Watching the Washer when you were Young (and now, too!)

[danmantn]

I was fall cleaning the other day and as I was passing by the washer, I noticed that the step stool just happened to be positioned in front of the washer much like it was in the late 70s/early 80s at my childhood house. I would find something, anything to stand on to watch the magical blue White Westinghouse ramp agitator briskly clean our clothes.

The agitator had a dual role of the bad-ass sea monster that would consume my GI Joe action figures. Magically they would reappear a few seconds later after being "thrown out to sea" - which happened to be the outer edge of the wash basket due to some brisk turnover.

At any rate, I snapped a "still life" picture and thought I would share. What fond memories do you have? [this post was last edited: 11/4/2011-12:11]

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Legos!

Dan -

For me it was Legos in the washer. Not the little one-inch long ones, but the ones that were two or three times that long. Those would appear, dunk under, then come up somewhere else, and it was my game to guess where and see how many I could get right. That worked best in our 1961 Kenmore 70. When we got the '74 large capacity machine, it was too deep, there was more travel room, and I was getting older anyway. I did like how I could sometimes faintly hear them touching the side of the basket, like you can hear a jeans button do the same.

Another thing I liked, but worked only in the '61, was to put a wet wash cloth on top of the scrubber during agitation and watch it flinging back and fourth. This did not work in our '74 due to the smaller and non-rubber agitator cap.

As to the ladder or stool in front of the washer - same here, our Kenmore had a few paint knicks in the front where our little step stool that I used had scratched the cabinet.

Fun memories for sure!

Gordon

 

[danmantn]

My Speed Queen was doing the "Wet rag fling" just the other day! Fun with an old school agitator for sure!

 

[westie2]

For me it was sitting and watching my grandmothers Westinghouse Laundymat and opening the door and trhoung in wash cloths while it was spinning.  This was the 50's.  I did get to wach my other grandmothers by staning on a stool hers wws the Bendes Economat semi automatic that she had me watch and when the wash action stopped to call her.  She would then hand wring out the clothes adn punt in another load then would rinse then out in the washer.  At home got to help mother with our wringer washer so got to use it lots.  My favorite thing witht he wringer was to take a ruler or yard stick and run it through.  In 1964 mother convinced dad to get her a washer and dryer (Maytags)  I learned quickly to poke something between the lid and switch to see it wash and spin.

 

In our town we had a Maytage appliance dealer and I loved to go there and see the clear wringer washer with the different color plastic circles and see it wash.  This dealer always had it at our county Fair I remember the plastic circles were red, blue and yellow. 

 

[franksdad]

I've always been fascinated by watching the washer.  I remember when I was just a child also stading on a stool watching Mama's 1961 Lady Kenmore wash.  For my entire life thru now at 56 y/o I still stop and watch any washer wash.  I never really knew why watching a washer wash fascinated me... but it has been a life-long fascination!  When I was 5 or 6 Santa brought me a Deluxe Kitchen hand crank washing machine.  It was torquoise and was one of my all-time favorite toys.  I caught so much pure hell from my oldest sister and my brother that one day I took my old man's hammer and beat it up then threw it away.  Stupid.  I would give a jug of juice harps to have that toy back again today and I would tell anyone who laughed at me where to go!  But you know, thru all the hell I caught I never gave up my fascination!  My wife thought my fascination was weird at first but I asked her how many women would give their right arms if their husbands even knew what a washing machine looked like!   Never heard another peep from her about my washing machine and laundry obsession!

 

[whirlcool]

I used to stand in front of the washer with my chin on the top of the washer and watch the Frigidaire washer pulse up and down. The smell of the washer and detergent was wonderful. The washer had that "new car smell" for years after we got it. But of course, if my mother caught me doing this she'd shoo me out of the room saying a washer is no place for a young man to be hanging around.

 

[laundromat]

My first excitement was my Aunt's Frigidaire (1963?) washer. Then, I found neighbors who had other brands and, depending on my mood and what I wanted to watch, I'd go to any neighbor's house to watch their washer(s). The Sennetts (next door) had a 1960 Custom imperial, the Kacey's had a 1958 CI in Charcoal Gray, The Bairs had a Westinghouse DeLuxe washer and a newer dryer to match, The Hanson's had the Duracrest set in coppertone and the Langenfelders had a 19600 slanted front/rectangular window Westinghouse set in mint green both had the light button with the logo on it.There were also laundromats I'd go to some had Frigidaire, some had Zanussi, some had Norge,some had Blackstone and some had Bendix washers and dryers. The Ald wash and Ald dry laundries were popular but going out in record time being remodeled.I have yet to here of anyone who remembers the old Launderama machines. They had a shoot to load the wash in to and the motor was at the top where a backsplash normally is and it was a Westinghouse motor.No door switch and the windows were plastic not glass.

 

[arbilab]

From 5 to 13 when Twilight Zone came out, the Westy was a lot more interesting to watch than television. I'd pull up a kitchen chair and watch all afternoon. In 1951, a very different world than today's, I'd walk 2 blocks looking for women doing their laundry in garage machines, chat with them, watch the machine if they said it was OK. Usually good for cookies and milk too. But those were all toploaders, not that much to see--wasn't allowed to touch them--unless the spin unbalanced.

Unbalanced spin was VERY entertaining in the Westy. It would hop like a kangaroo and sometimes dislodge the snubbers. First thing I learned about washer repair was reseating those. Then getting baby socks out of the pump and shortly after, replacing timers. I was about 9 by then.

 

[cfz2882]

my first"watched"washer was a 1970 ST hotpoint-like danmantn,i used to throw items
in the wash and watch them circulate...
The best ever"out of the house"washer watching episode was in 1979 watching"alien"
at a family friends house-i was enjoying watching that movie on cable TV until i
got distracted by... ...an avocado 1-18 frigidaire running with the front panel
removed!! mechanism running in full view!! everyone was wondering why i was
watching that washer operate instead of watching the exciting movie LOL.
Laundromats were also favorite places to watch and listen to washers including:
-a mostly BD whirlpool laundry back in '77-78- besides the '68 era BDs,there
were two '50s era westy front loads but they usually had "out of order"signs on
them...
-a norge laundromat,1979-81,late model norges and two big stainless steel zanussi
front loads.The din from all those norges was awesume!
-brand new white-westinghouse laundromat,opened in 1982,featured westy top loads,
two sizes of front load westys and a big bolt down milnor.These washers were
still going strong in 1994,but by 2007 when my 20th high school reunion was held
in the same building,the laundromat had been closed for a while and all the
washers gone..-was cool to be standing where all those westys had been running
some 25yrs earlier!

 

[laundryshark]

Sights, Smells, and Sounds of Classic Washers

Mom's old Kenmore was always fun to watch. Loved the classic sounds of that wooo-wooo, wooo-wooo noise. Loved that classic 60's Tide scent, or Dash, depending on what Mom bought on sale and used at that time. Softened water was also a factor. Also watched various Maytag, GE, and other washer brands at the neighbors all over the place. The laundromat was also fun with those old Bendix front loaders, Speed Queens, Maytags, etc.--Laundry Shark

 

[tolivac]

Remember my Mom's norge-the one with that big,black agitator with the large,"agel-wing" style vanes,with holes in their bottoms and the "railroad rail" edges.Then came a GE filter Flo with the copper colored metal lint pan.-The Norge had a shiney Metal one.then came Maytags-somehow the Norges and GE were more entertaining to watch.Then my Grandmothers "Pregnant" Roto-Swirl-My StepMom had one of those,too.Then my Stepmom replaced her older RotoSwirl with a newer one-then came a Maytag-the Maytag-1972,Was only a week old went it went thru the Rapid City flood of 1972-the machine was salvaged and ran for over 20 more years.Maytags were tough,but not entertaining for washer spectators.Now its my WP BD Imperail 90-its getting slow leaks-but still goes.And I like filling it to the tops of the agitator blades-less sudsing-and more entertaining.Next to it have a Hotpoint with the ramp agitator-the WP is cooler.

 

[lovestowash]

Still do, to this day...

My grandmother "fostered" my fascination with washing machines at an early age...

She used to plant a red Cosco step-stool in front of her Unimatic that so many members here have, the one with the two rinses...

I was quiet and trouble-free for the duration of her washday...

Later on, she got a slant-front Westy set, and I kept my face pressed against the washer glass...the dryer glass got too hot for upclose viewing...

At our house, although I was discouraged from hanging around the washing machine, I managed to satisfy my cravings anyway...

We had a GE Filter-Flo, basic model, without the Mini-Basket...

One day, I decided to emulate the Mini-Basket with just the filter pan...

I put an old cleaning rag in the filter pan, during a regular cotton wash...

It appeared glued to the pan, but was fun to watch in the hot, soapy water...

Entertaining for a while, though I soon got distracted, or called away...

Later, when I returned to the machine, the cycle had ended...and the rag had disappeared...

A couple of days later, the repair man was out to service the broken machine...

Turns out, the rag wound up in the outer tub...

I never told my Mother how that happened, and she never asked...

Nowadays, I do the laundry as I iron, in the "laundry lounge" downstairs...

A large load in the Amana/SQ, with the lid up, and a small load in the Westy, simultaneously...

I soak in all the nice views and smells...

Seems to make the chore of ironing less of one...

 

George

 

 

[labboy]

I too was fascinated by the washing machine in our house as well as all neighbors, relatives, local laundromats, etc. My family thought it was very odd I knew what types of washers everyone had and could list the various features and benefits. So nice to have found this place with others like me.

Bob

 

[qualin]

Memories...

There is a laundromat behind my parents house. (You can see where this is going.)

They would shoo me out of the house to go out and play, but there were a lot of bullies in the neighborhood, so I used to spend hours hanging out in the Laundromat watching people wash their clothes.

As you can imagine, seeing a six year old kid hanging out in a laundromat not doing any laundry kind of freaks people out a bit, but they generally put up with me.

If I was lucky, someone would let me watch their laundry being washed in the Maytag top loaders, (Probably late 1960's vintage) as long as I would put their laundry in the dryers for them afterwards.

Although, my favorite machines where some late 1960's vintage hard mounted White-Westinghouse front loaders, only because I could watch them without having to ask. They would fill up to nearly half full and then slosh the clothes around aggressively. What was scary yet fun to watch at the same time is that horrendously loud motor bringing them up to full speed while being completely unbalanced. I swore one day one of those machines would break their mounts and come hurtling towards me in an angry, unbalanced accident...

It was also mildly entertaining to watch laundry drying in the large Speed Queen/Huebsch dryers. It was enough to keep me around when none of the washers were being used.

I know it sounds creepy and all, but it's fascinating watching a machine doing all of the work. What can I say...

Even today, I had to buy a front loader because I like watching the clothes getting tumbled. I wish though that the one I have would fill up like those old White-Westinghouse washers so I can see the splashing.. Top loaders are neat, but I've always liked the tumbling action of a front loader. Just IMHO.

 

[mtn1584]

Nana's General Electric V12

I used to push the kitchen chair up to the machine in nana's kitchen and watch the V12.....gung gung gung gung gung gung gung.....LOL and then in my building there was a Speed Queen wash room with three machines. I would go in there and turn the agitators back and forth, if someone was washing I would lift the lid to see the machine in action. Just the other day I was in front of my SQ mesmerized, and daydreaming about when I was a kid doing the same thing.
Mike

 

[wringersteve]

Grandma & Grandpa's basement...

...had a coal bin, a monstrous coal-fired furnace, a hand-operated cast iron water pump which pumped water from a cistern, and a Westinghouse slant-front that drained water into a huge porcelain sink. I'm 47 and to this day I can still remember the aroma of clean laundry ready to be hung on the line mingled with Instant Fels detergent, powdered Calgon water softener, and the smell of coal from the coal bin, and I remember peering into that Westinghouse watching the clothes get washed in that sudsy water. Great memories !

 

[whirlykenmore78]

I'm not the only one

I watched my moms 1975 builder model Whirlpool BD, Grandma's 1976 Lady Kenmore, My other Grandma lived in a senior highrise with 1980 TOL Hotpoints which I soon leared how to defeat the lid switch and watch. Of course I knew what every neighbor had and watched them whenever possible. My favorite laundromat memories are the Troy/Launderite Big Boy @ Lazy Suzy's Laundromt in Norristown PA. and the Wascomat W-184 Giant @ Cottage Cleaners and Laundry in Prior Lake Mn. Of course there have been many other machines I've become fascinated with over the years including many dishwashers(Mostly Hobart) as well as many lawn and garden machines. I am so glad to know I am not the only one with these tendancies.
Nick

 

[jetcone]

My Mom

put an old wooden soap box up against the '56 GE filter flo and she used to start a load when she started cooking dinner so she could keep an eye on me. The washer was right next to the stove in our apartment back then. 

I remember when we moved into our first house that washer going downstairs! I couldn't believe that it wouldn't be next to the stove!

But she still put the soap box beside the machine for me until I was tall enough to lean over.

I remember on Saturday mornings after Rocky Jones Space Ranger she would start a load and my friends would come over to play and I would be glued to the machine until spin and they would be begging me to go outdoors to play!

 

I used to watch the lint balls roll back and forth in the copper filter pan!

 

 

[Jsneaker]

Post# 554077, Reply# 6 11/4/2011 at 12:19 by laundromat

I sure do remember the Launderama! While I never saw one personally, and wished to, they've been in many of the old "Coinamatic Age","Coin-Op", and Laundermatic Age" laundry magazines my father's law partner had gotten in the mail. The partner was a part-owner of a laundromat as an investment. I still have some of these magazines today. Most laundromats where I lived in Suffolk County were BORING Wascomat(still are, and non-sewer areas yet!), while in Long Beach, there were Norge, Westinghouse, Bendix, Whirlpool Poly-Clean Center, and Wascomat laundromats. I was well-known to the owners as a helpful visitor! Also, my dad always bought me most any toy washer I wanted, even without begging! Sometimes, I spent my allowance on those,besides my favorite Dinky Toys, Corgi Toys and Matchbox cars, in later years.