Whatever happened to washing machine lint filters?

[daveamkrayoguy]

I remember being so fascinated w/ my mom's putting a nylon pantyhose stocking on the end of her washing machine hose, that I think i'd begun asking EVERYONE, if they (or more often their MOTHER) did this?

(People sure though it was funny & enough to imagine it was ME wanting to wear nylon pantyhose!)

Of course, there was really no need to, since all her washer's except her newest & latest HAD manual-clean lint filters as did the majority...

Me, I wonder why in all those streams of water I've watched (as in "Watchin' The River Flow") I wonder why I never see the lint in the stream, yet it collects around my laundry tub drain, as I've seen ready to clog drains of other laundry tubs...

I've been dually neglectful enough of my lint-cleaning around-the-drain task, that my tub has even over-flooded, overflowed...!

But I am thinking w/ some super high-powered drain cleaner (and we've recently gotten our drain/sewer-line cleaned--SNAKED, at that) that I have changed THIS:

--To THIS:

-- Dave

 

[thomasortega]

I bet your laundry sink would LOVE a sponge, some elbow grease, maybe a steam cleaner... LOL

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Unfortunately we are overdue for a new tub--we can't even use the faucets on it, as the valves are fairly hard to turn, but at least it doesn't leak...

Here, however, is the water doubling up & doubly overflowing all over the laundry room floor, as there was some tell-tale dampness when ever I had done large loads (my bedding is what is "in transit" in the laundry room right now, so high water-level usage, indeed!)...

-- Dave

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

(Sorry, I forgot to add PICS!)

Unfortunately we are overdue for a new tub--we can't even use the faucets on it, as the valves are fairly hard to turn, but at least it doesn't leak...

Here, however, is the water doubling up & doubly overflowing all over the laundry room floor, as there was some tell-tale dampness when ever I had done large loads (my bedding is what is "in transit" in the laundry room right now, so high water-level usage, indeed!)...

-- Dave

 

[yogitunes]

an interesting thought came up....pertaining to lint filters, especially those in laundromats.....

Maytags didn't install them for coin-op use....

Whirlpool/Kenmores...belt drive and DD had self cleaning ones....

Frigidaire and Speed Queen had overflow filter/rinsing....not sure but I think Norge's were the same...people loved the constant overflow during rinse...

GE filterflo's....either the filterflo was capped off, or they actually included the filter pans, some missing, some used as Frisbees, some didn't put them in place...

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Well, the drain looked pretty ugly--in fact as though the lint left NO HOLES!

What do you use to break up all that gunk?!

Well, after trying with my fingers, a wire clothes hanger came in handy...

-- Dave

 

[johnrk]

My New Speed Queen

As I PM'd 'brucelucenta' just yesterday, this new top load SQ has re-introduced me to lint. My series of 3 Filter-Flo machines were quite good at catching pet hair and various lint balls in that pan on the agitator. Then, nearly 20 years of front loaders spoiled me to having to worry about lint etc. at all. The glass door on both of those machines tended to accumulate pet hair and lint on the underside; I'd just wipe the wet stuff off and good as new. No real lint on clothing.

Immediately after I bought this new SQ I realized it was new territory for me. My dark clothing, which I'd just been tossing in with everything else, was covered in lint--not pet hair, but just light-colored lint. And no, the dryer doesn't take it off. I had to lint-roller several items, then re-wash them and most of it came off.

This has proven to be a royal pain in the butt, and an irritant. Obviously it's something I'll have to live with, with this machine. Not happy about it.

 

[yogitunes]

force of habit with Flers is to wash everything together without a flinch....

whites,

lights, darks, colors.....towels, jeans, mentionables, sheets, shirts...just about foolproof washing....

but when I feel like changing to a vintage TLer, sometimes I forget to separate, and come across a few issues...

YMMV

 

[norgeway]

Lint filters

Went the way of all good features that worked, others include fluorescent lights, outlets on stoves, built in griddles center simmer burners...Instead we get cheap flimsy appliances that are supposed to be "Energy Efficient" but they take two or three times as much time to do what a old washer or dishwasher would do better....I will stick to my old stuff thank you!My rimflo Hotpoint leaves NO lint on anything!

 

[tolivac]

I am with Norgeway--OLDER MACINES RULE!!!!!!Wish I had the space would stock up on older ones,too.The new RR for washers,dishwashers are RIDICULOUS--------TIME TO REPEAL them!!!!Wish Trump and friends would do just that!

 

[Chetlaham]

Sadly if trump repeals, In 8 years will might get someone who will reinstill them

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

As they say:

"Do your own dirty work!"

So rather than let the drain get plugged-up & wreck my plumbing evermore, here's a lint trap that I've installed on my drain hose--from a packet of 3, just about 70-cents more than a packet of 2...

(Notice also, the drain cleaner, drain auger & even a wire clothes hanger provided a clean sink, too--least that area around the drain got lint-free, the water draining out completely as well!)

I worked in a laundry, so cleaning these screens, twice the size of a dryer lint screen & three times as heavy (& the dryers there had lint traps that you swept out with a small broom) was about as important as preventing the laundry from flooding (as it did numerous times--as there was one power surge from one of the washers threatening to cut the power to that area of the building, w/ the washer's "done" alarm on, and everything)...

So rather than endure more of that water flooding across the floor going to the "emergency drain" and carrying very visible lint with it on its way to clogging it up again, I splurged on self-cleaning lint filter-lint filters:

-- Dave

 

[yogitunes]

your off to a good start Dave....but I still wouldn't go within 10 feet of that sink....think I would have to scrub it, or toss it in place for a new one....

I use a mesh basket I got from FiveBelow, mainly because I have several machines to filter....plus I can take this outside and backflush it with the hose...

I would also be concerned of your hose popping out of that sink....I hope you have secured from underneath at least.....yeah, you don't need a flood...

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Not to worry about that dirty, scummy tub, Yog!

What an ingenious idea Yogi--a bike basket-shaped filter for your multiple machines...

I could have just made do with a stand-pipe as that tub doesn't do anything more than just be a not-quite-a-bathtub but larger than your average sink that we do not use for any kind of washing in, (the valves for the faucets are increasingly hard to turn enough that if I were to get either/both to go on, it may be impossible to stop the flow shutting it/them off) but it doesn't leak!

So in short, I don't ever use it...

As for "a" stand-pipe, some friends of mine long ago with their radio dial Sears Kenmore had a self-cleaning filter (it boasted on the back-guard was how I got introduced to that features, and instantly knew it was to help eliminate lint) so I got to glimpse at the pipe with the u-notch at the bottom of it sticking out of the wall behind the washer, with the draining hose going right into it, in addition to the filling hoses, power supply for it & the gas dryer next to it, w/ the gas supply line likely to be down at the floor level behind the latter, while rising from it was the exhaust pipe for it going to a side wall, sticking out of the side of the house by the side door, that served the kitchen/utility area/laundry room...

Surely I would wonder and worry about that getting backed-up, and while combustable lint is flammable & hazardous for your dryer, washing machine lint & exiting water is just as much as a hazard (promoting water damage & flooding) as well...

-- Dave

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

OK, so is it time to change mine? It did it's job, building up with all this lint after one week, but I DID replace it, so my newer one on there is thankfully filling (because of my current loads possibly producing probably less lint?) up much slower, and less telltale dampness on the floor in the surrounding area (well, NOINE, now) as the outgoing water gropes for holes in there to escape to:

-- Dave

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

@yogitunes:

Pawed around at least one of the Five-Below stores near me, and could not find a basket anywhere near what you use...

So, I'm left with dreading another load of bedding, probably going from my "Almost-All Seasons' Tan", to my "Winter's Gray", and having to rely on more money spent on store-bought filter-flter do the job (even with a gift card given to me for most-proceeds going to a recent charitable cause)....

--- Dave

 

[justjunque]

Hey, Dave

That's exactly the same set-up that we have.
Washer drains into a "set tub", as we've always called it.
And we buy those "Lint Snares" for the end of the drain hose.
They make them in metal mesh or a plastic or nylon mesh.
We buy the plastic ones when we can find them, but we've used both.
I miss the old waterfall lint filter that Mom's old Whirlpool used to have, but these keep the lint out of the drain anyway.

Barry

 

[yogitunes]

Dave-

try a few of these styles/ideas....

from Walmart

Robot or human?

 

[yogitunes]

Robot or human?

 

[yogitunes]

Target also has a number of different styles that may work for you....

I also used a brick paver under mine to keep it elevated, another idea was to use wire coat hanger to create hooks to hang the basket on the side of the laundry tub...

https://www.target.com/p/square-wire-decorative-bin-8-x11-navy-pillowfort-153/-/A-51780573