woomwoomwoom
New member
Hello all,
First off I must confess that I have never been an enthusiast as most of you are; for most of my life I have regarded washing machines with benign indifference, simply a tool for cleaning one's clothing. Part of me wonders if I am being presumptuous even to join a group like this one. But I am here anyway, with what I hope is valid reason. Let me give you the backstory.
I acquired a vintage washer completely by accident, when I bought my house in 2003. It had a 1970 Whirlpool belt-drive machine, model LVA4805W0, in the laundry room in the basement. Though a lower-end if not even BOL model with few bells and whistles, it nonetheless did its job without much trouble until fairly recently. But four months ago, when I had a technician out for service, he told me the belt was extremely loose, the transmission was leaking, and the bearings were shot. Although he got it running again, he said I should not call him if I encountered any further trouble; his clear implication was that had the washer been a human, it would be wearing one of those DO NOT RESUSCITATE bracelets.
Well, fast-forward to this month and you can guess what happened. I came downstairs to find the tub full of water, a slight burnt-rubber smell in the air, and a timer dial advanced midway into the *next* cycle setting. The day of reckoning had arrived.
Turning to the internets for a solution, I discovered AW. (I've lurked here now for probably a couple of weeks prior to finally joining today.) After searching through the forums, I was discouraged to learn that, although WP belt-drive machines are tough and reliable, working on them is not as easy as snapping your fingers.
And then, looking through your galleries of lovingly restored washers, I began to feel a deep sense of shame. For 46 years--over half a human lifespan--that Whirlpool had toiled away faithfully in my damp, dim, chilly basement, cleaning clothes day after day after day with nary a complaint. I thought back to all the times I'd heard the soothing "woom-woom-woom" of the agitator (I know most people say it's a "woo-woo-woo" sound, but I hear an "m" in there on mine). And how had I rewarded this devoted mechanical servant? With carelessness and neglect. In thirteen years I'd never even cleaned the lint trap, for heaven's sake. I wasn't worthy of that noble machine.
Despondent, I nevertheless continued to visit AW and read through the posts and look at the galleries. As I surveyed members' collections, a new emotion began to creep in: inspiration. I realized I'd been going about the thing all wrong. Far from being a dark, dingy place of drudgery, every AW member's laundry room seems to be a bright, well-lit, happy place, a celebration of cleanliness and nostalgia, a place to wash away one's cares as easily as the stain on one's shirt. Why couldn't my laundry room be that way too?
And so now you have given me a new emotion: a sense of hope, albeit leavened with a healthy dose of reality. My wife has made clear that we need a working washer in the house before the cold Minnesota winter arrives, so I've ordered a modern front loader (a WP Duet, which a number of you seem to have and like). I will clean, brighten, and improve the laundry room itself. And then, with the knowledge and inspiration from this forum, eventually, I will restore my plucky old Whirlpool and give it the place it deserved all along.
It's going to be a ton of work, but I'm confident now that I can do it. Thank you all for giving me that gift.
Denny, a new convert
First off I must confess that I have never been an enthusiast as most of you are; for most of my life I have regarded washing machines with benign indifference, simply a tool for cleaning one's clothing. Part of me wonders if I am being presumptuous even to join a group like this one. But I am here anyway, with what I hope is valid reason. Let me give you the backstory.
I acquired a vintage washer completely by accident, when I bought my house in 2003. It had a 1970 Whirlpool belt-drive machine, model LVA4805W0, in the laundry room in the basement. Though a lower-end if not even BOL model with few bells and whistles, it nonetheless did its job without much trouble until fairly recently. But four months ago, when I had a technician out for service, he told me the belt was extremely loose, the transmission was leaking, and the bearings were shot. Although he got it running again, he said I should not call him if I encountered any further trouble; his clear implication was that had the washer been a human, it would be wearing one of those DO NOT RESUSCITATE bracelets.
Well, fast-forward to this month and you can guess what happened. I came downstairs to find the tub full of water, a slight burnt-rubber smell in the air, and a timer dial advanced midway into the *next* cycle setting. The day of reckoning had arrived.
Turning to the internets for a solution, I discovered AW. (I've lurked here now for probably a couple of weeks prior to finally joining today.) After searching through the forums, I was discouraged to learn that, although WP belt-drive machines are tough and reliable, working on them is not as easy as snapping your fingers.
And then, looking through your galleries of lovingly restored washers, I began to feel a deep sense of shame. For 46 years--over half a human lifespan--that Whirlpool had toiled away faithfully in my damp, dim, chilly basement, cleaning clothes day after day after day with nary a complaint. I thought back to all the times I'd heard the soothing "woom-woom-woom" of the agitator (I know most people say it's a "woo-woo-woo" sound, but I hear an "m" in there on mine). And how had I rewarded this devoted mechanical servant? With carelessness and neglect. In thirteen years I'd never even cleaned the lint trap, for heaven's sake. I wasn't worthy of that noble machine.
Despondent, I nevertheless continued to visit AW and read through the posts and look at the galleries. As I surveyed members' collections, a new emotion began to creep in: inspiration. I realized I'd been going about the thing all wrong. Far from being a dark, dingy place of drudgery, every AW member's laundry room seems to be a bright, well-lit, happy place, a celebration of cleanliness and nostalgia, a place to wash away one's cares as easily as the stain on one's shirt. Why couldn't my laundry room be that way too?
And so now you have given me a new emotion: a sense of hope, albeit leavened with a healthy dose of reality. My wife has made clear that we need a working washer in the house before the cold Minnesota winter arrives, so I've ordered a modern front loader (a WP Duet, which a number of you seem to have and like). I will clean, brighten, and improve the laundry room itself. And then, with the knowledge and inspiration from this forum, eventually, I will restore my plucky old Whirlpool and give it the place it deserved all along.
It's going to be a ton of work, but I'm confident now that I can do it. Thank you all for giving me that gift.
Denny, a new convert
