POD 1-19-18

[mrsalvo]

LOVE the picture-of-the-day, don't think Pearl would lead us wrong. Really liked the styling of the Westinghouses, they were sharp looking and no-nonsense, very clean lines. Different cycles too. Only drawback is the 14 lb load capacity seems small today, but I'm sure for back during that time they were about par with other washers, except the 20 lb Norges. Not sure about the Kenmores though, if they would have held more clothes.
Has anyone on this forum ever owned one of these washers? Would be interested in reading about your experiences.

Barry

 

[yogitunes]

I bought the stacked set for my partner in 1989.....first they were installed stacked in the bathroom, then moved to the kitchen remodel under the counter....the new owners insisted we leave them, by this time, the Neptunes came out...

never an issue from either one.....

the Weigh-to-Save door was a cool idea carried over from earlier models.....although you could leave it on the water level on the lowest setting for every load...it still was adaptive to each load...

very good washers for what was available as a FLer, capacity was about equal to a regular TLer, but what I like was savings on water and detergent, and you could wash just about anything in them...blankets/comforters, pillows, throw rugs, just about anything a TLer could not handle well...

technically there were 3 rinses....more than enough to remove all traces of detergent and suds....as compared to one rinse in a TLer.....

about the best detergent for these was a huge box of 'Controlled Suds' that was only available from PathMart.....

front control models didn't offer dispensers....that was a downfall at times...

 

[mrsalvo]

Martin, they would be cool to have today. One other issue that I didn't think of earlier was the bending over to load and unload, that would be hard for someone (like me) who has arthritis in the back and joints. It doesn't get easier! LOL.

I think they are excellent washers from what I could tell. Enjoyed your post.

 

[westingguelph]

My mom had this same washer from 1976 to 1988 when they sold the house and the new owners wanted that washer badly. It was still going strong with never a repair. She always left the door open a bit after washing to dry so there was never any mold or rust or funky smells. I know many people never cared for White-Westinghouse but honestly these things really worked. I remember once taking off the lower front panel to take a look. There was a true Westinghouse motor with the circle bar W embedded in a gold color. It had a very quiet wash with a noisy spin and the drain pump solenoid had a real "pop" sound. The lint removal was the best I've ever seen. Too bad todays manufacturers can't take a lesson from the past!

 

[ea56]

These were really wonderful washers! I bought a new White Westinghouse set in almond, gas dryer in 1987 that were stacked in a closet. They looked like the brochures that Martin posted. The weigh to save door was a nice feature and the washer easily handled our king sized down comforter. We used this washer and dryer for 7 trouble free years until we sold them with the condo, and the new owner rented the condo and they continued to work for many years after we sold them.

The washer used an adequate amount of water, not like the new FL’s and it was quick, about 40 mins a load. And this washer NEVER hesitated to go into a spin! If it wasn’t all the way balanced it would bang abit for the first few seconds, but by god that sob did its job, not like the tempremental crap they sell now. I’ve owned 23 different washing machines since 1972 and this was my number one favorite. Happily, the Maytag HE TL set I now own is my second favorite, and even though it is a TL, performance wise it comes the closest to the Westinghouse FL .

Consumer Reports always dogged these washers in their reviews, thats when I started to doubt the value of CR reviews, because everything they had to say about these washers was counter to the experience I had with mine.

Eddie

 

[mrsalvo]

Did they tangle the clothes really bad? Just wondering.

 

[ea56]

In a word, no, they didn’t tangle the clothes at all as far as I can recall.
Eddie

 

[golittlesport]

tangling?

These flat-front Westy's did not tangle very much. The earlier slant-front models tangled much more and that is probably where the Westy tangling reputation came from.

 

[potatochips]

I want to find a pair or washer just like this. I've always been a Westinghouse fan underneath Maytag clothes.

 

[gyrafoam]

IMO these were very good machines.
Much has been said over the years so the archives are full of information and experiences.

The slant front machines were severe tanglers . I never had a tangling problem with these machines.

 

[lordkenmore]

So this washer is what a five pound box of money might buy...

 



[this post was last edited: 2/19/2018-23:27]

 

[combo52]

27" Wide WH FL Washers and Dryers 1964-1988

These are fun and great performing machines, we still see mostly stacked [ low use ] pairs coming out of condos in the DC area pretty regularly that are in pretty good condition.

 

I agree with most of the comments above, but there was no getting around the fact that in large family's or fairly high use homes these these machines needed lots of repair and had MUCH shorter life spans than EVERY other major brand of US TL washers during the same time period except the junk TL machines from WCI. The worst part of both the W&D was the WH built motors, once they switched to GE motors around 1978 the machines had a lot fewer major repairs.

 

We have two pairs of these at the museum, the first one is a 1969 white stacked pair with the water cooled condenser dryer, the 2nd pair is a 1974 stacked gas dryer harvest gold pair.

 

John L.