The Care and Feeding of Vintage Maytag Washers & Dryers

[moderncleveland]

Time for an update...

FEster, that's a good tip. I'm of the opinion that nothing is impossible ... but it's always a matter of effort and priority.

Thanks to gansky1 for connecting us with your local appliance friend. He came by yesterday and was able to do a complete overhaul on both of them, and we learned a whole lot in the process. We learned about the badness of dryer sheets, and also learned about the wonders of Sud Saver models. I had no idea such things existed!

Anyway, on to the updates. He started with the dryer, and discovered the first problem was a bad connection on the exhaust.

 

[moderncleveland]

Also, there was a little felt-like ring inside that had come unglued (and was full of lint).

 

[moderncleveland]

The dangers of dryer sheets! These things leave deposits on everything! All of this had to be cleaned.

 

[moderncleveland]

Nice, clean blades...

 

[moderncleveland]

The belts were just about shot, quite ragged. And everything was dry. So after a good oiling, it all went back together and is running pretty well.

Now on to the washer...

 

[moderncleveland]

He said the inside seemed pretty decent, but there was a little rust on the very bottom and a curious patch job on the bottom of the tank.

 

[moderncleveland]

And he had the exact button we needed for the load size controls:

 

[moderncleveland]

What's left...

So here's what we still have to do:

* Swap out the dryer motor (our appliance friend has one coming)

* Touch up a few areas of paint

* Test CLR on the porcelain top water stains (we tried Bar Keeper's Friend and a few other possible remedies)

* Put the new Medium button in that retrobrite (hydrogen peroxide mix) and straighten it out just a wee bit when it goes back on

 

[pdub]

Hello Moderncleveland

Great progress on getting these machines up and back in service.

I love it when everyone rallies to help. You will fall in love with these machines.

Have fun with them!

Patrick

 

[combo52]

Great Progress

I looks like you are in good hands, in fact it looks like Bobs hand in the picture, LOL. If you need any parts that he cannot find we probably have them, he and I trade parts on a regular basis. Unfortunately both your MT washer and dryer were built in an era where MT was using a lot of Westinghouse motors and both of your machines got one. You may want to keep your eyes open for a good used replacement motor for the washer as well. I am sure that Bob will be able to keep your MTs running for quite a while longer, John.

 

[gansky1]

Great to see you getting this set back up and running well! Glad Bob was able to help out, I knew he'd be the one for you to call. Anyone who works on dryers very long sees the result of dryer sheets, yuk!

 

[moderncleveland]

One more thing Bob did that I forgot to mention. He 'hacked' the washing machine so that you can lift the lid when it's on and it won't shut off. Very useful -- and fun to watch!

Speaking of the washing machine, I've always wondered how the liquid fabric softener leave the cup and enter the wash water in the final rinse? I suppose I could just lift the lid and watch it happen now to find out, but in the meantime wanted to ask. How does it work?

 

[d-jones]

Fabric softener cup

The sloping sides of the fabric softener cup are there for a reason. As the tub enters the spin cycle that follows the wash, the fabric softener is thrown outward by centrifugal force, rides up the sides of the cup, and through the slots along its top edge. As it passes through those slots it's slung against the walls of that little cavity the cup sits in and stays there until the spin cycle is through. Then as the tub comes to a stop, the softener runs down the sides of the cavity and falls though the hole at the bottom where it combines with the rinse water that is now entering the tub. I hope that answers your question. It really is a very simple system.

 

[moderncleveland]

Thanks for solving one of life's mysteries for me, David!

 

[d-jones]

You're welcome!