POD 11/12/2017

[brucelucenta]

These Whirlpool machines appear to be from the late 60's. The "blue" color was an unusual and attractive one that was only around a short time. Whirlpool always made good washers and the absolute BEST dryers around. The only real criticism I would make of them is that the rinse time was too short in my opinion and sometimes with larger loads, they did not have time to circulate in the machine before draining again. They washed very thoroughly and got clothing really clean. They left slightly more water in the clothes at the end of the final spin, but the superb matching dryer worked so well that it was hardly noticeable. Really good machines, just a little more difficult to service than most.

 

[johnrk]

Such Lovely Colors!

Some sociologist in the future will undoubtedly voice a theory as to why people in our age have rejected color in so many of our possessions after the explosion in colors in the postwar period.

How good or bad these machines were is, of course, simply opinion. The blessing at that time was that there were so many real choices--in design, in operation, in configuration. And those were real differences, not just based on electronic toys.

There was only one cousin in my large family who owned either Whirlpool or Kenmore. I can remember that enormous banana-shaped lint filter that looked rather like something with which to play jai alai!

 

[mrsalvo]

Have to give it to Whirlpool for sticking with the same agitator design, the Surgilator for years and years, solid.
Always thought Whirlpool was a good machine, though it was not my mothers favorite. For her own reasons she always shied away from Whirlpool/KM products. I never knew why, though I suspected at the time it was the neutral drain. There were 2 laundrymats close to our house, one Whirlpool & the other Westinghouse, when our MW/Norge washer went down she had the preference for the Westinghouse laundrymat, I thought that was definitely telling!!!
Mothers, Grandmothers, & Aunts had their definite favorite machines, and others they shied away from. I think for men it didn't matter. But I think it was those preferences that drove the market, not so much the engineering. I've read different threads on here that said something to the extent..."the U.S. never developed more 'meaningful' advancement in their machines," in regard to F/L or T/L. It was the preferences of the housewives, same for detergents. I can recall only 1 time my Mother used a front loading machine, and that was only because we were traveling and had no choice, she hated them with a passion.
Back to POD, it was a good machine for years and years.

 

[johnrk]

Your Mother

may have been like my mother--her first machine was a Bendix, one of those cylindrical ones, that was already in the house she and my father bought as their first home. Bolted to the floor, and that house was, though 3-bedroom, on masonry and it'd shake the whole house when it would spin.

My mother never liked, nor looked, at a front loader after they built their new home in the early 60's and furnished it with a Frigidaire.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Believe it or not, surveys of female consumers and users found that blue was a downer of a color for them. Mirro briefly had a line of cookware with blue exteriors and West Bend offered electric perks and a whistling teakettle in blue in the early 50s, but they were not as successful as other colors or just chrome and polished aluminum. GE discontinued Cadet Blue long before its fraternal colors in the palette were changed. While we find blues beautiful, the consumers for which they were designed did not.

 

[gyrafoam]

Blue is a very commanding color. Even if you have a room full of other "cool" colors, blue will always stand out.
The people who were used to warm "earth tones" we're not looking for the blues.

I think that plays into the popularity of "neutral" colors that became popular in the eighties and lasted through the nineties. Almond,biscuit and other beige shades were "safe" colors, especially for those with no knack for decorating. I have known people who couldn't decorate a dog house. They usually went for "safe" (neutral) colors.

Those Whirlpools would look great with today's popular tones of gray.

 

[frigilux]

My sister and brother-in-law had the MOL 7800 pair. He was impressed with the automatic dry cycle, although it had no electronic moisture sensor. He washed a small load of dress shirts when my sister was in the hospital having their 2nd child and set the dial to the auto cycle. About 15 minutes later I said, "I'm going to get the shirts out of the dryer." He protested, insisting the machine would shut off when they were dry. I told him to follow me to the laundry room. I pulled out the shirts and much to his surprise, they were, of course bone dry. I was 9 at the time.

I loved the washer with its signature splash-splash agitation thanks to the Surgilator.

 

[washerlover]

Bendix

My Mom hated the Bendix front-loader my Dad won in some sort of sweepstakes back in the late 1950s. She said the detergent wouldn't dissolve and the clothes never came out clean, often with dry detergent still in clothes after the entire cycle. She went to Frigidaire in 1961 and after that, Wards Signature in 1973 which she said was the best.

 

[norgeway]

Re Wards

Of course...It was a NORGE!

 

[agiflow2]

Did anyone save yesterday's POD? Could someone please repost it?

Thanks
Pat

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote>Pat:  Did anyone save yesterday's POD? Could someone please repost it?</blockquote> There's a directive at the top of the PoD page stating that the image can be saved by individuals wishing to have an offline library of them but "we ask ... that you please don't [re]post [them] into the Forum threads at anytime."

"We" being the owner/webmaster of the site.

 

[agiflow2]

Thanks Glen...my bad.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

It's a Whirlpool washer & dryer catalog--and isn't it offered in Automatic Ephemera?

What's surprising to me about it is one washer offered in 18-LB capacity (& available in White only, as well) & not the TOL, or any near-TOL; why?

Also no mention if any of the dryers (TOLO & 2nd-from, of course) have a lighted work surface, as the "best" and "next-to-best" washers do...

I would also love to see some of those (limited as they may be) colored in the Fawn color, as well--you only, at least see the White, Avocado, Copper & at least Sapphire-Blue...

-- Dave

 

[DADoES]

 
1968.  18 lb capacity wasn't yet mainstream in the WP (and KM) line.  I think that happened circa 1974-75, maybe 1976.

Dryer consoles were lighted the same as the paired washers.

Paternal grandparents had a 7800 pair (dryer a couple/few years newer than the washer) that had only the timer dials backlit (incandescent).