Cheers Paul.
Thank you Paul for uploading so many of the photos. Brings back many childhood memories including sitting on the kitchen floor watching my Mum's first automatic washing machine, a 95450, as a 2 year old! Bought in 1984 following my arrival in 1983, it worked pretty damn hard for 11-12 years, doing many a boil wash full of my Terry Towling nappies - don't see many of them on people's washing lines anymore! It needed alot of repairs i'm not gonna lie - brushes every year, blocked gravity trap a couple of times, pressure switches (filled up to the top of the door on more than one occasion!), umpteen door seals and a new door where i decided to use it as a step upto the worktop. But it worked bloody hard, no doubt about it. We said goodbye to it in late 1995-early 1996 when a service call-out for for a leak or overfilling episode revealed one of the suspension legs was beginning to part with its mountings. We continued to use it for around 6 weeks but decided to replace before we completely killed it. It went to one of my Dads work colleagues who was to use it for spares for his machine. An Indesit Omega (1196W) replaced it.
My Mum also had a 17221 Super Dryer, bought as a wedding present in 1981 i believe. This was much more sucessful. Used for 18 years it worked flawlessly until the metallic tapping noise which it'd made periodically for about 5 years became permanent. It also occasionally failed to start tumbling but the heater would activate, resulting in a burning smell. As these symptoms became more frequent we decided it was time to say fairwell. It was replaced temporarily by Grans Creda Compact 3 before being permanently replaced by the Electrolux Premier TDC1000W in 2001, which we still have today
My Auntie had a 17230, passed down from my other Auntie. It was rarely used once passed to my second Auntie & got dumped & never replaced when the temperature button plastic broke. A great shame.
My other Auntie owned a 95622 washer & either 93730 or 93732 dryer - probably the almond one since everything else including Hotpoint fridge freezer & Creda cooker were almond. She may still own them today since we no longer see her. Both were reliable, save for water leaking from the powder draw on towel loads on the washer. I suspect the always immaculate 95622 has been scrapped by now but the dryer may well live on, as many do.
Finally, the 18871 Microtronic L.E! This was my Grans machine from as long as i remember up to around 1996. It too worked with only a couple of call-outs, despite serving my grandparents & their pub for many years. It ran so much more smoothly than Mum's 95450 & i loved the digital display & how it used to say things like (to my knowledge) lower-case r1, r2 for Rinse 1 & Rinse 2 - extremely basic digital display by todays standards but with it's green program progress indicators was a treat for me to watch! The electronics totally died around 1996 & it was replaced by a Tricity Bendix AW405, which was horrifically basic (1 button & no power light!) That has only just been replaced!
Unfortunately money was very tight in the family at the point Mum & Gran's Hotpoint washers packed-up, so both were replaced by cheaper machines. As these both proved more reliable than the Hotpoint's and with Hotpoint's reduction in quality in the early 2000s, we've never returned to the brand, save for a fridge & freezer in my Parents rented-out appartment. However, the brand does have a place in my mind & heart for probably being responsible for part of my identity today & why i still head for the Utility Room at stupidly regular intervals while a wash is on!
Thanks for posting the info & photos once again.
Liam
