Hoover Single Tub
Although we have posted it before this film will tell you all you need to know about the operation of this washing machine.
With gravity drain (I see the hose had been replaced) operation could hardly be simpler - just switch it on at the wall socket. The wash tub looks like the Hoovermatic although it is rather smaller - I believe the capacity of this machine to be 4.5lbs Vs 6lbs in the Hoovermatic
It is interesting to speculate on what motivated Hoover (or more particularly Charles Colston) to take Hoover in this new direction at the time. Did he perhaps see the opportunity in the millions of new houses being built in the late 1920s and 1930s for private ownership and seeing the arrival of a new "middle class" realise there was a huge potential for a new product.
The small size of the is machine was the very key to its success, there were other wringer washers around at the time but they were all significantly larger and would have been difficult to accommodate in these new homes which had almost always tiny kitchens. But this machine could be easily tucked away when not in use under the draining board by the sink (at this time, before the advent of fitted kitchens this was usually just free space) but ready to be called into use at a moments notice. The simplicity of this machine with no need for a gearbox to drive an agitator also allowed for a low build price, meaning that it could still be sold for a good profit but at a low price to the consumer - remember that at this time sales tax was 50% - a win win all round. And no need for particularly special electrics either - I am not saying it could have been run off a light fitting but much of the housing stock (even new houses, built at the lowest possible price too) would not necessarily have had a 15amp socket in the kitchen which a more sophisticated machine might have needed.
Clearly it was the right machine at the right time although it seems like its introduction in 1948 was delayed by some 10 years or so due to WW2 - it was originally planned that these machines would be built at the main factory in Perivale.
Al
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