Does anyone remember washers or dryers of thier childhood?

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Yes....... I most CERTAINLY do.......

"Hooverboy1":

Mine Washer/Dryer Memories Goes Down Like This:

Mom and Dad:

(01). 1967 Kenmore 24" BOL Washer with Black Tub and Black Straight Vane Agitator (the One-Speed/One-Cycle Model) -- 1967-78....... No Dryer Until 1976.

(02). 1975 Kenmore "All American" Dryer (the one that SUPPOSEDLY matches up with whatever Washer you owned), Solid-State Sensor, the 2.5 Hour Wrinkle-Guard and Full-Width Door (but NO Drum Light....... BUMMER!!!!!)........ Purchased in January 1976 at a closeout sale.

(03). 1978 Kenmore 2-Speed/4-Cycle Large Capacity Washer with Penta-Swirl Agitator, Agitator Mounted Fabric Softener Dispenser, Self Cleaning Lint Filter and Off Balance Switch with Buzzer (1978...... and it was still working when I left home in 1987, and was working still when my parents sold their house in 1992 when my Father retired from the government).

Grandmother (Father's Mother):

(01). 1967 Kenmore Model 600 or 700 (can't remember) with 2-Speeds and 3-Cycles, Speckled Porcelain Tub and Black Straight Vane Agitator, Waterfall Lint Filter and Off Balance Switch with Buzzer (conked out in 1990).

(02). 1987 Kenmore Super Capacity Dryer with Solid-State Sensor and 2.5 Hour Wrinkle-Guard. One of the mid/upper line models I think, but no drum light (we still have the dryer now).

(03). 1990 Kenmore Super Capacity Washer with Direct-Drive Mechanism and Dual-Action Agitator. Also had Bleach and Fabric Softener Dispensers. Console of this washer matched that of the 1987 Dryer (see above). Conked Out THIS Year, and replaced WITH (see # 04 below),

(04). 2007 Kenmore Elite Oasis King Sized Washer with Electronic Controls, 3.8 Cu./Ft. Stainless Steel Tub, Dual-Action Agitator (not the one with the 4.5 Cu./Ft. "Canyan" Capacity" and Wash Plate at the bottom of the tub...... GOD, I was hoping she would get that one....... Oh Well) and dispensers for detergent, bleach and fabric softner (that's still a cool machine, and man, that thing is quiet as shit)(WAY TO GO, GRANDMA!!!!! :)).

Aunt (Mother's Sister):

(01). 1963 Lady Kenmore Model 800 Set (in Pink) (lasted until 1980)(best of the three sets they've owned).

(02). Whirlpool Set (MOL, I believe)(1980-01).

(03). "Whilpool Made" Roper Set (2001 to Present (man, they downgraded big time, didn't they)).

Aunt (Father's Sister):

(01). 1969 Kenmore 24" Portable Automatic (the one dial model with 2-Speeds/3-Cycles, Waterfall Lint Filter, Gold Straight Vane Agitator and Off Balance Switch with Buzzer).

(02). 1969 Westinghouse Deluxe Electric Dryer with "Cross Vane Tumbling".

(03). 1973 Kenmore Large Capacity Washer with 2-Speeds and 3-Cycles, Gold Roto-Swirl Agitator with Fabric Softener Dispenser and Off Balance Switch with Buzzer.

(04). 1981 Kenmore Large Capacity Washer (in Gold) with 2-Speeds and 6-Cycles and Dual Action Agitator and all the feature of the 1973 Large Capacity Kenmore.

(05). 1981 Kenmore Electric Dryer with Center Plug Drop-Down Door (nothing special).

(06). 1996 Kenmore Direct-Drive 3-Speed Washer with Triple Dispensers and Dual-Action Agitator.

Great Grandmother (My Grandmother's Mother - Now Deceased):

(01). 1965 Philco Washer (the one that was made by Ford Motor Company) with the Right Opening Lid and "Blades Of Action" Undertow Agitator.

(02). 1976 Speed Queen Multi-Speed/Multi-Cycle Washer with Stainless Steel Tub.

(03). Speed Queen Dryer (don't know what vintage, but let's figure mid/late 1960's).

Great Aunt (Grandmother Sister):

(01). 1966-67 Lady Kenmore "Keyboard" Set (with Roto-Flex Agitator (the one that "SPANKS" your clothes until they are clean.......). Washer had 14 Push-Buttons with Click-Stop Cycle/Timer, Detergent Dispenser with Aluminum Lid on the right side of the lid and Bleach and Fabric Softener Dispensers under the lid on the left side of the machine, a 3-Speed Motor, Off Balance Switch with Buzzer and a Full-Width Lighted Console. Matching Dryer had Solid-State Sensor, Lighted Drum and Console, 3 Push-Buttons in the center of the console and a Full-Width Door (1966 or 1967 until 1986).

(02). Early 1980's Kenmore Belt-Drive Washer with 2-Speeds/6-Cycles, Bleach and Fabric Softener Dispensers and a Dual-Action Agitator.

(03). General Electric Electric Dryer (not sure of the vintage, but it was during the time GE was doing the "match all" consoles).

Great Uncle (Father's Uncle...... Now Deceased, AND..... He gets the vote for the MOST ENTERTAINING laundry set of the family (BOTH SIDES!!!!)):

(01). 1966 Frigidaire Imperial Model with 3-Speed Motor, Jet Cone Agitator (I loved the way that thing went "up and down") and Rapidry Spin (in Coppertone) and Matching Dryer. Washer lasted until 1994, and Dryer was still working when he passed away in 2001.

There you have it........ These are the laundry appliances I had the pleasure of growing up with.

Any Questions????? :)

--Charles--
 
My Mom had a Thor Automagic semi-automatic washer. That is where I got my start with washing machines.
One aunt had a Norge timeline.
Another aunt had a Westinghouse slant front but one day, she replaced it with a Norge timeline.
My grandmother had a Maytag gray ghost in the basement with
double stone wash tubs for rinsing.
When my Mom went shopping, she dropped me at the laundromat where they had Philco Bendix front loaders.
Down the road from my grandparents was a laundromat with
Bendix front loaders.
I could always be found where the washers were located.

Ross
 
My earliest memories are my parents washer. They were the second family on the block to get a 1951 Frigidaire unimatic WO-65 that lasted until 1963 with the transmission repaired in 1959. They then purchased in 1963 a Frigidaire Model WCDA-63 that was still running in 1990. If I had known that the outer tub could be repaired due to rusting spots that leaked, the machine probably would still be running today. In Christmas 1990 the family purchased a bottom of the line Maytag that is still running like new but not up to the quality of the Frigidaires of the past. My mother was so disappointed with the spin speed of the Maytag. There was no dryer until 1970 when a GE gas dryer Model 7100 was purchased and is still being used today.
My older sister had a 1964 Kenmore programmed washer Model 700 that lasted until 1987 when they purchased the top of the line Maytag that still is being used.
My other siblings have a 1991 Maytag top of the line still in use, a 1983 Maytag Model 409 still being used, a 1987 Maytag Model 612 still in use. My youngest brother replaced a center dial Maytag Model 606 with suds-saver with a 2001 Whirlpool washer.
I myself am still using my 1987 Maytag Model 512 Fabric Matic which replaced a Frigidaire Skinny-mini that came with the house that I purchased in 1979. I purchased a used 1980 Maytag gas dryer Model 608 in 1985 that I am still using today.
 
My grandmother had 1960 Frigidaire Custom Imperial washer and dryer in sunny yellow. My grandfather bought this set in late August 1960 for my grandmother's 50th birthday! I remember my grandmother "Mimi" would put a step stool in front of the Custom Imperial washer and let me put in the soap powder in the three ring agitator. My grandmother had the 1960 Custom Imperial washer until early summer of 1968. It just died one day. We had the Custom Imperial dryer until December 1980 when I called the Salvation Army. My biggest wish is to find a 1960 Frigidaire Custom Imperial washer and dryer ( working or not )
so I can honor my "Mimi" for all the endless loads of diapers, towels, clothes she washed in that sunny yellow set from Frigidaire.
 
Right before I was born my parents bought a new 1973 Whirlpool set. I think the washer was an Imperial, but I'm not certain. It had a lighted console and a shiny chrome agitator cap. I so wished it had a recirculating waterfall filter instead of a Magic Clean filter. The dryer was a '73 purchased at the same time, but didn't match the washer due to an appliance store mistake. My mom told me it was a nicer dryer than the one they'd originally paid for, so they kept it. In 1986 the Whirlpools were replaced with 90-series Kenmores, which was pretty much a step backwards in the excitement department. In late 2001 the washer emitted a loud bang that rendered it past tense and the Kenmores were replaced with a Frigidaire Gallery front-load pair, which are still in use. Finally, something somewhat exciting. (It figures it would eventually happen years after I'd moved out of my parents house.)

My paternal grandparents had a coppertone Westinghouse pair from the '60s or very early '70s. The washer was a front-load model with the side swinging door, and a little sticker near the tub seal that recommended using Dash. The sticker was still on there when the machines were replaced in 1984 with an MOL Maytag set.

My maternal grandparents had a center-dial Maytag with suds saver and lighted console mated to a slant-front Westinghouse dryer (the one with the colorful toggle switches). The dryer was replaced around 1985 with a GE dryer, and the washer replaced a couple years later with a Maytag. My great-grandmother had a fancier Maytag center-dial than my grandparents had, but no dryer. She also had a wringer washer pushed into a corner of the basement, and I think the center-dial was the only automatic she ever owned.

Odd, but with all the Maytags in my family neither my parents nor I have ever owned one.
 
My mom had a Thor washer in West Virginia, then in Kentucky she got a new '58 BOL GE washer that went to Lynchburg, VA, then here in this house in '61. In the mid '60s we got a Kenmore, somewhere in the '70s we got a Wizard, then the last regular washer we had was a Maytag. My brother bought us a White/Frigidaire stacked heavy duty washer-dryer in the '90s after mom broke an elbow and knee. It's a great machine, but it isn't old like I want.
 
I've got pictures!!!

1972 maybe, my sister's birthday party. Thats her in the orange.
In the background is the Maytag A702 and the 1959 Hotpoint dryer
The appliances are long gone, but that damn wallpaper is still there!

8-7-2007-20-59-38--hoover1060.jpg
 
Childhood Washer Memories...

From what I could remember: Mom told us she first got a Norge prior to her old Kenmore set. We grew up with a white Kenmore set from the late 60s to the mid 70s. This was a lighted console type, but do not know the model. After the washer broke down, Mom used a twin tubbed ringer model till she got a used early to mid 70s Speed Queen. Then (in about 1983) we got a new Whirlpool washer in almond and a used Maytag dryer that was white in color. Again, don't know the models. Last I knew, Mom had an early 90s Maytag model that was of the faster revved or short, quick stroked agitation type. Childhood memories also consisted of my hanging around the neighbors Maytags, Norge, Kenmore, or GE sets. Have also seen Monkey Wards, Westinghouse, and Frigidaire dryers and some washers, but not the Frigidaire washers. Also hung around Philco-Bendix washers at the laundry mat when Mom had to use those whenever we had water problems on the farm. My favorite washers to watch are the older Bendix frontloaders, along with those high revved spin cycles of older Speed Queens and Frigidaires, such as what I have collected demos from AW.--Laundry Shark
 
Maytag 608's

from 1993, after the new floors were installed. The original kitchen was remodeled in 1978, and the bar added in 1982, featuring a new Maytag dishwasher, which faced the sink

8-7-2007-21-02-29--hoover1060.jpg
 
Jeff, I like your 70s kitchen.

Yes, like the all matching Harvest gold appliances. Those 70s cabinets, and the paneling that was added behind the Maytags. And the wallpaper.

What year was this?
 
Here's the Speed Queen washer I first remember us having in the 60's. We had a 62 Frigidaire Custom Deluxe dryer too but it was not in camera range in this picture.

I remember my mom using Salvo tablets at one time and I wanted to be the one to drop them in.

Patrick

8-7-2007-23-54-37--pdub.jpg
 
my child hood washer was a 1997 whirlpool 7 cycle supreme with super capicity plus with a 3 temp in timer gas dryer
 
Our washer was a late '50s Frigidaire, just like the one on the home page of this site, except it was white. My aunt had the same one, but in yellow. (Haven't seen a yellow one, since!) I can remember the load always getting off balance as it was starting to spin, and then it would shut off. Momma would have to go rearrange the clothes and then try the spin again, hoping it would take, that time. And then I remember the rubber cap of the agitator coming off in the tub, sometimes.

Another aunt had a 1963 Lady Kenmore washer in white. And then Grandma had a mid-'60s Frigidaire washer in white.

In 1972, our old Frigidaire washer died. So we got a new harvest gold Frigidaire. I thought we were finally up-town, because we finally had a new washer with a lid that opened from the side! And it wasn't white!! I remember it having a box of Tide and a Frigidaire advertising coloring book inside, when it was delivered.

Momma never had a dryer, and STILL doesn't! It's always been a clothes line for her. That's the way she wants it, for some reason. Not me, though. No thanks! I can remember her yelling for my sister and me to hurry and help her grab the clothes off the line whenever it would start to rain. And then during rainy or cold days, she'd put wet clothes on hangers and hang them in all the doorways throughout the house. What a pain!
 
That 70's kitchen

That picture was taken in 1993 or 1994, I know that because I can see a smidge of the Armstrong Solarian floor my mom had installed in the fall of 1993.
The gold appliances were bought in stages, the Maytag 608's first in late 1977, followed by the stove and oven(Roper) in the summer of 1978 when the cabinets were redone. The Amana Fridge in 1980,the WU900 Maytag DW in 1982, and the Litton Microwave in 1985.
What you can't see in the picture is the harvest gold cast iron sink, which was outfitted with a 1978 batch feed GE Disposall.
Today all that remains of those appliances are the microwave and the Roper oven. The Amana fridge started it all, it expired in the summer of 1996, prompting not only its replacement but the Maytag 608's as well. The Roper stove was replaced later that fall. The '82 Maytag DW expired in 2004. The new appliances are all almond, save for the DW which is all black.
The wallpaper remains to this day!
 
My mother had a WL-60 Frigidaire (1949) with the matching Frigidaire (Hamilton) dryer. The washer lasted until 1962 when it died and we got a Frigidaire Custom Deluxe. The Frigidaire lasted until 1969 and was replaced with a MOL Whirlpool. The old dryer was finally replaced around 1968 with a GE. My Grandmother had a standard Bendix. This is probably the machine that started me on my love of washers.
It was replaced in 1955 with a Frigidaire Imperial. It lasted until 1967 and was replaced with a GE. Too bad we didn't know to save all these old classics.
Bob
 
Memories are made of this...

Gramma had a 1974 Kenmore Roto-Rack dishwasher that was a real privledge when i became old enough to turn the dial and make the red light above it come on. The sounds it made were absolutely fascinating to me... Somewhere there's a pict with me, age 4 or 3 or so, on a bar stool in front of it staring at it like its television. My Dad says i'd ask, "What does it does do, Dad?"

She also had late 60's GE washers that were lots of fun to watch, and i remember my own parents had vintage Kenmores from the late 60's to early 70's until i was a teenager. The classic neutral drain, slam/clunk/click sound that let you know it was going to start spinning, the humming, oscillating roar of the pump when the water was drained... Wonderful!

Family also had Jetcone Frigdaires, i remember laundromats in Hartford and Minneapolis chock full of them. I never knew what to call the Pulsator until this site was made... for years no one knew what the hey i was talking about! I remember how noisy some of them were, a hammering sound, and how unique they were compared to everything else. Now if i can just FIND one! ;-)
 
Carry the water to the side porch ..

The first washer I remember was a THOR wringer in my Grandmother's side porch. Water was carried from the pantry to the washer in buckets. As I look back at this and the electrical hook up for the washer I have no idea why someone was not electrocuted. During the summer the two soap stone tubs for rinsing were filled from the hose. The original use for the tubs was for a washboard in one side and the other side to rinse. Wringing was, of course, a manual operation. I don't remember a hand crank wringer. During the winter, the washer was brought in from the unheated porch to the kitchen/pantry area and a hose was used to fill. Rinsing was done in the sink. All in all a messy process. Of course, water was not changed after every load and drying was on a line. Not fun for Grandmother in the winter. Finally in the 1960's the house got a Kenmore automatic but no dryer. I don't remember the model but it was there until my Mother died. It had not been used in years and was not in good shape. Mom prefered to come across the street to my house and use my laundry because I had a dryer. I went through two Kenmore 'apartment size' washers that connected to the sink and the matching stacking on a stand 110 volt dryer. Space was limited and the washer just rolled under the dryer. Now, I have, in the same space thanks to front load, matching Whirlpool Duet HT washer and Duet stacking gas dryer. They were not cheap but they are fantastic products and worth the investment. Depending on the load in the washer the cats will sit and watch the tumbling.
 
Wow, so many cool memories and pictures. I wish I had more pics of my house. It would look not quite as nice with that harvest gold 70s COOL as Jeffs is. I know I have pics of the Whirlpool harvest gold oven in storage.

Jeff, your kitchen is so 70s but for the Microwave. So I kinda knew the pics were from a later time. It seems like a spacious kitchen too. Almost like a display kitchen. lucky you.
 
My Mom used to have a Norge "Burpilator"Then came a GE,Maytag,then Kenmore.She still has the Kenmore-has a Penta-Swirl agitator.she has a Maytag dryer that used to go with the Maytag washer.
 
My parents had a 1948 Bendix. Started my love of washers. Was replaced by a 1955 or 1956 GE (like JetCone's), but doesn't have FF. Found out that was most likely a special model. There was an early 1950s Norge TimeLine dryer. The GE washer was replaced with a 1964 Norge DispensoMat washer and matching dryer. The washer was replaced with a 1970 Kenmore 800. That washer & dryer were replaced with a MOL GE set in 1978. My parents replaced that set with a next to TOL Maytag set in 1995 and were sold when my parents moved into a retirement apartment in 2002.
 
Late 1960's/early 1970's avocado Norge/Wards MOL or TOL Signature pair with fan behind drum. They were replaced with a white early 1980's Maytag pair The Maytags lasted until late 1990's early 2000's.
 
My first family washer was a direct-drive Kenmore washer. I do not know the model number but it had a black control panel with a wooden top, a black speckled basket, a Dual-Action agitator and no dispensers. It was circa 1980s-1990. It finally quit spinning in 2002 so we replaced it with a Kenmore-branded Whirlpool washer which was all white. It had a white basket with diagonal holes, a Triple-Action agitator and fabric softener and bleach dispensers. Just this past May the drive coupler broke(a common ailment for theese washers) and after replacing it, the motor got seized. So it was claimed to be built to last but only lasted 5 years. Then we got the cheapy Kenmore Oasis machine which is white, has a solid lid, a Total Care Flex agitator and King Size Capacity Plus.
 
The first washer I remember was around a 1969 vintage Frigidaire with the little square window in the middle of the lid. I would stand on a little step stool to watch through that small window. I was fasinated watching the up and down agitator action. We had that washer until my family sold the house up in Mass and we moved to Fla in late 1979. Once we moved to Florida we got a new middle of the line center dial Maytags in white. We lived with those until 1984 when we sold that house and moved back north then we got a TOL Hotpoint set with the handwash agitator. That was a neat washer! After I graduated high school in 1990 my family and I moved back to Fla and we moved to a house with a fairly new Kenmore 80 series washer and dryer. My parents replaced that set with a Frigidaire GLTF 2940 FL washer and regular GE dryer
 
Oh yes-my Grandmother had a Kenmore with the fat black "pregnant" Roto-Swirl Agitator.My Stepmoms washer also had a large black Roto-Swirl agitator.Liked watching them.also remember the Big "K" on the agitator caps!
 
Seems like the washers of my early childhood didn't last very long. I'm pretty sure there was at least one Norge in there somewhere. Going back to 1960 we had a mismatched pair. My parents bought a basket case fixer upper house in a very desirable neighborhood. Its 1925 service porch only had room for the washer. Had to go down some steps and through a door to the attached garage to the dryer, a 50's Norge timeline with push-button door opener whose timer no longer worked and with lint screen on the bottom. Dryer worked fine otherwise but I guess the washer failed so both were replaced by a 1968 Monkey Wards Signature (Norge) pair, the absolutely worst, loudest, shred-o-matic washer I've ever known. Hated, hated, hated it! The gas dryer was OK but after several years you could smell the carbon monoxide from it inside the house. I'm surprised nobody passed out or worse on a cold winter day with all the windows closed. In 1975 when that POS washer got so loud you couldn't hear yourself think, I convinced my mom to start shopping for a new washer. I had been checking Consumer Reports and with Maytags being far too expensive I pursued Kenmore. Ended up with that offbeat skinny belt model that Trainguy Rich had posted here last week. Best washer my mom ever owned, so quiet during agitation, and lasted 3 times longer than that POS from MW.
 
Our first automatic washer when I was a child was a 1957 Westinghouse Laundromat. It was not the fancy top of the line model, but the mid-economy model. I loved watching washers and now I had a window to look through...better than TV! But what really got me hooked was my grandmother's 1955 Frigidaire Unimatic -- that spin cycle! wow!
 

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