What got you fascinated with laundry machinery in the first place?

[cornutt]

I've always been fascinated by complex machinery of any sort. And back in the day, other than an automobile, the washing machine was the most complex device most people owned. I recall, when I was about 4, watching the washing machine and wondering how it knew to do all of the different operations it did -- filling, agitating, draining, spinning -- and when it should do them. I asked my dad and he explained to me about the timer. He drew me a few diagrams of what the inside of the timer looked like and how it did its thing. I didn't really understand it all at the time, but it was still interesting. Over the next few years, whenever the washer needed repair, I'd watch my dad when he worked on it, and he'd point out the various components and what they did -- the motor, the transmission, the pump, the fill valves, and so on. One specific bit I recall was trying to understand how the water flowed for the filter (the machine was a Kenmore with the manual-clean screen filter). I always wondered why, during neutral drain, the filter kept flowing water until the water level in the tub got down to a certain point, then it stopped. I never did figure that out until I started browsing here!

In the era of electro-mechanical automation, the washing machine timer really was a work of art. Today, when everything has a microprocessor in it, we tend to forget how much effort went into making something like an automatic washing machine function properly. It sounds corny to us now, but these machines really were miracles of the technology of their day.

 

[tgm8000]

draining into drain pipe

I was always fasinated by the sound of the water draining into the drain pipe. My aunts 69 GE ff when it drained you could hear it fill the pipe right up and if she put too much soap it would over flow out of the pipe! Awesome! To this day I still love to hear my washer draining!

 

[arbilab]

That little fist size gizmo made everything else happen. A few might wonder how a 10yo manages to change a timer without so much as a suggestion how to go about it. Mechanically, nothing to it. Right under the lid, nothing in the way, 2 screws holding it in. Electrically, well I figured all the wires were in the right places on the old one, only a matter of moving them to the new one at a time eh?

Then I had a used timer with one bad contact to play with! Now, how to make it do what I wanted, with no idea what the connections were for? Take the covers off and see what contact corresponded to what part of the cycle. Can't do that with a microprocessor LOL.

Not sure you can do it with a modern clockwork timer either, that was the only one I ever had to replace. But I scavenged 3 more from the scrap bin behind the appliance store. 2, the motor didn't work but one was like the one I had, one bad contact. What to make them do? Hookem to motors, lights, solenoids, even hooked em to each other. All with open 120V wiring scattered on my bedroom floor, wonder I never shocked myself or set fire to the house.

 

[tolivac]

My brother used to work at a sign shop at one time-and he brought me several sign flashers,neon sign transformers and neon tubes.I made up my own light display in the basement-the flashers with their cams and contacts were interesting to watch and hear-the clicking and clacking noises.One time while turning on my display-a wire came loose and shorted-boy was my Dad furious-so I redid the wiring.Then everyone happy-and guests like to see the stuff of mine in the basement.Then there was times my brother called me to help him in wiring signs and such.That sign shop was a fascinating place-Rushmore Signs I think it was.Also watched the tube benders there and a tube being "bombarded"for prepartion to be used in a sign.Bombarding is burning the gases from electrodes and tube walls.They use a very large and powerful 15Kv .5A transformer with a variac on its primary.

 

[DADoES]

[No message]

 

[retromania]

DADoES ....

Your profile photo above. Is that the washer that someone in the blog commented about where the water dispenses from the lid? Until then I had never heard of one the the water came out of the lid. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[hassney]

The Domination of Washing Machines!

<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I was born partially deaf and when I was a toddler I was a naughty child, simply because of the stress of not being able to hear (I've been told). Before I got my first hearing aid, I use to scream and tear the house down. </span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">My Mother would get desperate and find ways to calm me down. </span>
 
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually my mother found the solution and she'd stick me in front of the washing machine. Apparently I use to lean my head on the side of the machine and listen to the machine spinning around. The vibration use to calm me down and I use to hum with it (bad idea, this went on for years, me humming randomly round the house lol)</span>
 
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">My Aunty (my father's sister) owned a launderette, my mum and I use to go and visit Aunty often. My memory on this is very vague though one thing I remember is My Aunty would give me coins to start the machines. Through out the years my Uncle's owned several launderette's and dry cleaners. Came in really handy when my family needed there dry cleaning done lol. My brother and I would visit regularly and at the age of 16 I worked at my uncle's Dry Cleaner's every Saturday for a few year's. </span>
 
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">So back in 1985 I got my hearing aid at the age of five and I was starting to hear...that year Mum had got the Hotpoint 95260 "New Generation" Super Electronic De Luxe. At this point my love for washing machines grew more stronger because of the amazing sounds Hotpoint had made. Not only that, it was a comfort for me, listening and feeling the vibration of the machine working that my mother instigated. </span>
 
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was age 7/8 years old, I started helping mum do the washing. I was fascinated how the machine worked from start to end. I use to read the manual like it was my "bible". I learn't what each programme and button's did etc and knew the machine inside out.</span>
 
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I then started comparing my machine with other people's machine. I would rush to kitchen and if there washing machine was on I would sit and watch, sometimes wishing I had there machine instead of Hotpoint.  </span>
 
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In the 80s catalogue's were big and everyone had them...I use to ask my family & friends, if I could tear out the pages from the Washing machine section's and collected them. (Shame now though after years of hard work, I ended up throwing them away, like most teenagers, you think to your self why would I need them for and thought it wasn't a cool thing to do. Wish I hadn't now...)</span>
 
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of my secondary school years was designing washing machine's on the school computer. I even included washing machine's in my story's...In the last years of my schooling, I really wanted to design washing machine's or work within that industry. I was young and a confused teenager and I wanted to become a lot of things... there wasn't much information within that area and the internet in the mid 90s was still very limited. It wasn't till years later, I decided to become a musician and actor, my interest on washing machine's became my hobby and as they say the rest is history.  </span>
 
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Hass</span>
 

http://www.youtube.com/hasszanussi

 

[twintubdexter]

I know some of you have heard me brag before...

...about my "Appliance Disneyland" I enjoyed as a kid. Working at Western Appliance in San Jose (I started at 13) cleaning used appliances for resale was no picnic (think 3 bottles of caustic Easy Off and a filthy grease-laden chrome-top Wedgewood range) but a real paycheck for after school/Saturday hours sure beat having a paper route. But the real perk was the ocean of trade-ins in the parking lot, tons of washers & dryers from the late 40's to the early 60's...all the best stuff. Western was a busy store so even after the scrap guy came and cleaned the lot out (except for the "chosen few" that made it to the resale floor) there would be more trade-ins the next day and the day after that.

I discovered a 120V receptacle hidden at the bottom of a light pole next to the washers and dryers. I'd plug a long industrial extension cord in and have a field day playing around with anything that wasn't 220. I got plenty of shocks standing on wet asphalt and grabbing a hold of a chrome timer knob. Even without water those machines were very cool. Saturday the repair shop was closed which allowed me to bring in washers for "testing." There was a long trough and places to connect 6 machines at once...there was a 220 plug there too for combos. I always kept a "dummy" appliance nearby like a refrigerator to make it look like I was working just in case a salesperson wandered into the service department but they were a pretty dumb bunch. There was a time or two when they'd question why a Bendix combo or Apex Wash-a-Matic was running but I never worried. My dad was the service manager and my parents were good friends of the store's owners.

I really had great fun with those appliances which is why I continued to work there through high school. I would rebuild some machines like Whirlpools, Maytags and Unimatics but I'd still sneak out to the parking lot with my trusty extension cord and see whatI could bring back to life like Dr. Frankenstein. It's very sad to think about all those machines being thrown on the scrap truck. There'd always be that washer that came in, it looked brand new regardless of age, the owner's book and any accessories would be sealed in a bag inside the tub...like the lady who owned it was passing it on like a family heirloom...and there it would be on that scrap truck, the porcelain top all smashed and chipped from the 2 or 3 machines that were stacked on top of it...really sad.

 

[lovestowash]

round and round, up and down...

My obsession began with my Grandmother's Unimatic...she had a red Cosco stool that I would climb up and watch her WO-65...I distinctly remember the aroma from the hot water, mixed with the Wisk in the metal can, and Clorox...

 

In the meantime, at our house, we had an RCA Victor Mahogany phonograph, the kind that played only 45's...I used to sit and watch all the records go around, from the front, sides, and back, for hours on end...and it's amazing now when I hear music from the 50's, on 9 songs out of 10, I know all the words...and I still have about 500 45's...

 

Then Grandmother got a slant-front Westy, and thus began my interest in front loaders...I still can sit and watch my current Westy through the entire cycle...so much more splashy and fun than the current wet-slap models...

 

And on the rare occasions when I go to the Laundromat, I make sure I get a machine that I can sit or stand in front of with an unobstructed view...

 

George

 

[passatdoc]

Being a guest in the homes of European friends, as a middle aged adult, and noting how much cleaner-feeling clothes washed in their FL machines came out---vs. our TL machines. After I noticed the difference, I began looking at FL models to replace my TL when and if it died. It died in 2006, could not be repaired, and I replaced it with a FL. Immediately noticed how much cleaner clothes felt, because they'd been rinsed three times. My former TL did not have an extra rinse setting, which probably would have helped clothes rinse cleaner,  but at the cost of 50% more water use (filling three times instead of two). "Estra rinse" was a setting found on some higher-end TL washers. Generally was not seen in base and lower end models. Prior to that, wasn't interested.

 

[revvinkevin]

Retromania: I'm sure DADoES will correct me if I’m wrong, but to me it looks like the dispensers inside the lid of a Maytag Neptune TL washer, and yes it fills through the lid. I was going to say the GE Dispense All fills thru the lid, but it doesn’t. It just flushes recirculation water thru the lid after it’s washing or rinsing.

= = = = = = = = = =

What got me fascinated with laundry machinery…

I don’t know that there is a single moment that I can pin point. I have just always been fascinated with anything mechanical, but for some reason I was always drawn to washing machines, just like a moth to a porch light.

As far back as I can remember, whenever my family would go visit anyone, I would always seek out the laundry room and the washing machine.

A few short stories….
(The following occurred when I was between the ages of 5 or 6 thru 9 or so.)

I remember visiting a woman’s home when and finding a Philco or Bendix combo in the laundry room (of course I had no idea what it was at the time). I can’t remember if it was already running or if the woman started it for me, but I did hear / see it humming along. I think it was drying now that I think about it.

During a visit to another home I discovered a green Hoover twin tub in their garage. I thought it was so cute that I wanted to take it home! However I was stopped by my mother after I wheeled it down the driveway in and attempted to load it in our car.

I don’t remember exactly how it was acquired, but I ended up with a (1950’s?) gas dryer sitting outside in my back yard (we didn’t have a clothes dryer until many, many, many years later). I now know it was gas because I was able to plug it into an extension cord and make it work. Anyway… I remember climbing inside it and me telling my brother to turn it on. I think I only did 2 or 3 revolutions before I told him to turn it off. Another time, OK a few times, I tried to turn it into a front load washer. I added clothes and stuck in the garden hose in an attempt to fill it with water. Of course it never held any water, but all the clothes got wet and it sounded like one of the newest FL washers (almost no water), IF you had the door open.

Also, at some point within this time, after asking to have one, then begging and begging and begging… my parents bought me a Suzy Homemaker battery powered washer for Christmas. I can’t even begin to tell you how many sets of “D” batteries I went through…. LOL I played with it and played with it and played with it until the “transmission” finally broke.

I almost forgot to add… Every time we would go to my grand parent’s house, I would go to the “back porch” to see if my grandmother was doing laundry. If so, I would always sit and watch her early 50’s Westinghouse slant front washer do it’s thing. She would ALWAYS chase me out of there… but I usually found my way back…. that is until she would get really angry and bring out the “switch” and swat me with it! I fondly remember the smell of the hot water and either Dash or ALL detergent!

Then about 2.5 – 3 years ago after my relationship ended, a free washer presented itself and that was the beginning of my…. now extensive collection!

Kevin[this post was last edited: 6/8/2011-14:32]

 

[philr]

My neighbor used to have a green/white Suzy Homemaker washer which I really liked when I was a kid! I wanted one like it (there was a store in my town that old plenty of new in box vintage toys, electronics and sports equipment and they still had these new in boxes in the late seventies/early eighties! Instead, my parents got me (from the same store) an even older, crank operated toy washer with an orange plastic tub.

The first thing I thought when I got my green/white Frigidaire GMini washer was that it looked very similar to my neighbor's Suzy Homemaker washer! Even the Agitub looked very similar (but I think her's was dark colored instead of white!).

I'm wondering if GM copied these toy washers with it's Agitub models!

 

[philr]

I just looked at pics and a video of Suzy Homemaker washers and they look even more similar to my GMini washer than what I remembered!

Kevin, that's yours?

 

[seeitrun2006]

Aspergers

My Mom's 1959 1 cycle Hotpoint washing machine and Aspergers! I have a bad case of ADHD to go along with it! I take Welbrutrin 300mg to help keep me on focus.

I could not pay attention in school, church, funerals or weddings. Anywhere I had to sit still. However when my Mom did laundry I could literally sit and watch the Hotpoint and stay still for hours. It had a claming effect on me. Strange the sight and sound of a running washing machine still has a claming effect on me some 50 years later. The washer fascination started when I was 5 years old.

 

[revvinkevin]

Suzy Homemaker washer

 

 

Phil, 

 

That's the video I shot while at Robert & Fred's wash-in, May of last year.   The washer I had was the same, but still had the clear plastic lid.   Very cool little toy... it brought back memories!

 

Kevin

 

[arbilab]

My Mom's 1959 1 cycle Hotpoint washing machine and Aspergers!
============================================================

OMG! I never thought of that. I have Asperger's and ADHD (less) too. I think Aspy gave me my knack for machinery to a good extent. And of course made machines much more fathomable than people. Both misbehave now and then but with machines there is always a good reason.

 

[lesto]

My fascination began about age 3 when I used to stand on my mom's kitchen footstool and watch her 55 Hotpoint with red agitator and those wonderful illuminated temp buttons (like Robert Unimatic's). Then I branched out to watching my aunt's 56 unimatic imperial every saturday morning and my great aunt's 59 GE filter flo with seafoam green activator cap and copper filter pan (which eventually became ours after we moved into her house after her death). I loved our neighbor's 58 Kenmore because of how all the cycles were different colors on the control dial and the "mysterious" wash n wear cycle. I wanted my mom to buy one but she would have nothing to do with a Kenmore. She said "only an idiot would design a washer that drained all the dirty water back through the clothes instead of spinning it out." She was used to her solid tub Hotpoint with it's famous overflo rinse.

 

[rinso]

I was always fascinated watching my mom doing our laundry in her Maytag wringer washer. This started in the early 1950's. Then my aunt and uncle purchased a Frigidaire Unimatic in 1952, and nothing in my world would ever be the same.

 

[bendixmark]

washer fascination

Mine began with my Mothers Slantfront westinghouse also.For as long as I can remember I have loved washing machines.I spent hours watching that machine run.My Grandmother had a 63 kenmore 800 that I loved and a neighbor had a 50s bendix combo.I have spent my entire working career repairing washers and dryers.I should also mention I too also have a serious case of Aspergers.I have long wondered if there were others like me on this site and now I know.

 

[spankomatic]

Evolution of laundry machine facination

When I was two I can remember sitting on top of the washing machine watching the agitator and the water flowing out of the filter on our Whirlpool-RCA washer. I also remember liking the knobs on the machine. In 1966 we got our GE filter flow with matching dryer. I was in heaven. I liked the lighted consol,the switches and buttons, the filter pan, of course the filter flo, the lid design. In 1975 the filter flo started getting green transmission fluid all over the clothes. The new Maytag arrived in May. I loved the sound of the Maytag. Such a nice quiet hum to it. I liked to watch the clothes wash in it and compare it to the GE filter flo. I liked the lint filters on both machines. The GE seemed to look more modern, contemporary. The Maytag looked more solid, better quality to me.  How the machines mechanically worked was just a general interest, not a facination.