POD 7/27/12 LK Washer with fabric softener dispenser

[tomturbomatic]

Can you imagine the splashed up mess that washer's lid, top and tub cover would be from someone trying to pour from a full jug of fabric softener and aiming at that little dispener recess without first measuring the softener into a container or measure with a pouring spout?

And lady, please get your stripped ass off the die cast control panel. No, it won't bend, but your weight on it is damaging the porcelain top it sits on.

 

[franksdad]

Splashed up fabric softener...

My Mama had the exact 1971 Lady Kenmore only in white. Before that it was a 1961 Lady Kenmore with an even smaller fabric softener despenser opening. Not a problem. You just had to be careful when you were pouring and everything was okay. We also used Sta-Puff and Texize Fluff fabric softner. Of course, not everyone is as careful as I was and still am. I rememer going over to the Wooten's house and peeking into their Whirlpool washer. I almost hollered when I saw all that dried up caked on blue Cheer detergent mess slung everywhere all over the inside of that washer! How could anyone make such a mess pouring laundry detergent into a washer?

 

[kenmoreguy64]

I thought some of the same things when I saw this picture...

"Get off the washer...I don't care how heavy or light-weight you are" was my thought. I don't know how much damage a person her size could do to the machine, maybe not much, and I only say that from experience. My '72 Lady K, that was dropped or pushed out of a pickup, flippped 180 degrees and hit the pavement console and lid first, upside down, and survived.

It put some road rash in the outer corners of the console about a half inch in lenght on each side. It did however deflect the porcelain enough under the corners of the console to pop a lot of it off on the left side, and a little on the right. The lid was open and hanging down at the time, and this contributed to the pressure on the left side. I was surprised that the lid wasn't folded up like a piece of paper, but it did separate from the machine and I found it 10 or 15 feet away.

For a 260 pound machine, falling free-wheel onto itself from an F250, I was shocked that it wasn't completely obliterated. Everything in the console survived except the flourescent light. I'd replace the top if I ever found a coppertone version in scrap, but it is useable as-is. For the machine to have taken the weight of itself, plus a few feet of acceleration from the tailgate and the shove-off, we were all shocked (the guys at the recycle yard and my helper) that the machine held up as well as it did. That young lady weighs less than half the washer, and she's not in motion toward a collision with the top, so the machine may actually hold up ok! I wouldn't sit on there though!

I noticed the pink hue in the softener bezel - surely an illusion but these bezels are often layered or caked with dried up or semi-tacky softener gook which is colored whatever color of the product the user liked. Most I've seen is blue.

I don't think that splashing was a huge problem with these machines. This bezel was a well-used design by the time the '71 Lady K evolved (I have seen it as far back as on some '65 Lady Ks), and it was used into the 1980s as well. A variation of it, identical in shape and dimension but without the divider wall (for bleach only) was used through the end of the belt-drives in Kenmores.

Kenmore's operating manuals for these machines usually suggest diluting softener product into a measuring cup with an amount of water first. Obviously the marketing folks didn't read the book!

Gordon

 

[mrb627]

Over Pour

And stop pouring when the floor underneath the machine turns pink.

Malcolm

 

[tomturbomatic]

There you go Malcolm! Practices like those kept Staley, the maker of StaPuf, happy. As I remember, Staley was a division of Corn Products Co. so I guess StaPuf was made from some corn product or by-product. A neighbor of ours worked for them.

 

[appnut]

When we bought the 1970 or 19871 Kenmore 800, I naturally asked a whole bunch of questions. The salesman was so impressed with my knowledge and questions, he gave us 3 or 4 of those Sta Puff sample bottles which were included in the machines at the time. We then went on into the mall and did some more shopping. When we came back through Sears again ready to leave, he stopped us and gave usx a couple of more of those bottles. My mom used those for years for what little hand washing she did. As far as over pouring, yes they could, but it all went into the wash basket in my experiebnce. However, the tubing on those dispensers was quite long and held quite a bit of liquids. I remember once pouring in several cups of water to see just how much it held. I had done the same thing with the 1964 Norge15. Incidentally, we used Texize, and maybe some other pink brand, as they were less expensive than Sta Puf.

 

[70series]

I was once at someone's house who had a 1970 500 model Kenmore, and I remember seeing all of this caked gook on top of the tub ring. I could never figure out how it got there, as this model has no dispensers of any kind. Fortunately, every other Kenmore and Whirlpool I have seen was clean. As for the woman sitting on the Kenmore in the POD...Get Off That Washer. I can't imagine it being too comfortable a seat for her.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Bob and James,

Bob - I was thinking much the same thing as to where the excess would go if a lot too much softener was poured in. Anything spilled up top would go right into the wash basket as you said, or remain on the top etc. If it was a major gushing accident, then some could splash on the floor.

The reservoir underneath holds quite a bit - two cups on each side I'd estimate, maybe a litte more. It has been a while since I had one of these out of a machine. Once the reservoir is full, it would over-flow onto the floor.

James - I think those members who service machines, especially for a living, could fill entire threads of stories about how gross some folk's washers are. I have a few stories myself and I've only worked on 100-some machines. The lack of care or concern some people show toward their things is nothing short of disgusting sometimes. As to the caked gook, I have a theory. I'll reference the 1969 Kenmore 700 that once belonged to Wigwagster. Here's his 2006 picture that comes to mind:

 

[kenmoreguy64]

I have a 1963 Kenmore 70/700 which is about as bad.

That said, I've learned some things about the older more vintage machines from having used some recently. I've used 1980s Kenmores for so long, which have less accessible tub rings, taller baskets, and longer drain periods, that I'd forgotten what used to happen in these older models.

Suds were more common in vintage detergents than today. What happens in these older BDs is that the suds created from wash agitation does not get as much chance to dissipate with a two minute neutral drain as it does in a four minute drain in the later machines. This seems to make a huge difference when all else is held equal with my various machines. Couple that with vigorous agitation from a straight vane or Roto-Swirl and the wash water can get rather foamy. Then, the machine goes into spin maybe 15-20 seconds after the tub empties (like drinking a soda or beer just after it was poured, before the foam drops off). The spin then foams up the suds even more, and it works its way up the sides of the outer tub and basket, then starts flying out over the top of the basket. The wind from the spinning clothes and the agitator fins then blows the suds up onto the tub ring, which is open and easily accessible in the older BDs. These suds then dry out, and reconstitute themselves so to speak. Over many years, if not cleaned off, the dried up suds build up to resemble over-spilled detergent.

So, I think that built-up "detergent" on Wigwagster's tub ring is really dried up old wash water with all the suspended soils, etc in it.

That is probably how the 1970 500 you saw got all that stuff apparently flung everywhere, because it probably was flung, but just by the machine itself instead of the user(s). Certainly though, the way a lot of us used to dispense powdered detergent can get fresh detergent on the tub ring as well.

Incidentally, I've seen a number of posts on here where people complain that Whirlpool did a lousy job of aiming the spray rinse water, as a lot of it ends up going behind the basket instead of into it, and thus on the laundry load. There is a reason for this - the spray rinse not only rinses the load, but it is intended to rinse the sides of the spinning basket, to reduce the "climb" progression of suds.

Gordon

 

[70series]

I was thinking of this very photo in fact, when I was posting. I don't remember what Wigwagster's theory was for this mess, which more than tops the one that I described earlier. I would have to find the thread, but if I recall, I think his theory was that the owners used the fabric softener dispenser to dispense the detergent. Amazing what some people do when the don't read directions, or even ask their sales person. The mess that was in the washer I saw must have been created by liquid detergent. It looked like putty. Except for that the washer was otherwise clean.

While you were looking in the thread where this photo was posted, I'm sure you took a glance at the 1963 LKs and the funky 1963 Model 80 with the casino-esque console he had. Good stuff right? Nothing topped that year in design and elegance.

 

[DADoES]

 
I recall the few dispenser reservoirs that I've seen (certainly I haven't seen them all) were designed such that each compartment overflowed into the other across a cutout in the top of the separator partition in case of overfilling, and I also recall a separate overflow outlet that bypassed the release plungers and flowed directly into the tub.

 

[arbilab]

Softener IS goo. A smidge in towels maybe to fluff them--though it also waterproofs them--but in clothes I'm going to wear? Never.

I've cleaned more than a few of those upper tub rings where previous users just shook the box over it and soap went everywhere. Been a long time but seem to remember laundromats were notorious for that. On the whole, people are slobs.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Glen -

I think you are exactly correct. I have had to work on and fix a couple single compartment dispensers, but I don't recall doing much with a dual. I do remember an overflow system on one and I remember thinking it was rather ingenious, and also a bit of a pain to fully clean softener residue out of! I forgot all about that, but with that in mind, these may not overflow onto the floor at all, presuming the thing is not clogged up!

I try to leave these reservoirs alone unless I must fix something, as the original clarified plastic was brittle and I broke one inadvertently at a decent cost to replace. This was in the 1990s, and by then they were becoming slow moving parts, and their dealer prices were going up fast. They must be NLA by now and largely gone.

I do have one new single compartment reservoir still in a box that I bought way back when. By this time WP wasn't using clear resin to mold the parts, so its is cloudy/milky looking and we can't see the inner spillways, etc.

You might very well have seen them all if you've seen a couple different ones. I did some checking involving machines I know to use a double dispenser reservoir, starting with a 1961 Kenmore push button 70-series, and ending with a 1979 Kenmore 90 series. The '61 used an older number, but by the 1963 Lady K, the number for the reservoir was 95916. It was still 95916 in the 1979 90 series, and on every machine in between including the '66 LK, the '71 LK, and the 1975 Kenmore 70.

I don't know too many of these that were used in the 80s, but it seems like they made a design the worked by 1963, and they kept it.

Gordon

 

[mrb627]

Detergent Ridge

That mountain range of detergent is generally from a user that used to shake and pour a box of soap powder over the open machine rather than use a measuring cup. I guess sprinkling an even layer of powder over the laundry while the machine fills was acceptable practice back in the 70's.

Malcolm

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Malcolm, that is not all un-dissolved detergent. I have cleaned up too much of it. When it starts to take on a yellow or tan-ish hue, it has wash water components in it. Some of it surely IS from various methods of dispensing powder, but there is a distinct component in that tub ring build-up that often has an amonia-like scent of old dirt and body oils when it gets wet.

I always wondered how in some machines it built up on the tub ring, then I saw the suds creep in my 1968 24-inch machine. I was standing there wiping the tub ring down as the suds rolled up and over the ring edge, but had I not, small amounts of it would have accumulated on the horizontal areas and dried, leaving a residue behind. This is an extreme result of someone's machine that didn't get kept clean, and load after load of build-up accumlated - maybe from the machine's entire life.

This picture below is of a 1980 Kenmore that I cleaned-up in 2010. The build-up got there from 1994-2010. There is some undissolved detergent in the front at about the "5:30 position". The rest is dried up re-granulated debris from wash water, that only resembles detergent.

 

[mrb627]

Overdosing

Somebody must be clearly overdosing the detergent. Especially with a DAA machine.

Malcolm

 

[rinso]

Most full-featured washer of its time, IMHO. The only things I didn't like about the design, were the muti-colored keys. I think they cheapen the design by making it look like a multi-speed blender.    

 

[70series]

It must have been that oversudsing like you say Gordon, that caused the mess I saw.

 

[pierreandreply4]

me if i had a machine like this i would not use the detergent dispenser but put the detergent in the tub as the washer fills that way it would keep the machine lasting for many years.