The worst Maytag Lint Filter I've seen (Washer)

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elginkid

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 30, 2006
Messages
163
Location
Cincinnati, OH
After getting that awful lint filter on the A806, I just snagged a lint filter from an idle washing machine in a friend's basement. I can have the rest of the washer if I want, but it's a real BOL 80s machine in Almond. Anyway, the owners were obviously unaware that they had a lint filter.

Wes

elginkid++6-20-2010-00-42-22.jpg
 
My A207

My A207 was replaced by the owner because everything washed smelled funny. She didn't know that there was a filter either. I only wish I could have taken a picture of her husband's face when I slide that filter out of the agitator and said here is your smell.

I bet there was a argument after I left...

Too funny.
 
Most people don't care about it

This is where Consumer's Reports was dead wrong. They always downgraded Filter-Flo's and similar machines for having a lint filter pan that was "in the way" and had to be removed before loading and unloading. And, conversely, they gave the Maytags another brownie point for having their lint filters inside the agitators leaving the openings unobstructed. What they failed to realize was that most consumers don't read instructions(not just men here) and didn't even know that the Maytags had a lint filter inside that agitator. Plus, back then, the Maytags, unlike the Filter-Flo's and most other machines, didn't have all the basic instructions printed on the underside of the lid. At least with the filter pan on top of the agitator it's right in your face and you have to deal with it. My own Sister's Maytag filter looked exactly like what you have pictured there. Although in my Sister's case, she probably knew that it was there but didn't give a crap. Almost every Maytag I've gotten from people's homes is like this.
 
I see that everyday. Most people didn't know it was there and those that do, don't care because most of the time there was nothing on it when they checked.
 
I second (or third) these comments about people being cluele

Not long ago I had about a 30 minute negotiation with the manual filter assembly in a Kenmore. The previous owner never bothered to clean it either, until it clogged up completely, so much so that the filter itself was stuck tight into the sleeve. I am not sure it had ever been removed. The only way I got it out was to soak it with water to get the lint wet and plyable. Once the filter was removed, I ran the machine and before long, about two cups more lint came out of the rear and hose of the filter assembly.

Gordon
 
me i think that the previous owner of this maytag washer was a bit negligent in all of the washers that i have add after every washe load i always make sure that the lint filter is clean mee think that this owner would be better off buying a washer with a slef cleaning filter if she don't clean the lint filter manualy. if we want or washers to last long we need to clean them including the lint filters.
 
At least the first Maytag lint filters were advertised as detergent dispensers so there was some chance that they would be pulled at the start of each load when detergent was added. I also believe that back in the late 50s people cared for their machines better than they do today. For many, it was their first automatic and represented a large investment that was supposed to last.

An even grosser situation can usually be found just above the lint filter in the residue under the fabric softener cup when that part of the filter was never rinsed out.

I also see a lot of mineral buildup in this filter. It was the move to non-phosphated detergents that caused widespread clogging of lint filters and caused Maytag and others to virtually eliminate them by going to the largely ineffective but hidden synthetic screens and grids under the agitator. As long as people were not cleaning the filters and mineral clogging was rendering them ineffective, manufacturers could claim to have hidden, self-cleaning filters whether they worked well or not. In the early days of filters, before many people had dryers, their effect was more noticeable. Now, most lint is removed in the dryer. The Maytag filter like other agitator-mounted filters, such as on some Hotpoint, Speed Queen and a few other washers, was less effective than the ones that relied on water circulation by the pump and did not even function at the lowest water level. Of course, the Filter Flo system did not work unless the tub was filled to the full water level in the solid tub GE washers. After a few years, the rubber collar on the agitator of the GE's would wear to where it did not hold the metal filter pan securely and the pan would tip back toward the filter inlet flume during agitation compromising filtering by allowing water to spill out over the side as well as not utilizing the whole filtering surface of the filter pan. CU reported that the non-self-cleaning filter in late 50s Kenmores could cause flooding if not properly maintained.
 
Talking about lint filters, I bought a new Speed Queen last year. I noticed that there is no filter, at least from what I can see. Does it have one of those screen filters under the agitator?

Also, did Speed Queen copy its agitator from the vintage Whirlpools? It is the strongest agitator I have seen yet.
 
My sister in Denver has a GE Filter-Flo washer and the filter pan is MIA. I asked about it a few years ago and she said it was tossed out not long after the machine was new. Her old washer (filter-ring Hotpoint) "didn't have a filter to mess with and I don't see the difference with or without it so out it went."

It's obvious that many people stopped taking pride in their homemaking skills years ago, but that said, few of those filter-gimmicks did little more than add another bullet-point on a list of features.
 
Those good ole SQ's overflowed, if i had a solid tub SQ, i would never use that agitator mounted filter. alr2903
 
Amalgamated lint (anyone remember the Addams family ticker?)

I always thought the lint filter feature was a bit of snake oil. I don't ever remember lint on clothing being an issue as long as one had a dryer. My Mother would, on occasion use a lint brush or masking tape, but it was only on dress clothes that attracted lint or showed it badly. Almost none of today's so-called HE machines even boast a lint filter. I think for us, it's just another toy to puzzle over and enjoy, but for the people who manage laundry on a regular basis, lint is a non-issue. To be fair, this might have been a useful feature for families that had a lot of pets and/or line-dried everything. And even though I collect lint filters now, I always thought the Filter-Flo lint pans just got in the way of the action.
 
You are correct.....

The newer FL washer's don't have self cleaning lint filters! Thus the "easy" access doors to the pump on some of them. Mine requires removing four hex screws and then taking off the whole bottom panel. For the money that these machines cost, its a bunch of B.S. The average consumer isn't even going to know about this...and probly pay a $200.00 service call because the pump has a couple penny's and some lint in it!

Aaron
 
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