Coin Operated Dry Cleaning

[cornutt]

Norge machines

The Norge Village I'm familiar with usually had one or two machines that were either out of order or had the red "DO NOT USE" light lit (I think that light indicated that it was time for a filter inside the machine to be cleaned). But I don't ever recall walking in there and the whole system was down. That would have been a disaster for them because they did a lot of drop-off service in addition to self service.

 

[Unimatic1140]

[COLOR=#ff0000; font-size: 18pt]The Frigidaire Rapidry-Cleaner Revealed! [/COLOR]

OMG, while looking through some papers for more Product Stat stuff, look at what I just found!

 

[Unimatic1140]

That's the entire segment, no more information that what is shown.  It claims it can do 5 8lb loads an hour?  That would mean a 12 minute cycle???  What no rinse, lol.

 

Anways, here is a blow up of the "cleaning unit", look at all of those signal lights!

 

[combo52]

Frigidaire Dry Cleaning Center

I have never seen one of these installations in person, but have seen some other pictures and some service information for them. Since FD was one of the few appliance makers that did not ever build a combo they did not have anything to start off with other than their regular washers and dryers.

These FD dry cleaning centers used the unimatic washer mechanism in the washer-extractor unit and it should not have been a problem to complete the washing-extracting process in under 20 minutes. When cleaning with perc type chemicals the cleaning is fast and generally there was no reason to do a rinse cycle as there was no detergent to rinse from fabrics so it could be spun out and into the drying unit.

These FD DCCs used a strong exhaust fan above the washer to try to contain the fums from the solvent as the clothing was moved to the drying machine. It was probably a dangerous thing for the operator to use when you consider being that close to the solvent solvent dampened clothing.

 

[ovrphil]

That qualifies as amazing

Robert, you just solved my question, which I dismissed in ever finding an answer, in visuals. I didn't search for long, but nothing came up for me.

John, that's interesting; I can't imagine working in a dry-cleaning facility. I remember the days when we'd pick up dry cleaned items and despite the doors, windows and whatever else could be opened, with the fans, the chemical smell was a nasty assault on breathing, coming in the front door to pick up our/my clothing.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Funny that both the coin washers and the dry cleaner had 18 minute cycles. I remember that lock on the lid of the washer.

 

[cornutt]

Sure wish the photo was hi-res enough to read what is written on the console...

 

[neptunebob]

Maybe the units were expensive?

I wonder how much the units in that article cost. Perhaps the expense is why more Laundromats did not have them. I also found the ultimate dry cleaning machine, that uses "alternative solvents", wet cleans and even does laundry and drying. They don't give a price but it must cost as much as a house!

http://www.uniondc.com/products/union-products-wetdry-ideal.html

 

[dryclean1]

I would love to get my mits on one of these!!!

where as these washers used the same mechanism as a regular washer, they must have had porcelin seals and gaskets in them,or else the solvent would eat away the rubber after the first couple of loads. I would love to get one of these for my collection. thanks Bill the drycleaner

 

[gyrafoam]

I remember two of the Frigidaire places. I recall the machines looked just like the one Robert posted with the port hole window. I remember watching the machine go through the cycle and that it was hard to see in because the lighting through the glass was not good, fluid splashed up on the glass and the clothes being laundered were dark in color. I seem to remember the fluid must have been very warm as the glass was warm. Also, it had a spin like a Unimatic and the agitator of a Pulsamatic. I do not remember if the pulsation was as fast as a Pulsamatic.

I'm sitting here thinking that I don't even remember where these stores were! I just remember there were two of them. Brooklyn? Miami?

 

[brucelucenta]

I remember those Frigidaire units well, along with the Norge and speed queen tumble units. The Frigidiare unit had the old bakelite agitator like the pulsamatic used, but did not pulsate like the pulsamatic. It appeared to be like a unimatic machines with a lock on the lid. It was a transfer unit, which meant you had to take the clothes from the washer and put them in the reclaimer. That was something that is highly illegal these days. They did away with transfer units long ago. There were two kinds of cleaning solvent. One was perc and the other was petroleum solvent. These units all used perc, since it was not flammable. Perc has since been outlawed and regulated very strictly these days, so those are a thing of the past.

 

[jons1077]

Speed Queen

When I was a college student in my first apartment back in 1997 I lived a short walk from an older laundromat that had a variety of machines but mostly Speed Queens. I always chose the larger Speed Queen FL washers because they were the oldest ones in there. On the wall next to the counter where you picked up your serviced laundry was a row of three or four built in coin-operated Speed Queen FL dry cleaners. I don't recall them ever being used and I think they were out of service but they were definitely something of the 60's or 70's decades. Always was fascinated by them and wanted to try them but never could.