Kenmore Pernament Press Oddities

[coreyare]

Hello all.

As a kid, I would watch the permanent press cycle on our 68' Kenmore, during operation, the machine would drain the washer slowly of water, then agitate on slow speed almost empty of water and fill with water too.

What was this for? Modern machines and some of the next gen stuff after this model, don't seem to do it anymore.

Thanks

 

[kenmore71]

Well, where to begin….

 

In the early to mid 1960s there was a miracle that was announced.  It was was the advent of PERMANENT PRESS garments.  These garments were the successor to the earlier wash-n-wear garments.  These were clothes that were made of a blend of natural and synthetic fibers that were sewn together and then treated with a synthetic rosin such that they were considered "PERMANENT PRESS"  The theory was that if these fabrics were washed at relatively high temperatures and then "cooled down" prior to the first spin that hey would retain relatively few wrinkles.  The few wrinkles that remained would be "ironed out" in the 150 degree temperature of the dryer!

 

[DADoES]

 
The perm press manufacturing treatment relaxed the fabric when it was warmed in a hot or warm wash to shed any wrinkles that developed while the garment was being worn.  Specific reason for the cool down in the washer was so that the items weren't spun while warm, which would "press" wrinkles into them.  As Kenmore71 says, the hot dryer also relaxed the fabric (followed by the required cool down in the dryer) so spin-wrinkles weren't so much a potential problem.

However, for people who line-dried their clothes ... which probably was more common at that time than nowadays ... washing on the Perm Press cycle was beneficial.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Actually, the first Wash 'n Wear cycle with cool down was introduced on the 1958 Kenmore washer. We had a Green LK. There was no agitation during the cool down on those machines, just filling and draining. The machine drained to the point where the water level pressure switch reset then stopped draining and started filling to the selected level. As soon as that level was reached, the draining resumed. Since the machines had a water level pressure switch, the timer motor did not operate during fill, only during drain. Once the alloted period for the initial draining elapsed, the timer advanced into full drain where the pressure switch resetting did not energize the fill valve and the machine drained fully then went into slow speed spin. No matter the agitation or spin speeds, the drain part of all cycles was done on the high speed of the motor.

As Glenn stated, those laundering Wash 'n Wear fabrics who did not have a dryer benefitted from the special cool down care. For those with dryers, the cycle wasted water and time.

 

[kenmore71]

Everything you wanted to know about Permanent Press! (and then some)

An educational presentation on Permanent Press brought to you by Whirlpool

Enjoy this 1966 brochure!

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[retromania]

I HATE perma-press anything. Here in the sultry South, it's like wearing a trash bag. Your clothes can't breathe!

 

[barcoboy]

Not all machines drained using the motor's high speed during the cool down portion. I remember my mom's mid 70's Kenmore dropped down to slow speed when the cool down portion of the cycle started, started to drain, then resumed agitating and filling on slow speed. The motor would only switch back to high speed once the cool down portion of the cycle was completed and the full drain before the first spin started.

Here's another 70's machine that behaves the same way.

 

[barcoboy]

Ack... sorry Tom, I misread your post. I see that you were talking about your 58.

So I wonder what year that all changed and the drain/agitation switched to slow speed during cool down?

 

[kenmore71]

The change from the multiple pump-out/refill without agitation to the 8 minute lo-speed drain/agitate/fill sequence was made for the 1964 model year.

 

[yogitunes]

Whirlpool makes a washer and dryer, won't make a mess of your Permanent Press....
that jingle sticks in your head

first time I have seen a control like that on a Whirlpool....unique

thanks for posting....

 

[alr2903]

The % of synthetic, manmade, polyester in 1970's fabrics would make even an electric dryer behave like it was on steroids. Remember all the "static cling" products? It was not uncommon for dark dress socks of the time to be attached to another garment at the end of the drying cycle. Then along came "Bounce" in 1975, check out the link, who knew?
alr

What's that stuff? Dryer Sheets

cen.acs.org

 

[coreyare]

Thanks for the history lesson folks, great information to glance over

Im still a bit confused why the kenmores would drain the washer almost out of water then agitate on slow speed and fill up with water. Always recalled this is a kid and the noises it made, fascinating, but odd I must say.

 

[toploadloyalist]

By 1976, when Kenmore first unveiled the black paneled washers with the wood grain top, along with the dual-action agitator, they changed their cool down process to this shown on the link. High speed drain for about 45 seconds, pause for the remainder of the timer notch, cold water fill at advance to the next notch, and resume high speed agitation (not low), but still with low spin.

 

[toploadloyalist]

Versions of Kenmore cool-down sequence at each timer notch.

First version (c.1958) - First notch: drain (high speed or low?), fill (no agitation), repeat drain and fill until next notch. Second notch: Pause.

Second version (c.1964) - First notch: low speed drain, simultaneous fill and low speed agitation. Second notch: Fill only (if not up to capacity), resume low speed agitation. Third and fourth notches repeat processes of first and second respectively.

Third version (c.1976) - First notch: high speed drain, pause. Second notch: fill only, resume high speed agitation.

 

[yogitunes]

oddly enough....is PermPress being used to its full potential...

for the most part, when usinga PermPress cycle, as mentioned, it should be a Warm/Medium/Hot wash to start...to clean and relax the fabric.....and then the gentle cool-down process, of any method, spray rinse or drain and refill, minimizing wrinkles along with a slower shorter spin.....

keeping in mind, a PP load is usually only 2/3rds of a regular full load, so theres plenty of room for movement.......following these directions for PP garments, and for the most part you get great wrinkle free results...

and then you see people using PermPress/Casual cycle....and COLD/COLD temps.....doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of the PP cycle?....makes you wonder why a WARM/HOT wash was not a default for this cycle?

personally I always found it best to use a Normal cycle, Warm/Cold settings, toss in the dryer for a few minutes, and put on a hanger....easy as pie!

 

[tomturbomatic]

In the winter of 76-77, there was a young lady in our group who was complaining about her no-iron clothes all needing ironing. She was living the shmart Capitol Hill life and had a pair of portable WP machines in her apartment with the 120 volt dryer. I asked her how she was laundering things and of course, the first thing out of her mouth was that she washed everything in cold water. After telling her about how cold tap cold was in the winter, I explained about the need for heat to relax the fibers and the fact that she was not really getting it in a 120 volt dryer so she needed to supply it in the wash with warm water. Problem solved, but she was another one who bought the whole cold water washing during the first energy crisis hook, line and stinker.

BTW, the 58 LK pumped out on high speed.

 

[danemodsandy]

Perma-Prest and School Days:

"I HATE perma-press anything. Here in the sultry South, it's like wearing a trash bag. Your clothes can't breathe!"

Andy:

I remember that very well. When I was in public school back in the '60s, I remember when Perma-Prest hit the stores around '64. In those days, kids were dressed by the parents who paid for the clothes; we put a few things over on them, but not many. What we ended up with was stuff like Gant button-down shirts, chinos, cords and Bass Weejuns. It was a three-season wardrobe, due to the timing of the school year; it had to do for Fall, Winter and Spring.

What I remember after Perma-Prest hit was that the first few weeks of school were a freaking nightmare, due to the non-breathability of early, heavily-resined Perma-Prest clothes. The calendar said it was Fall, but the thermometer said it was still just as hot as it had been a few weeks before when we were all running around in swim trunks and shorts.

And most of Atlanta's public schools were yet to be air-conditioned; that project didn't start in earnest until I was a junior in high school. It was warm wearing!

Today's Perma-Prest is very different to the first iteration; all that's asked today is that stuff not wrinkle too much. Back then, pants had razor creases permanently baked into them, and shirts really looked ironed, not just unwrinkled. You could feel the slick, plasticky resin that made it possible.

 

[barcoboy]

Question about the third version... was the pause achieved by the timer switching the motor power to a contact that was energized for only a portion of the two minute increment, or by the pressure switch cutting power to the motor once enough water had drained, but no power being sent to the cold water fill valve until the next timer increment? Or was it done by some other means?

 

[DADoES]

 
Pressure switch.