Indesit
Without any knowledge of this particular machine it is likely that it operated in more or less the same manner as any other. I did have a later Indesit manufactured washer dryer however and this is my recollection of how it works. A close up picture of the knobs and buttons would be a great help.
The wash knob will likely be in two or three segments. It may be that the dial may have the international symbols on it which will be a great help in working it out.
Turning clockwise the first segment will be for washing cottons and sturdy fabrics - the first and possibly second positions are likely to include a pre (or second) wash. As you rotate the dial the wash temperature for the programme will reduce and will probably be 90, 60, 40 degrees. This sector will have a more vigorous washing action. There are likely to also be positions for rinse and spin and (long) spin only for items which have been washed by hand.
The second segment will probably be for what we in the UK call Synthetics and US refer to a Permanent Press. The temperatures here are likely to be 60, 50, 40 and maybe 30 degrees and there may be prewash options too. Also there may be rinse and spin and (short) spin positions. This will have a gentler wash action. It may also be the case that at the end of this segment you have to manually advance the knob onto the final spin cycle (known as rinse hold) to prevent the synthetics getting too creased.
There may be a third segment for delicate items like wool or silks.
On the dryer knob I suspect that there will also be two segments - one for higher heat and longer dry time and one for lower heat and shorter dry time. If there is only one time segment it is possible that a lower heat can be selected from one of the push buttons
In a machine of this age I presume there will be three compartments in the drawer main wash - larger compartment, pre wash - smaller compartment and a trough for fabric softener.
As I recall it the buttons on mine were for On/Off, half load, one to activate the dryer (you could press this in at the start of the wash but its better to take the clothes out and shake them out between spin and tumble dry and the drying capacity will only be 50% of the wash load). There may be a no spin or rinse hold button as well, but a close up would be a great help.
Good luck with your machine
Al
