Twin tubs were great in their day BUT

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spinspeed

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Oct 4, 2009
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Far North New South Wales Australia (originally Lo
Hi guys,

Just finished renovating my Hoover twin tub. Pump had seized up and a few minor leaks. Got this one on eBay a few years back. The Australian model with no water heater. I used to love using my Mum's wash dog in the 70s in the UK when i was a kid. The one with the built in fill hose and spout that sat in the spin side and swung over to fill the tub. Firsts load today I got a suds lock in the spinner. Took ages to clear all the suds out. Gave up in the end and transferred the load to the F&P for a spray rinse and deep rinse.

Were all Hoover TT the same size? This one I have here feels much smaller but then as mentioned I was only. Child when I used my Mum's on in the 70's. Thank god for fully automatic washers is all I can say. I don't think I will be wheeling the TT out too often, bloody hard work if you ask me but kind of fun too.
 
All TTs I've seen except Easy and Unimac were roughly the same size as Hoover. I owned a Panasonic and 'helped' grandma with the Easy and never saw anything even resembling suds lock in the spinner. In both we used 'standard' detergents (not HE) and spun the suds back to the wash side without dilution (suds saver) before prerinsing (I did agitation rinses in addition to spin rinses. Can't rightly remember what grandma did, that was 1952).

Once that foam is churned up it IS hard to get rid of. Had to was (sic) a reason it churned up. Did turn the pump on before the spinner, right? Spinner should have no standing water in it when started.
 
Size matters

Twin tubs didn't get smaller, we just got bigger! I remember when I got a Hoover twin tub about 7 years ago I was amazed how small they seemed to me now. It is amazing that some of our Mum's did the family laundry in them - in my family's case there were six of us and the beds were changed weekly. I don't know where she found the time!
 
Twinny Wash

Hard to imagine, yes my mum also washed for 6 at least 3 times a week and managed, but then again we didnt know any different back then!! its only now we can compare these uber sized washers....and if you did have an automatic in the 60`s / 70`s then the load capacity was only a few pounds more than a twinny of its day!!

Simon does yours have the plastic tub?, any pics in your new washroom??
 
All Things Being Equal

Would have taken a wringer washing machine (or two) over a twin-tub. Don't get me wrong my Hoover TT is "fun" to use but that entertainment can only be withstood for limited periods of time! *LOL*

Just too much noise and messing about to do anymore than a few loads of washing at once. Also capacity wise one is sure the fuller sized wringer washers could handle things like sheets and blankets better than Hoover TT. My owner's manual gives directions for linens and bedding but cannot see doing anything larger than "twin" sized items. Even if they would manage to wash you'll never get bigger things into the spin basket.

Am betting one of those double tub wringer units such as from Philco would leave a TT in the dust. Where TT's did shine is that they were often small enough for the most compact living conditions, so that is something anyway.
 
I actually have lot of fun using my servis, and i am saving money to buy more twinnies in the future to use in sunny days outside in our mansion/farm i love the fact you can reuse and save water for the next loads even for days, and then reheat for the next use.... I do not have problems about rinsing at all, sure is the thing is uncomparable to an automatic about convenience/comfort, which you load it and forget about it till end of cycle buzzer, if it was not so we would still have lots of people using them instead of automatics don't you think? But as for everything they have pros and cons, they're still going strong, along with wringer washers in countries and areas of the world with problems of limited water supply and also where detergents are not that cheap and easy thing to get as long as laundry rooms in homes suitable for sud saving machines (now disappeared here by the way but present in these countries)....they,re portable, easy moving and they spin rinse clothes so you do not even need buckets, tubs, sink or else to rinse like for wringer, nor needs a deep tub to store water like for sud saving automatics, TT are the best choiche in africa, asia and parts of south america where water and detergents supply may be an issue for many ( as i said they allows water and detergent saving because you can reuse wash water)... I love using my twinny as for using my automatics, just using my servis as we speak...so glad i own it...[this post was last edited: 2/27/2014-18:15]
 
Here you can see for example current TOL models of whirlpool TT for indian market, to note also that while in Parts of Asia like china and thailand they do market almost totally pulsator machines in India as for philippines and parts of africa the agitator is preferred... Not the case to comment about that even if I would of course get an agitator one, here shows that in certain countries still exist TT and heck they're also very capient 8 to 10 kgs, perfectly fashionable and attractive for todays' discutible general standards and trends regarding aesthetics, style and materials used.... But what can you do???? LOL
http://www.whirlpoolindia.com/washing-machines/semi-automatic[this post was last edited: 2/27/2014-17:58]
 
Here in the UK

the twintub was extremely popular practically every home had one back in the 60s and 70s if you had an auto back then you were considered well off .My mum had three Hoovermatic twintubs over the course of 30 odd years they all got a lot of rough use serving a family of 6 there was no time for pussyfooting around washing was not a fun pastime it was still a chore that had to be done .On washday there would be at least 7 or 8 loads of washing sorted into piles on the kitcken floor the whites went in first then into the spinner next load into the washer unload the spinner into the large belfast sink full of fresh water then back into the spinner then into the basket second load into spinner .The laundry was not lifted from the washer an article at a time she would just get her hands in there lift the lot out and ram it into the spinner usually overloading it then the next load would be dumped into the tub eventually disapearing under the water those machines led a hard life but we always had loverly clean beautifully ironed clothes to wear and fresh bedding once a week using a twintub was labour intensive but it was a vast improvement in what had gone before when finished mum would dunk a bucket ibto the still hot soapy water throw it out of the back door and then with the yard brush clean all the concrete path around our house the rest of the water was pumped out onto the scullery floor and brushed down the drain in the floor rinse the machine out then shove it back under the draining board for a well earned rest
 
My first machine when I got my own place in 1981 was a Servis twintub. I suppose it was more work but I think my wash results were better than I have ever managed with an automatic. To me the agitation seemed more effective on my Servis than on my mothers Hoover machine. I did need to muck about with the paddle though, as the hole for the hexagon driveshaft had become enlarged before I got the machine. I tried various materials to pack out the hole but after a while it would become sloppy again, with reduced agitation.
 
Since this came up originally I bought a new twintub, Panda (Chinese). Perfectly satisfactory after 2 months. Plate-type reversing wash side, 1300RPM DD spinner lets stuff dry in 20min with a standard (240V) dryer. Full control over everything.

Does take time if like I did, wash had piled up over months and some needed washed twice. Standard wear 'N' wash stuff goes right through it, not having to drain and refill the wash tub. I now soak problem items in a bucket with detergent concentrate for several hours.

Not toss-N-twist convenient but I'm only washing for myself and rather short on entertaining + productive things to do with my time in the retirement ghetto and really like the results.
 

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