A few months ago, a member acquired a mint Whirlpool Imperial Mark XII set that someone had left out on the curb for the trash men to pick up. This has me wondering how many of you found a classic washer and/or dryer left out on someone's curb for disposal. Especially machines in good working order or close to it. Just how common is this kind of find?
Curbside Finds
- Thread starter kd12
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I haven't found any at the curb, but I've bought a couple of perfectly good discarded Miele dishwashers at the ReStore.
It still happens, but it's getting rare.
I got interested in vintage washers in the 1980s. I was getting unhappy with the current crop of kitchen appliances, and discovered that a buddy of mine had been acquiring period-correct kitchen appliances for his 1940s home and doing ground-up restorations on them. He got me thinking about my mid-century place in Palm Springs and once I started looking, it was easy to find what I needed on the curbside, behind appliance stores, and second hand stores. You almost tripped over the stuff.
The desirable stuff started getting sparse about 2000 and now (2018) the good stuff is getting rare. You still do see it, but it'w now a once a year thing.
One of the worst things to happen was "American Pickers". When I do see something I'm interested in, I frequently have to deal with an owner who thinks because it's from the 1950's, it's worth a bundle. Mad Men you know... If it looks like there's no hope for an agreement I give them a card with my name and number. I also mention that yeah, it has more chrome and porcelain than anybody's business, but it also has impossible to find 50 year old rubber and electrical parts and it's not worth what's being asked.
I got interested in vintage washers in the 1980s. I was getting unhappy with the current crop of kitchen appliances, and discovered that a buddy of mine had been acquiring period-correct kitchen appliances for his 1940s home and doing ground-up restorations on them. He got me thinking about my mid-century place in Palm Springs and once I started looking, it was easy to find what I needed on the curbside, behind appliance stores, and second hand stores. You almost tripped over the stuff.
The desirable stuff started getting sparse about 2000 and now (2018) the good stuff is getting rare. You still do see it, but it'w now a once a year thing.
One of the worst things to happen was "American Pickers". When I do see something I'm interested in, I frequently have to deal with an owner who thinks because it's from the 1950's, it's worth a bundle. Mad Men you know... If it looks like there's no hope for an agreement I give them a card with my name and number. I also mention that yeah, it has more chrome and porcelain than anybody's business, but it also has impossible to find 50 year old rubber and electrical parts and it's not worth what's being asked.
What Scoots said ^
I've recently become interested in vintage sewing machines...not really the 100 year old Singers but the Japanese clones from post WW2. There's one on ebay right now...the seller says "I know it's old so it must be worth something" and has it listed for $500!
I bought mine for $19 plus a little shipping. Same machine. The really old Singers are another story...people think that since they are 100 yrs or older they must be worth $1000....but really they made millions of them so they are not rare and not all that valuable. I got my old National for free.
I've recently become interested in vintage sewing machines...not really the 100 year old Singers but the Japanese clones from post WW2. There's one on ebay right now...the seller says "I know it's old so it must be worth something" and has it listed for $500!
I bought mine for $19 plus a little shipping. Same machine. The really old Singers are another story...people think that since they are 100 yrs or older they must be worth $1000....but really they made millions of them so they are not rare and not all that valuable. I got my old National for free.
Singer Sewing Machines
The only SSS that is really worth anything is the Feather-Weight model which is aluminum and is in a black carrying case, these if in good working condition are usually worth from $100-400.
John L.
[this post was last edited: 7/3/2018-06:40]
The only SSS that is really worth anything is the Feather-Weight model which is aluminum and is in a black carrying case, these if in good working condition are usually worth from $100-400.
John L.
[this post was last edited: 7/3/2018-06:40]
curbside
years ago, a town about a half hour away used to do "spring cleanup.", where people would put large items curbside, and the city would pick them up. This is before the price of scrap metal went wild.
Scored quite a few things, like a Whirlpool Imperial set in avocado, a 56 Whirlpool dryer that a member needed to finish a set, a gold Whirlpool set, and a lot of other things.
years ago, a town about a half hour away used to do "spring cleanup.", where people would put large items curbside, and the city would pick them up. This is before the price of scrap metal went wild.
Scored quite a few things, like a Whirlpool Imperial set in avocado, a 56 Whirlpool dryer that a member needed to finish a set, a gold Whirlpool set, and a lot of other things.
The adjacent town to us has the spring clean up each year. I'd cruise the piles but never found any machines. The best scores were a mid-'30s Wedgewood trash & gas stove (a beast to get onto the back of the pickup), two giant round porcelain enamel Coca-Cola discs (that had been painted over with different advertising), and a well-weathered Flexy Racer, which was a childhood go-to pastime when the neighbors had two of them. I still have the Flexy and the discs, but the stove was given away in 1986.
A few of the things I found that time.
www.automaticwasher.org
Whirlpool kind of weekend.......
Had a successful weekend,even found a few classics. First,for your viewing pleasure is the lovely Whirlpool dryer. Anyone date this for me? kennyGF
www.automaticwasher.org
When I go to the Sew&Vac shop in my area-those Feather Weight Singers are highly valued by quilters for some reason.May get one for my sewing machine and vacuum collection.Those little machines work REALLY well when properly timed.Their wiring can be a problem-the old wiring in the small junction box can short out-so the fellow at the Sew&Vac place rewires them.
fan-of-fans
Well-known member
I don't really see appliances in the trash here anymore. I did used to see them fairly often in the past.
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