What Was the first vintage washer you remember seeing or started up as a child

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A 1972 avocado Bradford washer & electric dryer set... They were probably small capacity, & I think made by Hamilton or Franklin & the washer even had a lint filter that sat on the agitator, while the dryer had a huge door-mounted lint screen (& somehow a WHITE door handle) but compared to a real Norge washer or dryer the resemblance to the design of either never came close...

They sat side by side in the house we lived in, in which they were bought when my dad worked at Grant's, while adjacent from one-another at the house I grew up in, each getting replaced by Maytags: a white one from 1978 replacing the dryer, and a 1978 white washer, then an almond 1992 washer (which I bought & had a lot of Large Cap. fancy features) before in I think 2006, a matching white Maytag top-of-the-line set finally came to be!

I remember a harvest gold Bradford dryer like ours in the vestibule of the Grant's store where mom & dad took me one night (& THAT had a white door handle, as well) and I remember him lifting me up to look through a window in the lid of a harvest gold washer, too--which I would be quite certain MIGHT have been a Frigidaire, but at GRANT'S????!!!!

-- Dave
 
first washer memories

My parents pretty basic Maytag toploader. They bought it(and matching dryer) months after getting married in 1974 so likely a '75 model. It had 3 temperature buttons on the left, three load size buttons on the right and the dial right in the middle. It also had a blank that said "automatic" between the dial and load size buttons. I know it was a blank as our neighbor had a similar Maytag but theirs had additional buttons there(I imagine speed). As a kid, I literally wore the lid switch out by opening and closing it so much. My dad just bypassed it rather than replace it so it would spin even with the lid open. How in the world did I not lose an arm!(maybe I knew even as a kid to keep my hands out of a spinning washer). That was a reliable, but noisy machine that never had a problem(aside from the worn out lid switch) and was still running in 1995 when it was replaced by a 90 Series Kenmore.
 
For me it would have to be my grandmothers 1958 WD-58 Frigidaire Pulsamatic washer...
 
Unimatic1140++8-3-2009-08-32-42.jpg

 
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The SECOND, THIRD, and So On...

My mom's first Maytag washer was also a basic model: 3 water levels, 3 temperatures...

2 cycles: Reg. & Permanent Press, of which she thought she was getting "gentler action" on the PP portion of the timer dial, which was white instead of the shiny metal on the better ones... But her machine was also really a 1-Speed; it also said "Automatic", where the "speed buttons" would really be...

The dryer, also a Maytag, was a bit higher up: it had a shiny metal knob for the timer, featuring Regular, Permanent Press and even an Air Fluff (which ran at only 15-Min., though I really believe the far-reach of the dial gave you 20!)

There were also a couple of Reg. Temp. and Low Temp. push-buttons, too...

I bought my mom an almond Maytag washer in 1992, even though there was really nothing wrong with her old one.... But this one boasted Hot/Warm, Hot/Cold Warm/Cold and Cold/Cold Wash/Rinse settings (No Warm/Warm, unfortunately)... It also had an infinite water level, bleach & fabric dispenser (the latter disp. was also on the old one) and 2 speeds...

A flood in the basement, I believe caused the fuse to blow, everytime the washer was used, however... But otherwise, a new lid switch was the only repair it ever needed (& possibly all the old one, too--along w/ the dryer needing an occasional drive belt)...

So in 2006, my mom purchased a new Maytag washer & dryer pair, this time the washer sporting a stainless steel tub! And gobs of other features, too...

-- Dave
 
Mom:Early Norege "Burpilator"Loved watching it as a child.Still trying to find one-large black bakelite agitator with the very large blades.
Stepmom-KN "pregnant Roto Swirl"
Grandmom-Pregnant KN Roto Swirl.Loved those too.finding machines that old in my area is a very tall order.and the Norge had the shiney metal lint dish.Liked seeing the lint balls form.
 
My first memory was of . . .

. . . a Maytag wringer.

Then we graduated to a Thor Automagic.

Next was a Maytag AMP which lasted something like 16 years.

Our neighbors had a Bendix bolt down and a GE dryer which was used only for towels.

Other neighbors had a Bendix Economat.

Jerry Gay
 
Our Inglis

The first vintage machines I remember was, as you've probably heard from me many times before, our early 60s Inglis Superb set. My earliest memories were my mom lifting me up so I can see it working, and I remember that tub full of sudsy water and that black agitator with the dome top going back and fourth. I remember all the clinks and clunks as the machine changed its cycles (obviously no shut-off pauses). I remember hearing that "ca-ca-ca-ca-ca" through its spin cycle, accompanied by the howling pump, which sounded to me a bit like the laundry tub pump after the tub was empty. (The laundry tub needed a pump to drain it when we were on septic tank, since it was below the sewer drain.) I also remember that hose spewing out rinse water and spun-out suds into the sump-pump, often causing that to turn on. It would also spit out a shot of water when the machine started agitating. As you may know, when a WP BD machine starts up, it would be in drain mode for a second before the wig-wag switches it into agitation. I also remember hearing that wig-wag ticking to the beat of the agitation, keeping that same beat throughout the drain and spin. And I remember the suds-return, which I thought was always the way it filled. My mom would turn on the machine, and the agitator would be oscillating in the empty tub. Then I would see the wash water come up through the bottom, then as it was rising above the agitator vanes, you'd hear a quiet "slish-slosh" becoming gradually louder and louder (with water spashing all over the place!).

And the dryer, that machine that made the random tapping noises. I remember the exhaust vent outside. I didn't know exactly what that vent was for at the time (until I was about 4 or 5), but it emitted the smell of laundry water, which gave me a bit of a clue. It was also quite loud, as I could hear it from a distance. The old impeller-type fan had the low-pitched tone that carried, unlike the high-pitched hamster-cage fans.
 
Hey guys long time follower, member as of 3/24....the first memories I had..Mom and Dad had an early 60's 1964 or 65 I belive kenmore that belonged to my grandfather, and when they moved out of boston in 1975 they took it, and him with them. In 1984 the pump siezed (my Dad let me keep the agitator,YAY!) and they replaced it with an 84' Kenmore 70 series which I have the best memories of (the woo woo sounds,the solenoid click when it entered the spin cycle..the dual action agitator with the fabric softener dispenser on top...) the post WW2 house they bought (which they still live in) had and RCA Whirlpool Dryer in the kitchen (which I don't remember) in 1978 they replaced it with a 1978 Kenmore 70 series which they put in utility room with the washer. in 1996 both machines had some issues, and I aquired a whrilpool Imperial mark 18 dryer and a whirlpool LDAw5800, the washer is still in use, but the dryer sadly had a ground in it somewhere and back in 2000(I still have the use and care manual..) it was replaced with a TOL WP dryer. sorry for the run on blah...blah..blahs
 
There were 2 vintage machines in my childhood, and both were owned by my grandmothers.  Grandma Wilde had the 1950 Speed Queen wringer that I now have which was paired with a 1968 GE dryer, and Grandma Baumann had a 1956 Speed Queen wringer.  Grandma Baumann never had a dryer, she line dried everything either in the basement, or outside.  She considered a dryer a waste of money.  My Mom had a 1967 GE FF w/ suds return, and matching dryer.  I don't remember them much, but they did laundry almost every day for 3 kids.  The washer was replaced in about 1983 with another FF w/ suds return, and the dryer a couple years later.
 
Ken

I love your picture, and so typical of NYC apartments at the time. I grew up in the Bronx, with "the machine" as my mother and nana called it next to the kitchen sink. Ma had a BOL one knob Kenmore and Nana had a beautiful GE V12 filter flo form the mid sixties, that was my favorite machine, and I loved seeing the machine drain into the BIG DOULBE SINKS we both had.
Mike
 
The first washer dryer set I remember......

Well that depends on which house you are talking about....the family home in Vienna Va or the cottage at Deep Creek Lake Md.  In Vienna the first washer and dryer I remember mom having was a 1972 Kenmore 800 washer paired with a 1963 Kenmore Model 70 Soft Heat Gas Dryer. The only way mom could cut my hair is if she sat me on top of the washer while it was running and my favorite part of the cycle to watch was the cool down portion of the Permanent Press Cycle which used low speed agitation as the machine filled up. At Deep Creek Lake Mom had a 1963 Kenmopre Model 70 Washer (the mate to the dryer in Vienna) and a circa 1971 GE 3 temp Jumbo Dryer that my mom bought new in the box during the summer of 1975 (when she was pregnant with me). My favorite thing about the Model 70 washer was the swooshing sound the Self Cleaning Lint Filter made and also the rythmic buzz buzz....buzz buzz the wig wag made during the spin cycle. The Jumbo Dryer was interesting to me because the only heat setting you could use with the Automatic Regular and Permanent Press cycles was high heat. If you wanted to use delicate heat you had to use timed dry (under the mark for 30 minutes there was the word Delicate). That dryer also had a very loud and annoying buzzer that would sound off for about 60 seconds before the end of the cycle and if we were watching tv I always remember someone jumping up to run down to the lower porch and turn it off LOL I also remember that due to it sitting on an enclosed but unheated porch the automatic cycles stopped work ing about 1981 That dryer did have a nice sound to it when it was running though it was very soothing. PAT COFFEY

P.S. here is a pic of the Jumbo Dryer we had...this is not our actual dryer this is a pic I saved off of Craigslist

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Enjoying this thread

It's interesting that our passions for these machines actually coincide, historically, with the genesis of these machines. Very few of us had Wringer Washers, but lots of us seem to have had experiences with first run automatic models of all brands. I'm thinking of Anne Bancroft's character in that movie, saying "Nature's first green is gold". Even though they were clunky, heavy and had flaws that would be addressed later, these machines were pearls (to split and wreck that metaphor). I keep telling people that my appliance interest really isn't that different from folks who are fascinated by antique cars and I think that's totally true.

 

BTW I've heard lots of you "dis" the Frigidaire Pulsamatics but, I'm sorry, that agitator and tub are too beautiful.  Old, non 1-18, GM Frigidaires are getting harder and harder to find around here. I want one. I still get kind of sick when I think that people in my family had a WO-65 AND a Unimatic '58 that they just let go to the krushers. Ugghhh!
 
Whirlpool

At our house, it was the 1963/1964 Whirlpool set. At Grandma's, it was the Maytag wringer and a big rinse tub. To this day, the sound of a belt-drive Whirlpool soothes my nerves.
 
Wringer washer

when i was a child 2 of my aunts had a kenmore wringer washer and by the mid 80 when they moved to a new appartment they bought an inglis librator washer dryer set the washer has this desing and is still in use today and in pic number 2 will post a pic of the dryer but the washer is an inglis liberator pic just to show the loook of the washer.

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