jasonl
New member
None other...
Does anyone remember washers or dryers of thier childhood?
- Thread starter hooverboy1
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Kenmore 800
bingwsguy
Well-known member
Hence my love of Maytag
My Mom's was a Maytag model?? Hot/Warm/Cold, Regular/Gentle Action, Small/Medium /Normal buttons. My Dad's Mom was maybe a Maytag AMP, then a 606 pair. My Mom's Mom was a Maytag model E which she had until she was about 82 years old.
My Mom's was a Maytag model?? Hot/Warm/Cold, Regular/Gentle Action, Small/Medium /Normal buttons. My Dad's Mom was maybe a Maytag AMP, then a 606 pair. My Mom's Mom was a Maytag model E which she had until she was about 82 years old.
jasonl
New member
The beautiful Kenmore 800
blackstone
Well-known member
Obviously....
The Blackstone model 350, with stainless steel top and tub. My father, who had the TV & appliance store in front of the house, had that washer in service for 50 years. It still works, but is resting in my cellar for the time being. Matching dryer also still works. I used to climb inside that dryer drum, although it was frowned upon.
I also remember the Westinghouse frontloader. My father took out the tubs, put the inner tub into the back of the outer tub, standing on the ground, which made a cool merry-go-round for us in the back yard.
And who else used round wringer covers for sliding down snowy hills?
The Blackstone model 350, with stainless steel top and tub. My father, who had the TV & appliance store in front of the house, had that washer in service for 50 years. It still works, but is resting in my cellar for the time being. Matching dryer also still works. I used to climb inside that dryer drum, although it was frowned upon.
I also remember the Westinghouse frontloader. My father took out the tubs, put the inner tub into the back of the outer tub, standing on the ground, which made a cool merry-go-round for us in the back yard.
And who else used round wringer covers for sliding down snowy hills?
In the 1950's on the farm. Mom had used washers because we washed in salt water from the well.
Wringers: Maytag Grey ghost, 1930's Thor, Montgomery and Wards,Speed Queen
Automatics: 1963 Cornado, 1971 Kenmore, 1987 Hotpoint, 1999 Kenmore.
Wringers: Maytag Grey ghost, 1930's Thor, Montgomery and Wards,Speed Queen
Automatics: 1963 Cornado, 1971 Kenmore, 1987 Hotpoint, 1999 Kenmore.
The first washer I remember was a Westinghouse Laundromat that my mother had. She later traded it in for a Sears Kenmore push-button set (1962-63 vintage). She taught me how to run it and from that point on, I did the laundry every Saturday--usually three or four loads in the Kenmore, and hung them out to dry in the backyard. Mom always picked the detergent, however. Never Tide, she was partial to Cheer, Ajax, Bold (and later Drive, Punch and Gain). Never liquid bleach--always Action chlorine packets. And her favorite fabric softner was Final Touch. (Good thing we had a fabric softner dispenser in the Kenmore, which broke down at regular intervals.)
After years of begging, my father found a used Kenmore "bug eye" gas dryer and hooked it up in the garage, ending the chore of hanging up the laundry. When my grandfather moved in with us to live out his final years, we took possession of his Kenmore washer--newer and with fewer cycles than ours. I loved it; it never broke down. But it had no self-cleaning lint filter like the old Kenmore; had to pull the plastic bed of nails out and tap out the lint in the toilet. Such fun.
We later sold the house and moved to an apartment, where I spent years doing wash in the complex's laundry room. When I got my own apartment years later, I was determined to have one with a washer and dryer. I bought a Hotpoint washer and electric dryer in 1983; it was a good pair and lasted for years until I sold them.
Today, I have my own condo, and after nearly a decade, my Roper (Whirlpool-built) washer and gas dryer continue to do load after load with no service problems whatsoever. Occasionally, I think seriously about buying a new front load pair such as a Duet or one of the Bosch models like Lynette has on "Desperate Housewives." But as long as the Ropers do their job, I'll stick with them.
After years of begging, my father found a used Kenmore "bug eye" gas dryer and hooked it up in the garage, ending the chore of hanging up the laundry. When my grandfather moved in with us to live out his final years, we took possession of his Kenmore washer--newer and with fewer cycles than ours. I loved it; it never broke down. But it had no self-cleaning lint filter like the old Kenmore; had to pull the plastic bed of nails out and tap out the lint in the toilet. Such fun.
We later sold the house and moved to an apartment, where I spent years doing wash in the complex's laundry room. When I got my own apartment years later, I was determined to have one with a washer and dryer. I bought a Hotpoint washer and electric dryer in 1983; it was a good pair and lasted for years until I sold them.
Today, I have my own condo, and after nearly a decade, my Roper (Whirlpool-built) washer and gas dryer continue to do load after load with no service problems whatsoever. Occasionally, I think seriously about buying a new front load pair such as a Duet or one of the Bosch models like Lynette has on "Desperate Housewives." But as long as the Ropers do their job, I'll stick with them.
easyspindry
Well-known member
Wish I had pictures
Growing up with parents from the Great Depression, there was never any money for a lot of appliances. My first memory was getting my fingers caught in our Maytag wringer. Mother had to hook up a hose at the kitchen sink on the other side of the kitchen to fill it. It gravity drained through a hole Daddy cut in the floor.
Next was a Thor Automagic that could be turned into a dishwasher, but we couldn't afford that.
Next came the Maytag AMP, lighted logo on the front and 2 dials on the top front. That machine lasted 16 years with never a problem.
After that was a Frigidaire Rollermatic that was still working when we gave it away.
Daddy had died and I didn't want Mother going down in the basement to do laundry, so I got her a Westinghouse front load pair that could fit under the kitchen counter.
Our neighbor had a bolt-down Bendix which fascinated me. Whenever I was lost, my frantic mother soon learned that I probably was at Kate's watching her Bendix. It drained into a sump pump. When the pump came on, I could rush up the stairs and out into the back yard to watch the water drain away.
Another neighbor had a Bendix Economat with the rubber tub. It worked great. But another neighbor had a Bendix rubber tub that never worked properly.
Daddy was on the faculty at a small college in NC, and in the gymnasium were several Jacob Laundryalls used for cleaning the athletic gear. They were replaced with commercial equipment, and other faculty members bought the old Jacob Laundryalls which I remember using. It was a tumble action, but a top loader with glass in the top so you could watch. And the tumble action would reverse. And had to be bolted to the floor.
A friend of the family had a Norge timeline. I remember it being very noisy.
There were several friends with Kenmores from the early '50's. Flat top, 2 dials on the front sticking out at 45 degree angle. Didn't take me long to figure out that you could turn the timer dial past 10 and it would start agitating with a partial level of water.
When the whole college moved from one town to another, many friends built houses and bought GE appliances in 1956 -- first year for the filter-flo. Most of those seemed to give the same problem at the same time when the seals wore out and water ran all over the floor.
Many other friends installed Bendix Combos, the ones with the front mounted contols on the right under a door that lifted.
I drove our friends crazy on Saturdays when I'd call them to see if they were going to do washing and could I come over and help. It was fun.
Jerry Gay
Growing up with parents from the Great Depression, there was never any money for a lot of appliances. My first memory was getting my fingers caught in our Maytag wringer. Mother had to hook up a hose at the kitchen sink on the other side of the kitchen to fill it. It gravity drained through a hole Daddy cut in the floor.
Next was a Thor Automagic that could be turned into a dishwasher, but we couldn't afford that.
Next came the Maytag AMP, lighted logo on the front and 2 dials on the top front. That machine lasted 16 years with never a problem.
After that was a Frigidaire Rollermatic that was still working when we gave it away.
Daddy had died and I didn't want Mother going down in the basement to do laundry, so I got her a Westinghouse front load pair that could fit under the kitchen counter.
Our neighbor had a bolt-down Bendix which fascinated me. Whenever I was lost, my frantic mother soon learned that I probably was at Kate's watching her Bendix. It drained into a sump pump. When the pump came on, I could rush up the stairs and out into the back yard to watch the water drain away.
Another neighbor had a Bendix Economat with the rubber tub. It worked great. But another neighbor had a Bendix rubber tub that never worked properly.
Daddy was on the faculty at a small college in NC, and in the gymnasium were several Jacob Laundryalls used for cleaning the athletic gear. They were replaced with commercial equipment, and other faculty members bought the old Jacob Laundryalls which I remember using. It was a tumble action, but a top loader with glass in the top so you could watch. And the tumble action would reverse. And had to be bolted to the floor.
A friend of the family had a Norge timeline. I remember it being very noisy.
There were several friends with Kenmores from the early '50's. Flat top, 2 dials on the front sticking out at 45 degree angle. Didn't take me long to figure out that you could turn the timer dial past 10 and it would start agitating with a partial level of water.
When the whole college moved from one town to another, many friends built houses and bought GE appliances in 1956 -- first year for the filter-flo. Most of those seemed to give the same problem at the same time when the seals wore out and water ran all over the floor.
Many other friends installed Bendix Combos, the ones with the front mounted contols on the right under a door that lifted.
I drove our friends crazy on Saturdays when I'd call them to see if they were going to do washing and could I come over and help. It was fun.
Jerry Gay
mielew4840
Member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2007
- Messages
- 14
My first washer memory
This Is the brandnew washer my Grandma got around 1987:
AEG Öko Lavamat 530
This Is the brandnew washer my Grandma got around 1987:
AEG Öko Lavamat 530
Hoover Logic + Matching dryer
I remember we had an early 1980s Hoover Logic and the matching "Tumble Dryer De Lux". They lasted years!
Ultimately replaced by a pair of Mieles in the 1990s.
Neither hoover had any problem, just seriously outdated by then.
I remember we had an early 1980s Hoover Logic and the matching "Tumble Dryer De Lux". They lasted years!
Ultimately replaced by a pair of Mieles in the 1990s.
Neither hoover had any problem, just seriously outdated by then.
mrcleanjeans
New member
We had the Hotpoint Silhouette 15 washer with the turquoise lint filter and its matching dryer.The dryer was SO cheesy in build quality that it had bend-tabs over the dryer cover and a bakelite impeller,and the washer's curvy and pretty agitator couldn't move a load of clothes if it tried,but they were cool looking.I'm guessing 1966 to be their year.
We had 1959 Whirlpools, second from the TOL. Lighted consoles and the famous sugilator! But the really cool washers were at others homes:
One aunt had 1958 Kenmore 4-stars which I thought were beautiful.
Another had a 1958 or 9 Kelvinator that fascinated me. It wasn't until seeing the video of the ABC-O-Matic here that I knew how it worked.
And a cousin had a (oh, '58 or 9, I think) Frigidaire pulsematic. At that time the BOL models used that older mechanism while the others were unimatics. I did know how it worked and loved to watch it!
Kelly
My mother's first washer was a twintub, I think it was a DRU, made in the Netherlands. She also used a laundry service while she had that twintub. Then in 1965 she got a Candy frontloader that didn't have a long life. In 1966 she bought a Bosch V550 frontloader. In 1976 that was replaced by a Miele W423. In 1997 she bought a Miele Frontstar that she still has.
70series
Well-known member
The first washer we had was a 1964 Hotpoint Silhouette. It was replaced in 1972 by a Maytag A206. Until I figured out how to trip the lid switch, I got my first views of it washing by lifting the lid a little bit, and sticking my thumbs between it and the top of the machine. Once I figured out where the lid switch was, and how to bypass it, I would use the handle end of a letter opener to keep it pressed in when the lid was up. That machine lasted until 1999, replaced by a 90 Series DD Kenmore 110-20902. It was a relief to have a washer that would operate with the lid raised without having to resort to measures. My parents moved almost three years ago, leaving the Kenmore behind. Now they have another Maytag LAT900BAE, which was left behind by the former owner.
Our first dryer was a 69 GE (gas), which lasted until 1986 when the motor burned out. It was replaced by a Whirlpool Imperial Seventy LAG811XP. This lasted until September 2003, when the gas valve failed. It was replaced by a Kenmore 80 Series 110-72822. This made for the first (almost) matched set my parents had. It was also left behind when they moved. Now they have a 2003 Maytag of Norge design, also left by the former owner. It was the first electric dryer they had. A coincidence: The Maytag dryer was purchased within two weeks after my parents bought the Kenmore.
In the house where I grew up, our washers emptied into a pipe. The house my parents moved to has a two tub slop sink which the washer empties into. Because the sewer line is above the sink, the only way for the sink to empty is with the aid of an electric pump hooked up under it. The one they have now works automatically. For the first year though, they had to contend with an old system which operated manually. This of course meant you had to be near the washer during the cycle. Although the replacement of this pump was already in the works, a week before this took place, my father decided to do the wash one morning. He forgot completely about it, and went out for a ride with my mother. Oh what a flood.
Our relatives had the following;
Grandma: Late 60s Westinghouse washer with spiral vane agi. This was replaced in '79 by an early 60s 24 inch RCA Whirlpool, which originally belonged to my great great aunt. This was replaced in '87 by a BOL Hotpoint, which she had until she died in 1994.
Aunt and uncle on Long Island had an unmatched '74 Kenmore set.
Aunt in Forest Hills Queens had a '67 RCA Whirlpool Imperial with chrome capped Super Surgilator, and console light. She had it 28 years.
Aunt and uncle in Northern Virginia had later 60s near BOL Kenmore, which used to belong to my aunt's mother. It had a center dial, and the gold str8 vane agitator. The dryer was a 1974 model with the funky console that was a match to Trainguy's '74 washer. The washer was replaced in 1988 with a GE Filter Flo with Mini Basket. They also had a '71 Kenmore gas dryer which they could not use because their house did not have a gas hookup. They moved into the house in 1974, after renting for 2 years. They had to bring the dryer with them. Unfortunately it was not used again, but they had a big family. It was 2 years of use, but it dried a fair amount of laundry.
Friends and Neighbors:
Next door:
Left: 1966 Kenmore 800 set.
Right: 1968 GE Filter Flo
Across the street: (6 houses)
1. '82 BD Kenmore set
2. '75 BD Whirlpool 80 set
3. '69 BOLish Kenmore set with center dials. The washer had a gold Roto Swirl.
4. '66 or 7 Kenmore 600 washer with the latch filter and black str8 vane agitator, and a late 60s-early 70s Kenmore 70 dryer.
5. '72 Maytag A407 set.
6. '66 RCA Whirpool washer, and Hamilton dryer from same year.
My best friend from around the corner had a '68 Kenmore 70 washer with gold Roto Swirl, and the Match All dryer.
I would post more, but I don't want to add to the clutter.
Have a good one,
James
Our first dryer was a 69 GE (gas), which lasted until 1986 when the motor burned out. It was replaced by a Whirlpool Imperial Seventy LAG811XP. This lasted until September 2003, when the gas valve failed. It was replaced by a Kenmore 80 Series 110-72822. This made for the first (almost) matched set my parents had. It was also left behind when they moved. Now they have a 2003 Maytag of Norge design, also left by the former owner. It was the first electric dryer they had. A coincidence: The Maytag dryer was purchased within two weeks after my parents bought the Kenmore.
In the house where I grew up, our washers emptied into a pipe. The house my parents moved to has a two tub slop sink which the washer empties into. Because the sewer line is above the sink, the only way for the sink to empty is with the aid of an electric pump hooked up under it. The one they have now works automatically. For the first year though, they had to contend with an old system which operated manually. This of course meant you had to be near the washer during the cycle. Although the replacement of this pump was already in the works, a week before this took place, my father decided to do the wash one morning. He forgot completely about it, and went out for a ride with my mother. Oh what a flood.
Our relatives had the following;
Grandma: Late 60s Westinghouse washer with spiral vane agi. This was replaced in '79 by an early 60s 24 inch RCA Whirlpool, which originally belonged to my great great aunt. This was replaced in '87 by a BOL Hotpoint, which she had until she died in 1994.
Aunt and uncle on Long Island had an unmatched '74 Kenmore set.
Aunt in Forest Hills Queens had a '67 RCA Whirlpool Imperial with chrome capped Super Surgilator, and console light. She had it 28 years.
Aunt and uncle in Northern Virginia had later 60s near BOL Kenmore, which used to belong to my aunt's mother. It had a center dial, and the gold str8 vane agitator. The dryer was a 1974 model with the funky console that was a match to Trainguy's '74 washer. The washer was replaced in 1988 with a GE Filter Flo with Mini Basket. They also had a '71 Kenmore gas dryer which they could not use because their house did not have a gas hookup. They moved into the house in 1974, after renting for 2 years. They had to bring the dryer with them. Unfortunately it was not used again, but they had a big family. It was 2 years of use, but it dried a fair amount of laundry.
Friends and Neighbors:
Next door:
Left: 1966 Kenmore 800 set.
Right: 1968 GE Filter Flo
Across the street: (6 houses)
1. '82 BD Kenmore set
2. '75 BD Whirlpool 80 set
3. '69 BOLish Kenmore set with center dials. The washer had a gold Roto Swirl.
4. '66 or 7 Kenmore 600 washer with the latch filter and black str8 vane agitator, and a late 60s-early 70s Kenmore 70 dryer.
5. '72 Maytag A407 set.
6. '66 RCA Whirpool washer, and Hamilton dryer from same year.
My best friend from around the corner had a '68 Kenmore 70 washer with gold Roto Swirl, and the Match All dryer.
I would post more, but I don't want to add to the clutter.
Have a good one,
James
dubstar85
New member
My parents first washing machine was a hoover with a round door from 1982 i guess. They had a hoover dryer as well but that had the square door. I remember the washing machine having a silver plated door and big white door catch. It was an 800rpm model. That broke down in 1989 and mum wanted a dishwasher so she sold the Tumble dryer and bought a Hotpoint 9934 washer dryer and a 7128 dishwasher. The dishwasher was apparently made my Siemens and was cool. It lasted till 2002 when it sprung a leak and was uneconomical to repair. It got replaced by another hotpoint dishwasher. The washer Dryer was a fun machine to watch. It had Pulse Spining so the spin cycle kept stopping and starting. Sadly it ripped clothes and died in 1994 after gradually declining for the past 2 years. We got an Indesit omega 1296. I didn't like it really cos i had my eye on an Asko (I was only 8 mind, so i didn't have much sway. That and money was very tight!) The machine is still going, even after i broke the door in 1997 haha.
Other machines i loved were: My Auntie's Zanussi WDI9091 (1987- 1998) Spent hours watching the machine! It was so quiet and i liked how it tumbled then span instead of our machines which distributed then span.
My grannie has a philco until 1987 then she got an electrolux that was made by Zanussi. It had the blacked out door and i thought that looked pretty cool.
My friends back then had various hotpoint and hoover washing machines. A couple of others i saw was an ariston washer dryer, a very old colston washing machine, a servis quartz and a phillips front loader from the late 80's.
Other machines i loved were: My Auntie's Zanussi WDI9091 (1987- 1998) Spent hours watching the machine! It was so quiet and i liked how it tumbled then span instead of our machines which distributed then span.
My grannie has a philco until 1987 then she got an electrolux that was made by Zanussi. It had the blacked out door and i thought that looked pretty cool.
My friends back then had various hotpoint and hoover washing machines. A couple of others i saw was an ariston washer dryer, a very old colston washing machine, a servis quartz and a phillips front loader from the late 80's.
fredriksam
Well-known member
Hi there. Good thread.
My family had 2 washing machines. A Hoover Keymatic 3224 and a machine i dont know the name of. The nameless machine was replaced 1975-76 with a Miele w433. I have included a pic from the german forum where you see the nameless machine. In germany it was called Brocke. I asked mum if it was named the same here, but she didnt think so. The only memories of this machine i have, is that it was terribly noisy and what it looked like.
The Keymatic still worked when they gave it to me in 2004-2005. I had the Keymatic until 2006, when it began showing weakness and faults. I later sold the Keymatic to someone in Sweden that also collected washing machine. He later sold the machine to someone in Norway.
They still have the Mile W433 and a Asko 10 005. The Asko has broken down one time (changed cole in motor). The Miele has never broken down. We have just changed the belt and the door seal. Also i have helped mum getting out 2 bh metallic from the drum
My family had 2 washing machines. A Hoover Keymatic 3224 and a machine i dont know the name of. The nameless machine was replaced 1975-76 with a Miele w433. I have included a pic from the german forum where you see the nameless machine. In germany it was called Brocke. I asked mum if it was named the same here, but she didnt think so. The only memories of this machine i have, is that it was terribly noisy and what it looked like.
The Keymatic still worked when they gave it to me in 2004-2005. I had the Keymatic until 2006, when it began showing weakness and faults. I later sold the Keymatic to someone in Sweden that also collected washing machine. He later sold the machine to someone in Norway.
They still have the Mile W433 and a Asko 10 005. The Asko has broken down one time (changed cole in motor). The Miele has never broken down. We have just changed the belt and the door seal. Also i have helped mum getting out 2 bh metallic from the drum
My parents' first set was a mismatched combination of Kenmores. There was a circa 1960 washer, the details of which I can't seem to recall properly. Several people here have tried to help me by posting pics of dials and consoles, but I haven't seen one that looks quite right. Possibly I don't remember it properly. I know it had infinite water level, a knob that selected one of five temp combinations, and three cycles including a lo-speed delicate cycle. It had the cartridge filter, which my mom hated to clean. Possibly as a result, I recall the hose from the pump to the filter bursting twice and flooding the garage. (What is it with lint filters and the women in my life? My DW refuses to touch the lint filter on our dryer. She says the feel of it grosses her out.) It also had a socket for a tub light, but it seldom worked because the bulbs didn't last long and my dad thought it was too much trouble to open up the top just to change the bulb. It had a white basket and black agi.
The dryer was the '61 Lady Kenmore with the big pastel rocker switches that was a POD a couple of weeks ago. I recall that the timer mechanism seldom worked properly. Dad was always having to work on it. Eventually he just wired it so that it ran anytime the door was closed. (Actually, I can, just barely, recall that this was our first dryer. Before that, everything was dried on the line. The line was one of those four-sided things that rotates on top of a pole. It remained in service for some time after the dryer arrived, since my mom preferred towels and linens to be dried on the line.
My maternal grandmother and great-aunt (who lived a few doors apart on the same street) both had identical Maytag wringers. It was the one with the red push-pull knob for turning the motor on and off, and the red release bar on the wringer. My great-aunt had hers on her back porch, and my grandmother had hers in an unheated back room in her house, so in the winter they took their clothes to a laundromat the next street over. Washing with the wringers had a certain rhythm to it: put stuff in, agitate it, run it through the wringer and into a galvanized washtop full of water for the rinse. Dunk the clothes in the rinse water a few times. Switch the wringer to run in the other direction (and the little drain plate tilts the other way), run the rinsed clothes through, toss them in a basket to go out to the line. Then start the next batch. Same water used for all, unless there was a really big pile, in which case the rinse water might get changed halfway through. My grandmother filled hers from a hose attached to an ancient wall-hung sink. My great-aunt was more gonzo than that. She liked her wash water hot. She'd get out a huge old canning pot, fill it with water, boil it on the stove, take that to the washer, and dump it in. Then, a couple of pots of cold water in on top of it (got the temp down to bearable, just barely). At end of washday, grandmother hooked the hose from hers over the lip of the sink and engaged the pump. Great-aunt just wheeled the machine over to the door of the bath adjoining the porch, and let it gravity drain into the toilet. Once it was empty, there was the ritual of removing the agi, greasing the shaft, cleaning the lint filter, and drying out the interior with towels. In all of her life, my grandmother refused to allow an automatic washer to cross her threshold. She didn't believe in those new-fangled things. (She never had any beef with the ones at the laudromat, though...)
An aunt on my father's side (wife of one of my father's brothers) I recall having a frog-eye Kenmore. It was sort of built into the kitchen cabinets, with some kind of foam rubber material to try to isolate the vibration from the adjoining cabinetry. Once, my aunt was trying to wash a largish rubber-backed bath rug by itself. It agitated okay, but when it tried to spin, the rug bunched up on one side and it went off balance (setting off the horrible Kenmore buzzer). She tried to rearrange it several times, to no avail. Then she had an inspiration. She took the rug out of the tub and draped it over the top of the agitator. It spun just fine that way!
Another aunt had a mid-'60s Kenmore washer, the one with all of the curlicues on the panel and the pincushion-shaped areas where the water level and temp knobs were located, on either side of the timer. I had not seen her or that uncle in years (he was my father's oldest brother, and they were both in ill health for some time). The uncle died last year. After the funeral, the whole family went to their house to eat. (It's a family tradition; we eat after a funeral. Or a wedding. Or at a holiday. Or pretty much any time, come to think of it...) The house was like a time capsule. It still looked like what I remember of it from their mid-'60s remodel. Kitchen table with stainless steel banding and a red speckled laminate top. Vinyl-covered chairs. Etc. Anyway, I was poking around a bit and I went out onto the porch. I was stunned to find that same Kenmore still there! It was in pretty bad shape, though. Lots of rust. No telling when was the last time it worked.
The dryer was the '61 Lady Kenmore with the big pastel rocker switches that was a POD a couple of weeks ago. I recall that the timer mechanism seldom worked properly. Dad was always having to work on it. Eventually he just wired it so that it ran anytime the door was closed. (Actually, I can, just barely, recall that this was our first dryer. Before that, everything was dried on the line. The line was one of those four-sided things that rotates on top of a pole. It remained in service for some time after the dryer arrived, since my mom preferred towels and linens to be dried on the line.
My maternal grandmother and great-aunt (who lived a few doors apart on the same street) both had identical Maytag wringers. It was the one with the red push-pull knob for turning the motor on and off, and the red release bar on the wringer. My great-aunt had hers on her back porch, and my grandmother had hers in an unheated back room in her house, so in the winter they took their clothes to a laundromat the next street over. Washing with the wringers had a certain rhythm to it: put stuff in, agitate it, run it through the wringer and into a galvanized washtop full of water for the rinse. Dunk the clothes in the rinse water a few times. Switch the wringer to run in the other direction (and the little drain plate tilts the other way), run the rinsed clothes through, toss them in a basket to go out to the line. Then start the next batch. Same water used for all, unless there was a really big pile, in which case the rinse water might get changed halfway through. My grandmother filled hers from a hose attached to an ancient wall-hung sink. My great-aunt was more gonzo than that. She liked her wash water hot. She'd get out a huge old canning pot, fill it with water, boil it on the stove, take that to the washer, and dump it in. Then, a couple of pots of cold water in on top of it (got the temp down to bearable, just barely). At end of washday, grandmother hooked the hose from hers over the lip of the sink and engaged the pump. Great-aunt just wheeled the machine over to the door of the bath adjoining the porch, and let it gravity drain into the toilet. Once it was empty, there was the ritual of removing the agi, greasing the shaft, cleaning the lint filter, and drying out the interior with towels. In all of her life, my grandmother refused to allow an automatic washer to cross her threshold. She didn't believe in those new-fangled things. (She never had any beef with the ones at the laudromat, though...)
An aunt on my father's side (wife of one of my father's brothers) I recall having a frog-eye Kenmore. It was sort of built into the kitchen cabinets, with some kind of foam rubber material to try to isolate the vibration from the adjoining cabinetry. Once, my aunt was trying to wash a largish rubber-backed bath rug by itself. It agitated okay, but when it tried to spin, the rug bunched up on one side and it went off balance (setting off the horrible Kenmore buzzer). She tried to rearrange it several times, to no avail. Then she had an inspiration. She took the rug out of the tub and draped it over the top of the agitator. It spun just fine that way!
Another aunt had a mid-'60s Kenmore washer, the one with all of the curlicues on the panel and the pincushion-shaped areas where the water level and temp knobs were located, on either side of the timer. I had not seen her or that uncle in years (he was my father's oldest brother, and they were both in ill health for some time). The uncle died last year. After the funeral, the whole family went to their house to eat. (It's a family tradition; we eat after a funeral. Or a wedding. Or at a holiday. Or pretty much any time, come to think of it...) The house was like a time capsule. It still looked like what I remember of it from their mid-'60s remodel. Kitchen table with stainless steel banding and a red speckled laminate top. Vinyl-covered chairs. Etc. Anyway, I was poking around a bit and I went out onto the porch. I was stunned to find that same Kenmore still there! It was in pretty bad shape, though. Lots of rust. No telling when was the last time it worked.
vintagekenmore
Well-known member
When I was little..Mom had a Wizard Citation..one of two she had up until I was 9..then she switched to a Speed Queen....we had that one for about 9 years til it died and we went to a coin op(YES coin op) turquoise Frigidaire..it had the gold light to let ya know it was working and the red when it went out of balance...we never got a dryer until after Dad died..then it was a Kenmore 70 series with Suds Saver and a Kenmore Match-All dryer...when those finally died, Mom bought her first brand new Speed Queen washer and dryer..which she had up until 99 when the dryer went kaput and she moved to a Frigidaire dryer.....after she died...all that went to my youngest brother...who lost every bit of her stuff when he quit paying on the storage unit.
first g'day to all on this board ....as a newbie here i should intro myself briefly .... (as an Aussie a special g'day to the other aussies here) ...I have always been fascinated by washers, dryers, dishwashers etc... but never though that anyone would collect them wow was I wrong!!!!...it is great to find this board!!!
My earliest recollection is around the age of 4 or 5 the Kelvinator lady came to demonstrate my mother's brand new Kelvinator semi auto ...I was entranced by sight of the washing through the perspex lid she put on the machine!!!!
My earliest recollection is around the age of 4 or 5 the Kelvinator lady came to demonstrate my mother's brand new Kelvinator semi auto ...I was entranced by sight of the washing through the perspex lid she put on the machine!!!!
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