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Usual culprit: careless use of Spray n Wash/Shout type product on surface of washer; overspray hits control panel and eats the ink.
 
This printing loss was common on these models. It might have been spray and wash as well as steam. It always seemed that steam wafted around the lid opening and tended to condense on the control panel and dial. I suspect a similar culprit was to blame for the paint loss on the black-panel Kenmores of the 70's, many of those even had corrosion on the metal...
 
i giggled a little, though i agree with goatfarmer. at least its still gyratating and doing its intended work. a lesser machine would have died BEFORE the markings faded away.
 
original script

my history is graphic design and I wonder if there is a name for the original Maytag 'button script' and who designed it..?
Also, if anyone can provide a close up photo of said script, I would be grateful,

thanks, Denis
 
You know Bob, I don't think I've honestly used the Wash 'n Wear on this 806. I am *guessing* that is acts just the the perm press on the later machines - fast 63 OPM agitation, and the slower 412 spin, but I can't find my '69 Helical repair manual to confirm this at the moment.

Greg?

Ben
 
Wash and Wear Button Speculation

I am going to speculate that the wash and wear button gives a speed variation between the two for a single cycle : Regular and Gentle being constant for both the wash and spin cycles, when those buttons are chosen. If you choose Regular, you get regular wash and spin, if you choose Gentle, you get gentle wash and spin. If you choose Wash and Wear, you get regular wash and gentle spin, so wrinkles would "not set" Sort of a 2 and 1/2 speed machine, I think. The term "wash and wear" seemed to predate "permanent press" fabric matic.
 
"Wash and Wear" fabrics was that awful polyester "double knit". Polyester as opposed to say cotton or linen actually resists water/moisture, which is why those old polyester leisure suits were unbearable during warm weather. Since the fiber does not absorb much water, there was no need for long and or fast spin speeds. Items come out of the washer almost dry because they don't absorb much water to begin with.

Thing about polyester is because it dos not absorb water, it can be VERY difficult to clean well, especially to remove oily soils and odors. Though often recommended to be laundered in cold water, warm (with a cool down rinse) is better, and one should use lots of a good quality detergent.
 
Laundress I am not too sure poly knits were on the market at the time this machine was sold. And the words "wash -n-Wear were still being used for the 1950s/early 1960s fabrics. I believe Sears started putting the combined PP & WnW names on that cycle around 1966 or 1967. I remember Sears didn't re-designate its delicate cycle to knits/delicate cycle until around 1969, it was pretty new-fangled on our 1970 Kenmore 800. When knits did become popular, Maytag did put a knits designation at about the 4 minute or so mark on their timer on the PP cycle.
 
I didn't know if this particular button offered a normal wash/slow spin speed function, or maybe had the cool down fill during most of the 1st spin segment, or as suggested above (which was the case on 1-speed Frabric-Matic models), a shortened final spin time. Or any combination of the above. On the non-suds saver models, there were independen spin & wash speed buttons (4 total) in that location.
 
Ben's picture is of an A806s from pre-1968. The non-suds model would have had three buttons in that space - Normal, Gentle and Wash&Wear. I guess it was too confusing in my previous post but the Wash & Wear button only altered the speed on these early, pre-cool down cycle models. Ben's machine has a normal 63 OPM wash and a slow, 412 RPM spin speed - no cool down sequence at all.
 
Button script

thanks Ben for the close up photo..didn't expect the typeface to be a hairline serif! I'm sure I've seen more of a 'hand' script on some models, with no serif..probably an earlier model, anyway thanks, Denis
 
The company I linked operates a "What the Font" forum, which can help you identify a typeface, as long as it is not a custom font. With respect to the timer dial, someone with an x06 model may want to scan or photograph and upload a good closeup of the timer dial, say the wash cycle portion, and uplod the pic to What the Font for identification. Worth a try!
 
YES, zzzzz, it's got to be Goudy Old Style, interesting little 'tails' to that face, interesting,
thanks, Denis,
the sans serif on the dial could well be custom, some of the typefaces used on the vintage machines are great
 
Fabric Matic vs Two Speed Maytags

It seems to me that Maytag either had a dial designation for fabrics (A107) or upgraded to buttons (A408 to include the soak cycle on the dial), to regulate the agitation time, rinse and spin times, all using a one speed machine. Accomidation to fabric was done with varations of the timer's cycle. With the two speed model, it seemed that the owner had to choose the right speed for the fabric washed, accomidation to fabric was done on speed of wash and spin. Did the 806 and 906 have both features? ie, two speeds with variations of cycle times with rinse/fill/cool down? It seems Maytag either addresed fabric care in the cycle button for lower models, or the speed button for upgraded machines. Phil
 

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