Washing new fabrics with old vs new machines

[fltcoils]

I posted this yesterday in the current machine section, but I wanted vintage guys input also.

I'm close to owning a 1-18, and I thought that would be easier on clothes than my A606, or at least that was the frigidaire sales pitch, right? so I show the pics of the 1-18 to my inlaws. I expect a "Great, I always wanted one but couldn't afford it" (she had a great Dane and a GE filter flow) and my wife gets this response from them:

"he's crazy, the fabrics have changed. A old 1970s frigidaire cannot wash modern clothes, you need a front loader like a Duet."

Does this ring true to all ye experts? Is my mother-in-law, the duet owner's experience match yours? Do modern dockers, and cotton shirts require modern washers? Short of water savings what advantage is there in a modern front loader compared to a high RPM (VFD supercharged) 1-18?

I've heard that front loaders get so much soap out of your clothes that you must not add soap the first few times you wash, etc. heard this alot. Is it so? Will I be so amazed at the better rinsing of a Duet compared to my old maytag A606, or compared to an old frigidaire 1-18?

and that's the problem, If I get a Duet washer, I'll need to have lots of room If I also want a frigidaire 1-18 and my trusty A606 OMG.

Please help with your advice and opinions.
thanks

Be gentle people please, I hope to show her the thread.

 

[rickr]

I only have vintage machines, however I do not own any 1950's or 1960's, or 1970's clothes. My modern clothes look and wear just fine, and they are washed over and over in vintage top loaders. In fact, any time I puchase new clothes, I ALWAYS wash the garment prior to wearing it. With all due respect, your inlaws point of view is just plain incorrect.

 

[maytagbear]

The important variables

are water temperature-washing and rinsing,

water volume,

agitation time,

and agitation/spin speed.

Most higher end machines from 1955 onward allowed the user to adjust all four.

Lawence/Maytagbear

 

[pturo]

I'm trying to decipher your multi-pronged question.
1.)Q Will an old top loader like an 1-18 be effective on modern garments.
1.)A There is no new machine washable fabric invented that an old machine can't wash. Modern Dockers and "No Iron" shirts have a coating on the fibers, sometimes phemeldohide based, that keeps them stiff. Wash them as you would permanent press. "Wrinkle Free" is a marketing term. Synthetics seem to like warmer temperatures then a cool down.
2.) Q "Front loaders get out so much soap out... you don't need to add detergent for the first few loads"
2.) A Front loaders seem to be better at extracting water from the clothes, if there is soap/detergent left, how could they be better at rinsing in the first place?
3.)Q "The in laws say..."
A I have in-laws who are great cooks and lousy at laundry, but all of them are experts on advice on how to do both and with what.

When we grow up and wear long pants, we get to take all of the advice everyone has given us and put it into the hopper we call our brains, and then make our own decisions.
Unless the in-laws are paying for the laundry equipment, make your own choices. It can be very freeing for them, and you.

 

[mayken4now]

Hi Bill:

In my experience and opinion, old machines, whatever/whoever made them will wash clothes made in their time or clothes made in modern time meaning NOW. Get the machine of your choice, fabric and "times" are null.

 

[panthera]

My thumperr experience with "modern clothes"

Your questions are valid. My partner and I just last month were able to get a 1958/9 (could be either year, some parts are newer) Multimatic up and running.
We used it extensively to wash both cottons/linens, silks and micro-fiber towels and coats. Neither of us voluntarily would ever wear synthetics, but I did wash some synthetic fleece vests.

All of the clothes washed came out clean and undamaged. Including the silks.

None of the "modern" fabrics of the last 100 years or so require any more delicate handling than do the 19th century and early twentieth century synthetics. Rather the opposite - micro-fibre is much easier to wash and clean than the polyester and nylon horrors of the 50's and 60's.
Since you are considering one of the last of thumpers, it will have the "cool-down" cycle which some synthetics, under some circumstances, occasionally may benefit from.
Your in-laws have succumbed to the marketing in-duh-vi-duals.

As for the FLs not needing detergent the first few wash loads, nope, not true. They frequently rinse better and spin faster than the trash being sold today as TLs, but then, a few good rocks and a fast moving stream would, too. The addition of a good water softener and moderate dosing the first few washloads might be necessary if the clothes had previously been washed in too much detergent and not adequately rinsed.

I suppose, for modern machines, Duets are ok. But who, in their right minds, would buy a Duet when they could have a thumper? That is like asking if you want a used up and overplayed rental VHS cassette of your favorite movie or would rather watch it in a THx certified theatre in 70mm 3D...
I tried to be gentle, honest I did.

My experience with in-laws was that they either scheme to make your life hell and win their child back or they genuinely like you. Nothing in between. Make you own decision, sounds like these people will criticize whichever choice you make. Or don't make.

 

[fltcoils]

Thanks to all for your contributions. My inlaws are from Benton Harbor. Their neighbor had been chief engineer at Maytag, and of course worked at whirlpool when they knew him.

They live in the neighborhood with many from the washing machine industry, and of course have had discussions over the years. They freely shared their excitment a few years ago when they replaced their GE filter flow with a Duet set. The gas company actually came out and replaced their meter because their usage had dropped so dramatically. They washed clothes without adding detergent, as advised, and found it took a couple of cycles to get the soap out from the clothes. That's their story. So FL apparently do correct some failures of recent TL design.

For my part I liked the thumping of the '56 Frigidaire washer my mom used, and would prefer a solid tub rollermatic . I tinker, so given a backup machine I am not concerned about using an older machine. But when it died, a flaming motor death, and we were advised to avoid the rollermatic mechanism it was a real comedown to use the A606 maytag. So says my mother. The clothes came out wet, and they weren't as clean.

Everyone praises the A606 Maytag for reliability, but when I got it at 14 yrs old it had already had the timer replaced (bad plastic drive gear worn thru) and needed a new tub seal/bearing. Shortly after that it needed a new water inlet valve, and then it needed the gearbox input shaft oring, I'm still burned up that a 9cent neophreme part should cost a complete disassembly and $80 transmission rebuild, they could have used a flourocarbon oring, for 20 cents that would have lasted forever. After that it flooded and required a rebuid of the water level sensor assembly.

Most recently last fall the A606 start winding of the motor failed. A post mortem showed that it was assembled incorrectly, a built in flaw destined to fail. The stator magnet wire winding had a turn outside the insulation sleeve, a bare wire (bare except for .001" of varnish insulation) had layed against the frame for 35 years. It finally wore thru the varnish and shorted out, vaporizing part of the wire. It just needn't have been so!

So tho I am happy to use the A606, and don't consider it vintage, just a normal washer, probably more reliable than most made today. I would say that I've replaced most every part except the pump in that time, so I'm not sure just how reliable that makes it. at least compared to a frigidaire 1-18.

Note: The washer my mom replaced the A606 with, a whirlpool, has run these 22 years with no failures and no issues.

 

[gyrafoam]

I am currently using my 1-18 as a "daily driver" and am having no problem. I also use my Unimatic quite frequently although I almost always wash heavy cotton fabrics in it. Since the Unimatic's have such a high spin-speed it just makes sense not to use one for "permanant-press" or silks or easy to wrinkle fabrics.

IMO the 2 or three-ring agitators used in the Unimatics and Multimatics as well as the Jetcone in the 1-18's were the best of the Frigidaire agitators when it came to cleaning ability. IMO the Jet-Action agitator in the solid-tub Rollermatic was inferior to the others in washing ability. That is why I favor replacing the Jet-Action system in the solid-tub Rollermatics with a "Three-Ring" of any vintage but preferably a '63 or '64.

About two years ago I went from using my '67 Rollermatic as a "daily driver" to my '64 Highlander and the old Maytag turned out a markedly cleaner wash using the same detergent (Viva) and wash temperature----I use hot for almost everything---if I remember to do it I'll shut off the cold valve so the rinse is hot as well.

Now, I've just gone from using my '97 FriGEMore F/L as a "daily driver" to the 1-18 and the 1-18 is turning out a markedly cleaner wash with the same low-sudzing (Fab) detergent. Go figya.

 

[danemodsandy]

Yep, There's a Difference...

...And I found out what it was when I went from a 1990's Whirly DD pair to a '70s vintage pair of centre-dial 'Tags.

The Maytags get clothes much cleaner, on less detergent. Evidently, back in the day, they weren't afraid to agitate. I'm far happier with my "old" machines than I was with "modern" ones.