POD 8/19/2017

[brucelucenta]

Well, I was born in 1956 and my folks bought and moved into 3 new houses when I was growing up. In the late 50's they moved into a new neighborhood that had the washer and dryer in the garage. At that house it was difficult to get to, since you had to walk outside and go in through the garage door. That house had a crawlspace under it, which was fairly common. The second time was a house just built in about 1960. I remember it much better that the first. It had turquoise built in appliances and my mother's first dishwasher, something my mother insisted on. I don't think that many of the homes in that neighborhood had one, since they had not become quite as popular and it did take up more cabinet space from the kitchen. Anyway, that home also had the washer and dryer in the garage right outside the kitchen. It also had a crawlspace under it too. I think by then home builders became aware that when machines were in the garage, they were subject to freezing and possible damage to the machine. In 1965 we moved to another new home and the washer and dryer was finally in a utility room, which is where most machines are in homes built today I think. My point is that when automatic washers and dryers became popular there were places made for them in the home. In many home built before 1950 they did not think about that since they did not exist in most homes. In homes built before 1950 I have seen many that had a place in the garage that has a sunk in drain hole made for a wringer washer. When putting an automatic in, it is a problem sometimes finding a level place to put the washer. Basements are not that common here with homes built after 1950. I know in many other places in the country machines were in the basement. Just changes as time has marched on.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Some TOL WP-built machines, beginning, I think with the 1958 Lady had a switch on the control panel allowing the user to drain suds (through the rinse hose) or save them by draining them through the suds hose into a separate tub. Lower model machines had a default  procedure to drain the suds through the suds hose, if I remember correctly.

 

My Mustee Laundry Tub, the one that Sears sold for decades was able to do everything with one drain connection. The suds water drained into the tub. There was an overflow pipe that you stuck into the drain and that would take care of the rinse water hose if you did not have a separate standpipe. Mine has a plastic liner and is great for washing big things. In older ones the liner was fiberglass. I put a folded towel in the bottom to wash something large and delicate like a piece of glass. I feel that if you have a basement, there should be a way to have a laundry tub, not just for laundry but for general cleanup work.

 

[launderess]

Suds Saving or Miser Washers

Were just an attempt to capture the market of housewives for various reasons of their own, still used wringer or other semi-automatic washing machines. Prominent of those reasons was the need (or wish) to save water for reuse.

Ever since fully automatic washing machines appeared on the scene and or semi-automatics with spin baskets, Consumer Reports and others did all they could to discourage the use of *dangerous* wringer washing machines.

Yes, wringer washing machines could be dangerous; but many housewives had other issues to balance on laundry day. Top among them was hot water supply.

Also by the 1950's and 1960's you still had a pretty good number of people who lived through or came up during the Great Depression. The thrifty habits that came out of that event died hard, and some simply saw "dumping" all that hot water and soap/detergent after just one wash (as in an automatic) as wasteful.

Here is a link to a 1950's local newspaper laundry appliance supplement. In it Whirlpool mentions their 1956 model *suds miser* washing machines. Notice the best thing they could say was touting how hot soapy water could be saved and reused... Meanwhile nearly every other fully automatic washing machine was wooing Her Indoors (and His Nibbs who presumably had to pay for the thing) with all their "fully automatic" features.

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/...ite-one-line-it-can-win-you-a-washer-or-dryer

You also notice that not a wringer washer is to be found in that 1956 advertising piece. We know that Maytag and others still produced and sold conventional washing machines in late 1950's, but obviously there was a push to get Her Indoors to upgrade. If you wanted the water reusing/suds savings that a wringer washer offered, you were steered towards the suds saving washers offered by Maytag, Whirlpool and whoever else had.

 

[circlew]

Southern laundry areas

Nearly all my relatives in Mississippi had their laundry areas right off the carports. In some cases it was necessary to go out onto the carport to access it, in others there was a door from inside the house.

An exception was my Aunt Doris, who had a very nice separate laundry room. Their house was built about 1980, and would definately qualify as a "luxury" home, as its original cost was over $200,000. I think persons buying such homes expected a dedicated laundry room.