I don't think wringers will come back due to safety hazards of the wringer-maybe twin tub agitate-and spin drum machines.Its an interesting thought,though.
QUESTION.....who made the last wringer washer in US history?
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Last US Built Wringer Washer
As mentioned above, SQ built and sold the last WWs in 1994.
A customer of ours renter a minivan and she and her daughter drove to Philadelphia in early 1995 to pick up one of the last SQ WWs she could find. We set up the new WW and she used it about 10 years, quality had deteriorated and it had many problems over its 10 year life.
In 2006 we replaced it with a SQ FL washer [ with heater ] and she loves it [ never a service call yet ] our customer is now 94 YO.
WWs are not likley to make a comeback, it is very expensive to make this type of machine. WWs are not safe and the wringers are simply not that effective and can really damage clothing. A spinner type washer just makes more sense for people who want to be in complete control of washing their clothing.
John L.
As mentioned above, SQ built and sold the last WWs in 1994.
A customer of ours renter a minivan and she and her daughter drove to Philadelphia in early 1995 to pick up one of the last SQ WWs she could find. We set up the new WW and she used it about 10 years, quality had deteriorated and it had many problems over its 10 year life.
In 2006 we replaced it with a SQ FL washer [ with heater ] and she loves it [ never a service call yet ] our customer is now 94 YO.
WWs are not likley to make a comeback, it is very expensive to make this type of machine. WWs are not safe and the wringers are simply not that effective and can really damage clothing. A spinner type washer just makes more sense for people who want to be in complete control of washing their clothing.
John L.
launderess
Well-known member
With all due respect
Your boss is *nuts* for even considering bringing wringer washers back to USA.
Am more than unusually sure out of liability concerns no dealers would touch them with a barge pole. Once Consumer Reports got wind of things, there would be a steady drum beat as they whipped up consumer sentiment against. For the record Consumer Reports waged a two or three decade hate against wringer washers. Once fully automatic washing machines came on the seen CR (among others) kept reminding women there was no need to have such dangerous and impractical appliance.
By 1953 fully automatic washer sales outpaced wringer washers, and the latter saw steady decline in sales from that time onwards.
While one can see some benefits to semi-automatic washing machines; a wringer washer just is wrong way to go. Something like the AEG Turnamat would likely be a better choice.
All wringer washers suffer from same drawbacks as hand operated mangles; width of whatever is being sent through must be less than that of rollers. This is all very well and good for most clothing, but for sheets, blankets, tablecloths, etc... things must be folded or whatever to fit.
Finally wringers just aren't very efficient in extracting water from wash. Best most can manage equals around 250 or so rpms.
After hearing about how Maytag wringers removed so much water they left things nearly "dry" was gobsmacked at how much water truly remained. When took just washed laundry out of catch tub there was quite a lot of water remaining. This was the water which drained out of wash while it sat.
Given the push for energy efficacy you stand a better chance of bringing back top loaders of old with central beaters that used tons of water. At least they spun laundry much drier than a wringer.
Your boss is *nuts* for even considering bringing wringer washers back to USA.
Am more than unusually sure out of liability concerns no dealers would touch them with a barge pole. Once Consumer Reports got wind of things, there would be a steady drum beat as they whipped up consumer sentiment against. For the record Consumer Reports waged a two or three decade hate against wringer washers. Once fully automatic washing machines came on the seen CR (among others) kept reminding women there was no need to have such dangerous and impractical appliance.
By 1953 fully automatic washer sales outpaced wringer washers, and the latter saw steady decline in sales from that time onwards.
While one can see some benefits to semi-automatic washing machines; a wringer washer just is wrong way to go. Something like the AEG Turnamat would likely be a better choice.
All wringer washers suffer from same drawbacks as hand operated mangles; width of whatever is being sent through must be less than that of rollers. This is all very well and good for most clothing, but for sheets, blankets, tablecloths, etc... things must be folded or whatever to fit.
Finally wringers just aren't very efficient in extracting water from wash. Best most can manage equals around 250 or so rpms.
After hearing about how Maytag wringers removed so much water they left things nearly "dry" was gobsmacked at how much water truly remained. When took just washed laundry out of catch tub there was quite a lot of water remaining. This was the water which drained out of wash while it sat.
Given the push for energy efficacy you stand a better chance of bringing back top loaders of old with central beaters that used tons of water. At least they spun laundry much drier than a wringer.
just about the only market that a wringer washer would be considered is the Amish...
they are big on manual machines like this....and eventually the supply/parts/rebuild will dry up in time....
and by that time, they may take on manufacturing it themselves....
note too, a machine used by Amish must be gas powered!
they are big on manual machines like this....and eventually the supply/parts/rebuild will dry up in time....
and by that time, they may take on manufacturing it themselves....
note too, a machine used by Amish must be gas powered!
launderess
Well-known member
Wait I Told A Lie
Or think may have!
Just researched some old posts and find that Crosley wringer washers were sold in 2000.
Also it seems SQ sent their tooling for wringer washers to Saudi Arabia who then made the "Home Queen" washers that were sold by Lehman's well past 1997.
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?19057
Or think may have!
Just researched some old posts and find that Crosley wringer washers were sold in 2000.
Also it seems SQ sent their tooling for wringer washers to Saudi Arabia who then made the "Home Queen" washers that were sold by Lehman's well past 1997.
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?19057
The units won't be sold nationally and we won't use our own brand.
We have a big client that strictly wants wringer washers for an specific group of customers
We will basically provide the information for this client and work as a link between the manufacturer and them instead of getting really involved. (for this reason I'm NOT going to design a wringer at all.)
My boss is not crazy. I can imagine it would be sold out in five minutes with 100% of the units bought by people planning to hit the million dollar lawsuit jackpot
We have a big client that strictly wants wringer washers for an specific group of customers
We will basically provide the information for this client and work as a link between the manufacturer and them instead of getting really involved. (for this reason I'm NOT going to design a wringer at all.)
My boss is not crazy. I can imagine it would be sold out in five minutes with 100% of the units bought by people planning to hit the million dollar lawsuit jackpot
@Kenmoreguy
On reply #10 you mentioned Brazil.... LOL
Well, In Brazil we had only one model of wringer washer (that tiny Hoover with a manual wringer) a long time ago.
Brazilian washers were basically American washers until 1990, since then the brazilian know how changed A LOT.
You're right, semi-automatic washers are still made in Brazil because of the culture. Many people love to have the suds in a semi automatic and then transfer the load to an automatic washer to rinse and spin while ye next load is washed reusing the suds.
Nowadays, Brazilian washers are way better than american ones because of the Eco-nazi HE standards we have here in the USA. Even some models made in USA are adjusted to use much more water in Brazil. For example Frigidaire Affinity (Electrolux Ecoturbo), Whirlpool Vantage (Brastemp Vantage)
On reply #10 you mentioned Brazil.... LOL
Well, In Brazil we had only one model of wringer washer (that tiny Hoover with a manual wringer) a long time ago.
Brazilian washers were basically American washers until 1990, since then the brazilian know how changed A LOT.
You're right, semi-automatic washers are still made in Brazil because of the culture. Many people love to have the suds in a semi automatic and then transfer the load to an automatic washer to rinse and spin while ye next load is washed reusing the suds.
Nowadays, Brazilian washers are way better than american ones because of the Eco-nazi HE standards we have here in the USA. Even some models made in USA are adjusted to use much more water in Brazil. For example Frigidaire Affinity (Electrolux Ecoturbo), Whirlpool Vantage (Brastemp Vantage)
launderess
Well-known member
@Thomas
Was not literally saying your employer was "nuts". Just that there is a reason why wringer washers faded away from USA market, and no one has seriously bothered bringing them back.
Even that "Home Queen" wringer out of Saudi Arabia didn't last long, and that was with Lehman's pushing the thing with their natural Amish market.
Was not literally saying your employer was "nuts". Just that there is a reason why wringer washers faded away from USA market, and no one has seriously bothered bringing them back.
Even that "Home Queen" wringer out of Saudi Arabia didn't last long, and that was with Lehman's pushing the thing with their natural Amish market.
launderess
Well-known member
Parts for wringer washers.
At least for Maytag there still seems to be quite a lot out there NIB still. Witness various sellers coming here to the group offering their wares.
Am also going with that Maytag didn't stop building wringer washers until early 1980's and thus many machines may not have seen much use. That is housewives who got the things new soon moved to a fully automatic. That and or only saved the wringer for special jobs.
IIRC well after Maytag formerly announced it would cease production of wringer washers, dealers/service people could still reach out to them for certain parts. It may have taken a few weeks or so to have it made, but the tooling was still around.
Of course now that Maytag is owned by Whirlpool am sure whatever tooling, dies and whatever else related to wringer washers has long since been destroyed. Am guessing any spares sitting around in a warehouse or whatever equally were disposed of as scrap/rubbish.
At least for Maytag there still seems to be quite a lot out there NIB still. Witness various sellers coming here to the group offering their wares.
Am also going with that Maytag didn't stop building wringer washers until early 1980's and thus many machines may not have seen much use. That is housewives who got the things new soon moved to a fully automatic. That and or only saved the wringer for special jobs.
IIRC well after Maytag formerly announced it would cease production of wringer washers, dealers/service people could still reach out to them for certain parts. It may have taken a few weeks or so to have it made, but the tooling was still around.
Of course now that Maytag is owned by Whirlpool am sure whatever tooling, dies and whatever else related to wringer washers has long since been destroyed. Am guessing any spares sitting around in a warehouse or whatever equally were disposed of as scrap/rubbish.
I wonder how many are still being used? In the early 80s I cut grass and did other odd jobs for the widows in my blue-collar neighborhood. I knew three of them that still used their WWs and none of them had dryers. They line dried...basement in the winter, outside in the summer.
Once I helped one of them do her laundry, she was really quite efficient about it, it didn't take nearly as long as one would have thought. And yes she warned me several times about keeping my hands out of the wringer!
Once I helped one of them do her laundry, she was really quite efficient about it, it didn't take nearly as long as one would have thought. And yes she warned me several times about keeping my hands out of the wringer!
“Once I helped one of them do her laundry, she was really quite efficient about it, it didn't take nearly as long as one would have thought. And yes she warned me several times about keeping my hands out of the wringer!”
Even though doing the laundry with a wringer washer is full time hands on, there is no faster or more efficient way to do a weeks worth of laundry! I’ve always said, if I had the set up for one, either a kitchen large enough, a laundry room with a laundry tub or a bathroom big enough to roll the wringer washer up to the tub for rinsing, thats the way I’d be doing my laundry even today. It’s zen like, almost theraputic, and I know most reading this will think I’m crazy. But don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it, its kinda fun.
And you do need to be very careful to keep your fingers out of the wringer. My Mom, when she was about 6 and her sister were playing with a sock once, running it back and forth through the wringer while Gradma was hanging some rinsed laundry, and Mom didn’t let go of the sock in time. she got her hand up to ther wrist caught before Grandma could release the wringer. As a result she had a ganglion cyst on that wrist that she had to have removed when she was 33. It was about the size of my thumb, I remember going to the doctor with her the day it was removed,
There is also an old fashioned Mid Western saying for someone that is all “het up” over something, “They must have got a t*t caught in the wringer”, LOL. I use it all the time, reminds me of my grandparents.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 10/8/2018-22:06]
Even though doing the laundry with a wringer washer is full time hands on, there is no faster or more efficient way to do a weeks worth of laundry! I’ve always said, if I had the set up for one, either a kitchen large enough, a laundry room with a laundry tub or a bathroom big enough to roll the wringer washer up to the tub for rinsing, thats the way I’d be doing my laundry even today. It’s zen like, almost theraputic, and I know most reading this will think I’m crazy. But don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it, its kinda fun.
And you do need to be very careful to keep your fingers out of the wringer. My Mom, when she was about 6 and her sister were playing with a sock once, running it back and forth through the wringer while Gradma was hanging some rinsed laundry, and Mom didn’t let go of the sock in time. she got her hand up to ther wrist caught before Grandma could release the wringer. As a result she had a ganglion cyst on that wrist that she had to have removed when she was 33. It was about the size of my thumb, I remember going to the doctor with her the day it was removed,
There is also an old fashioned Mid Western saying for someone that is all “het up” over something, “They must have got a t*t caught in the wringer”, LOL. I use it all the time, reminds me of my grandparents.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 10/8/2018-22:06]
@Lauderess
Guess who's the "client".... LOL I'm forbidden to say but you're smart enough to guess.
BTW. Having a "non-automatic" or even a "semi-automatic (basically a wringer washer without the wringer, some of them with pumps, others with "automatic" fill is actually great to save water and cut time.
We did a test here in the USa about 2 years ago with the SuperPop. (a similar version is also sold in Brazil with fewer features).
I was quite impressed with the number of people that loved it. Until today, 1 year after the test ended and it was discontinued I still receive emails from people asking when we will have more.
Based on that test, I've designed a much bigger model (Megawash) sold exclusively for the customer I have one here with me.
When we were creating the name, some of the names we thought bas "bad ass", "big ass" and "jumbo". The capacity is nearly THREE times that LG that claims to be the largest capacity ever.
The biggest "semi-automatic" washer sold by our partner in Brazil is 50% smaller.
Launderess you have a Mega spin dryer.... You would have to split the load in 8 megas really packed.
For the open market we are releasing early next year the Avalon. A semi automatic HATL washer. Full size heavy duty "extra" capacity in a mini footprint.
Guess who's the "client".... LOL I'm forbidden to say but you're smart enough to guess.
BTW. Having a "non-automatic" or even a "semi-automatic (basically a wringer washer without the wringer, some of them with pumps, others with "automatic" fill is actually great to save water and cut time.
We did a test here in the USa about 2 years ago with the SuperPop. (a similar version is also sold in Brazil with fewer features).
I was quite impressed with the number of people that loved it. Until today, 1 year after the test ended and it was discontinued I still receive emails from people asking when we will have more.
Based on that test, I've designed a much bigger model (Megawash) sold exclusively for the customer I have one here with me.
When we were creating the name, some of the names we thought bas "bad ass", "big ass" and "jumbo". The capacity is nearly THREE times that LG that claims to be the largest capacity ever.
The biggest "semi-automatic" washer sold by our partner in Brazil is 50% smaller.
Launderess you have a Mega spin dryer.... You would have to split the load in 8 megas really packed.
For the open market we are releasing early next year the Avalon. A semi automatic HATL washer. Full size heavy duty "extra" capacity in a mini footprint.
HI Jim and all, I have several wringer washers and they all work. 2 ABC's from the '50's.
60's Easy spindryer, 3 Speed Queens, 3 Maytags, 1 GE, I Dexter made in Fairfield, Iowa and 1 Hoover washer from the '70's. I love these machines and they all wash well. The Dexter needs a facelift, but it still turns out CLEAN laundry, not like the new ones that are out there now! Oh, please, don't get me started. Happy washing, Gary
60's Easy spindryer, 3 Speed Queens, 3 Maytags, 1 GE, I Dexter made in Fairfield, Iowa and 1 Hoover washer from the '70's. I love these machines and they all wash well. The Dexter needs a facelift, but it still turns out CLEAN laundry, not like the new ones that are out there now! Oh, please, don't get me started. Happy washing, Gary
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