BD Kenmore washer with the dual action agitator wich was fun to watch. I remember that I was surprised the first time I heard it go into drain because I never heard a washer that did not pause before going into drain before seeing that machine. Good times.

 

[robm]

Hi all, here are my lot.

In the 70s my mother used this Servis twinny. It's very vague to be honest and it used to annoy me that I could not see the spinner even slowing down.

Between 82-87 she got a Philips top loader. Again I could not see anything but used to stick a spoon in the catch when she was out. Here is a pic of one, thanks to the person that supplied it!

 

[robm]

Apologies, did not have the Servis pic in the end.

Between 87-89 she had this exact machine! Hotpoint 9530.

 

[robm]

Finally in 89 she got a Bauckneckt. Here is a pic of her tiny kitchen. Note the dishwasher we bought in 88.

 

[pulsator]

My sorely missed BD Whirlpool!

This is the prototype Whirlpool that started it all for me! These pics were taken the day Sears was bringing our new washer and hauling this gem away... My dad recalls my disappointment when the new washer came, it was a DD Kenmore 90 series with detergent, softener, and bleach dispensers. I hated that thing! I thought it was BUTT UGLY and boring as hell! I miss the Whirlpool's whine, as I recall, they were testing a weaker motor in the BD Whirlpool so that thing WHINED while agitating. I MISS IT SOOOO MUCH!!!

 

[pulsator]

The tub with that FABULOUS winged Surgilator! I still MUCH prefer this agitator over the regular Super Surgilators!