Thread Number: 10539
Best washer for towels/cleaning cloths
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Post# 192500   2/20/2007 at 20:01 (6,245 days old) by khodabear ()        

I want to set up a second W/D for car towels...cleaning cloths etc. Not for clothes.
I could rework a Neptune - but is that the best choice for this type of laundry? Would an older TL that uses a larger fill be better?

Thanks for your thoughts

Peter
in Denver





Post# 192505 , Reply# 1   2/20/2007 at 20:20 (6,245 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
Depending on the source of the soiling on the towels/rags, you probably want to stick with something that does use a decent amount of water and has a spin-drain, IMO. A vintage Maytag washer would be fun looking and reliable for garage use.

Post# 192534 , Reply# 2   2/20/2007 at 21:46 (6,245 days old) by mayken4now (Panama City, Florida)        

mayken4now's profile picture
Maytag.



Post# 192544 , Reply# 3   2/20/2007 at 22:09 (6,245 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        

danemodsandy's profile picture
Maytag.

Post# 192564 , Reply# 4   2/20/2007 at 23:30 (6,245 days old) by khodabear ()        

Well that was easy :~)



Post# 192582 , Reply# 5   2/21/2007 at 02:56 (6,245 days old) by spinout (Phoenix)        

A real GE Filter Flo. A lot more fun than the esteemed but boring Maytag.

Post# 192586 , Reply# 6   2/21/2007 at 04:07 (6,245 days old) by trainguy (Key West, FL)        
What Else, But A......

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Frigidaire 1-18

Post# 192594 , Reply# 7   2/21/2007 at 06:12 (6,245 days old) by christfr (st louis mo)        

christfr's profile picture
id vote for a tag in the garage they just go and go and go

Post# 192604 , Reply# 8   2/21/2007 at 06:34 (6,245 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
If you don't mind a little work, a Hoover twin tub.

Wash action is though and the spin rinses do a very good job. Final spin/extraction leaves towels and rags almost bone dry.

L.


Post# 192609 , Reply# 9   2/21/2007 at 07:15 (6,245 days old) by sillysuds (new jersey)        

Kenmore/Whirlpool.

Post# 192633 , Reply# 10   2/21/2007 at 09:26 (6,245 days old) by charbee ()        
Get an old Maytag!

The beat-up old A407 we found for twenty bucks cleans towels (and everything else) better than anything we've had in the last five years. Even the old "dog towels" we use to clean the mud off the dog's feet look brighter than they used to!

Post# 192687 , Reply# 11   2/21/2007 at 15:25 (6,244 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
Any "real" Frigidaire

panthera's profile picture
That is, a thumper. Preferably a Unimatic. Or a vintage Maytag.
A FL would do a much better job on sand, of course.
I can not for the life of me imagine why anyone would use a modern Whirlpool or Kenmore for this purpose...the vintage machines are cool, but cleaning real dirt day in day out?
Nee, that takes a serious washer, none of the sh** they all build today.
A spin dryer (mine here in Germany does 2800rpm) is a very good idea. Not only does it dry clothes well, but also removes a lot of residue. So, yeah - a good twinny would do ya proud.
Of course, how you get the oil and gunk out is also a factor of the chemicals you use. What works best on motor oil and stuff in the US?


Post# 192688 , Reply# 12   2/21/2007 at 15:48 (6,244 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Panthera:

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For getting grease out of fabrics, it's hard to beat an American hand cleaner called "Goop". Goop looks like cold cream; you rub it into your greasy hands and then wash them with soap and water. Goop dissolves the grease so that the soap can wash it away.

It can be used for fabrics by rubbing it into the stain, then allowing the fabric to sit for about ten minutes before laundering in the hottest water the fabric will accept. I have used it with great success on dinner napkins stained with lipstick worn by female guests. And, in a positive Goop triumph, I used it to get tar out of the carpeting of my Volvo 240. First I used Goop, then I scrubbed with hot water, detergent, and washing soda. I finished up with a steam-cleaning of the carpet, and you can NOT tell where the tar was at all.


Post# 192696 , Reply# 13   2/21/2007 at 16:27 (6,244 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)        
Panthera

jetcone's profile picture
Have you tried Persil yet? It gets things really clean I buy the German brand here through Amazon.

My best degreaser, I use Shout right in the oily stain with heaps of Persil.

Warm prewash then recharge the machine and clothes and hit hot wash.





Post# 192716 , Reply# 14   2/21/2007 at 18:57 (6,244 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Oil/Grease Stains? One Word

launderess's profile picture
"Fels" as in Fels Naptha Soap, preferably the vintage sort with naptha solvent.

L.


Post# 192747 , Reply# 15   2/21/2007 at 21:16 (6,244 days old) by brettsomers ()        

Laundress is a smart one. a vintage Hoover twin tub would be ideal, easy to clean, spins very well. the fels-naptha soap, for spots, is much more thrifty than fancy sprays.

ge filter-flo...IMO, uses too much water,and as result, too much detergent.

whirlpool/kenmores neutral drain will settle the grease ONTO the load.

the vintage figidaire would be a washer project, not a rag washer.

you will hot water (in the garage hookup) if the rags are greasy.


Post# 192758 , Reply# 16   2/21/2007 at 22:29 (6,244 days old) by spinout (Phoenix)        
Spin drains....

We all know that oils and other light soils will float up on the water. Now you guys that advocate spin drains must consider, that when things start spinning, you have nothing more than a centrifuge. So what happens to the lighter matter in a centrifuge? Well, it moves to the inside--the center. As do the light soils and oil, so they actually end up being drawn through the side of the clothes as they spin out. In reality, there is no advantage to a spin drain over a neutral drain in a perf tub machine.

A solid tub spin drain has a bit of an advantage in this area, as much (but not all) of the fill will quickly travel up and over the clothes during drain taking some of the lighter soils with it. Remember that a perf tubs' spin drain doesn't work like that and will spin the lighter soils to the center until it's drained. Bet you never read that in the sales literature. An overflow wash period would also be an excellent way to handle lots of oily residue.

If your garage towels are anything like mine--or most garage towels, you'll have a lot of lint coming off of them. A machine with a real lint filter is beneficial.

A good rinser will be beneficial as well.

For popular washers, I'm still with the Filter Flo or Belt drive WP or Kenmore with the waterfall or a self-cleaning filter. Both of these are also good with sand and heavy soils too. Forget the 'tag, it's a wimp.


Post# 192768 , Reply# 17   2/21/2007 at 23:20 (6,244 days old) by brettsomers ()        
let the washer battles begin!

i agree, a solid-tub machine that throws the water would do best with oil.

about spin-drain vs neutral drain... the water action of the spin drain keeps the oil broken-up and emulsified. a still-drain allows the oil to pool and come together.

too bad the center-dial Maytags dont offer an automatic second rinse.

lint comes out in the dryer.

sure other makes make more water noise and lots of splash, but Maytag knows you dont need that to get clean. mine was a Maytag family, and those classic Powerfin agitators do their job well with out cheap theatrics.!


CLICK HERE TO GO TO brettsomers's LINK


Post# 192797 , Reply# 18   2/22/2007 at 02:30 (6,244 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
saponification

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You are right about oil floating. I should think, however, that either being "caught" in the detergent/soaps molecules or having, itself, become soap through the saponification process, that it would flush up and out with the water and not lie as scum on the clothes.
At least this has been my observation when spin drying clothes that had been truly filthy dirty.
I do believe there were pictures up on our forum at one time or other showing the difference in visible residue between neutral drains, solid tubs and hole-y tubs, were there not?
Jon, I do know Persil. It is one of the most effective detergents for dirty clothes I have ever used.
Shout gives me a very bad headache.
I confess to using WD-40 (outside) liberally on bad fat and oil-based stains. Seems easier to remove its residues than fight the heavier oils. Got a lot of transmission oil on my favorite jeans last year taking a Frigidaire TL (not a real one, sh** by White) apart. Couldn't use anything but what was under the kitchen sink. The enzyme based automatic dishwasher detergent and two trips through the Frigimore FL did the trick. Would not do that with this machine too often - too much aluminum exposed (spider).
Hmm, anybody have a machine which would stand up to a strong lye solution?


Post# 192799 , Reply# 19   2/22/2007 at 02:31 (6,244 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
dryer

panthera's profile picture
As our forum's official nervous nelly, I would not be drying fabric exposed to too much oil or solvents in a clothes dryer.

Post# 193313 , Reply# 20   2/24/2007 at 17:59 (6,241 days old) by volvoguy87 (Cincinnati, OH)        
Old Maytag!

volvoguy87's profile picture
An old Maytag would be the best bet. They seem to run forever, and their swirl-away drain moves the floating crud away from the clothes unlike a neutral-drain WP/KM, but it's not a high-speed spin-drain. With a MAytag swirl-away rinse, you get the best of both worlds. Also, I finally was able to test my Maytag A208 today. It is my first vintage washer, and I am very impressed! It works perfectly, quietly, and turns the load over about 3 times per minute. It washes rings around the stupid Norgetag supplied by my landlord!

Pictures to come soon in a new thread,
Dave


Post# 193315 , Reply# 21   2/24/2007 at 18:08 (6,241 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Dave:

danemodsandy's profile picture
Spoken like a true Volvo fan! Simplicity and strength, right?

P.S.- I have an '88 245 wagon, navy outside/blue vinyl inside.


Post# 193329 , Reply# 22   2/24/2007 at 19:28 (6,241 days old) by volvoguy87 (Cincinnati, OH)        
Strong, simple, perfection.

volvoguy87's profile picture
1987 240 GL sedan. Dark green, almost blue, exterior, tan leather interior. It runs like my A208, like a fine Swiss watch. Companies like Volvo and Maytag should stop what they are doing, think for awhile, and realize that they had it rigt the first time!

If they still made 'em, I would buy a new one, but that just isn't an option, now is it?

Dave


Post# 193330 , Reply# 23   2/24/2007 at 19:33 (6,241 days old) by sudzreturn ()        
Towels and Detergent

Personally, as a twin tub owner, i start from a hot (60c) to very hot (95c or 85c on Hoovermatic twin tubs)and work my way down through to light coloureds as the water cools and use a high sudsing detergent. Ive used all the major UK brands, and the best i would say is Ariel, auto or twin tub, but its not for those with sensetive skin, its biological. For those with sensetive skin type, the best for stains would be Fairy Non Bio (which is an auto low sudsing detergent)or Fairy Snow (high sudsing). But to be honest, i dont know why people rave about Persil, its crap, water goes grey with the automatic version powder, and the twin tub Persil.... oy vey, talk about soap cake! When it comes to wash time, in a normal agitator twin tub, wash time is usually about 12 mins, with PLENTY of water for them to move around, but it only takes 4 mins in a Hoovermatic, well they are quite vigorous. Hard stain wise, like oil and the like, i soak in cold water with your bog standard vinegar, works a treat then wash as normal! Oh, anyone got a spare Hoovermatic??? I still got that horrid Thomson thing, i want wanna of `my babies' back!! Ty

Post# 193351 , Reply# 24   2/24/2007 at 23:08 (6,241 days old) by pturo (Syracuse, New York)        

Vintage Center Dial Maytags Fabricmatics have a Permanent Press Cycle that gives I believe 3 or 4 rinses. Fill, agitate, slow partial drain, fill, agitate, slow partial drain,fill, agitate, spin, spray rinse, fill, agitate, spin. I think that is three rinses plus a spray rinse. Would be excellent cycle for getting extra residue off clothes. In permanent press, the draining of the tub acts more like a neutral drain(very short slow spin) for two of the 4 rinses.(Cool down) Uses more water than regular:(fill, spin,fill, spin, spray) but if you want clean clothes or cloths.... Phil

Post# 193352 , Reply# 25   2/24/2007 at 23:10 (6,241 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)        
Minority Opinion

sudsmaster's profile picture
I wash all manner of shop towels and shop coast and shot work clothes in my Neptune 7500, and they come out great.

For the real dirty stuff, I do a warm rinse/spin with 2 oz of STPP. This gets rid of surface dirt, and also foam suppressants that are loaded up in machine coolant. Then I do a regular 34 minute boosted hot wash with stain cycle. Currently I'm using about 2 oz of STPP with about 1 oz. of grated soap. If you can't find STPP, then a good HE detergent works well also, and STPP helps with just about any detergent, especially for really grimy stuff.

An old Maytag top loader is great, but it won't rinse as well as the Neptune.

One the shop rags are laundered they should pose no fire threat in a dryer.


Post# 193374 , Reply# 26   2/25/2007 at 02:38 (6,241 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
gosh,

panthera's profile picture
The Neptune solution sounds ideal for the problem. My concern is more with the Amannananatags and the Norgetags and the Shredmores (especially with their dirt-redeposition neutral drain design) which do not remove the flammables well enough.
Too many dryer fires in the last years to be just co-incidence.
I take grief for it without end over here, but I just use lots of disposable, recycled paper towels for really dirty work. Sure, they get tossed. But what about the determents, hot water, etc. needed to really wash that stuff out?
Bet the environmental impact comes out to be about the same, if not better - we have a heat generating plant in Munich which burns our rubbish cleanly.


Post# 193377 , Reply# 27   2/25/2007 at 02:55 (6,241 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)        

sudsmaster's profile picture
Keven,

There may be an issue with laundering shop rags. If done in a business, there might be environmental regulations that affect the discharge of the dirty wash water into the sewage system, because it might contain greases/metals/etc. Or so a former employer told me, when I suggested we move from dispo paper towels to washable shop rags and get a little front loader (like the Danby) to handle them. My suggestion fell flat.

Another option is a used Frigmore front loader. These can often be had for less than $200. While they don't have internal heaters, they are relatively robust and could certainly handle shop rags/etc, especially if they have a good supply of hot water.


Post# 193390 , Reply# 28   2/25/2007 at 05:44 (6,241 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
Rich,

panthera's profile picture
You got that right - my dad wrote me not to long ago that folks in Larimer County, Colorado had all stopped developing film at home because the county was charging penalties of 10,000$ if any silver was found in the sewage.
Since Colorado water has always had high levels of silver, I find this kinda stupid, but then...well, I am a strong proponent of protecting the environment, just think the old "you get more flys with honey than vinegar" mentality applies here.
I save my paper towels, by the way, in a fire-proof container and take them to the "alt-Öl" collection center around the corner.There they take shop towels and contaminated paper, it is burned in the city's power plant.
Those old Frigemore FLs are very robust and truly good machines, especially compared to the FL sh** produced in the US nowadays.


Post# 193394 , Reply# 29   2/25/2007 at 06:13 (6,241 days old) by sillysuds (new jersey)        

I agree with spinout, get a GE filter flo or Kenmore or Whirlpool.

Post# 193406 , Reply# 30   2/25/2007 at 07:46 (6,241 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
I am curious,

panthera's profile picture
but what advantage would accrue from using either a GE filter-flo or a Kenmore or a Whirlpool as opposed to, say, a Maytag or a real Frigidaire or any twin tub or FL?

The GE-Filter-Flo (which should NEVER have been dropped) would do a much better job of, well, filtering, the just about any other machine.

Kenmore and Whirlpool TLs use neutral drains; this means the whole gunk gets dumped back on the clothes after the wash cycle. I should think they were the last good machine I would take for this task (I assume we are talking vintage here).
Their spin speeds are inadequate to the task of removing soil by extraction.
I think a unimatic through a WI-18 would do a far better job of actually cleaning, at least a unimatic would also be able to extract soil well.


Post# 193411 , Reply# 31   2/25/2007 at 08:37 (6,241 days old) by sillysuds (new jersey)        

With a kenmore or whirlpool(Belt Drive) you could see the lint being picked up off the clothes.direct drives you can not.

Post# 193421 , Reply# 32   2/25/2007 at 10:19 (6,241 days old) by rickr (.)        
Spin drain v/s neutral drain

rickr's profile picture
Unless a machine has a solid tub, there is no advantage between a neutral drain and a spin drain. In fact, the spin drain may deposit more gunk on the clothes,as it mixes the dirt and oil through the clothes as the machine does the spin drain. With the neutral drain the clothes are floating on the top, and the dirt has settled to the bottom, or into the outer tub.

The old "draining the dirt through the clothes" statement that we here over and over around this site is from the old days, when most machines had a solid tub, and the water was spun over the top of the tub. With a solid tub, that "draining through the clothes" statement made some sense. It makes no sense to use that statement today, when all brands are using a perforated wash tub.


Post# 193424 , Reply# 33   2/25/2007 at 10:52 (6,241 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
valid point

panthera's profile picture
There is some truth to that, I hadn't thought of it that way. Thanks, Rick.

Post# 193437 , Reply# 34   2/25/2007 at 12:20 (6,241 days old) by rickr (.)        

rickr's profile picture
No prob Keven.
A spin drain does not really "spin the water out" unless it is a solid tub machine.

A spin drain with a perforated basket may be more fun to watch, but other than drama, there is no advantage.





Post# 193445 , Reply# 35   2/25/2007 at 12:36 (6,241 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
I guess I am too conditioned by thinking

panthera's profile picture
on the H-Axis. In FLs, the perforations do play a role - the opening around the drum at the front is quite narrow, the rear is, for obvious reasons, solid.
I had the opportunity over the last two years to do a lot of washing at my folks house.
Pretty icky clothes, including lots of grease and other nasties.
Seems the "Frigidaire" (White crap) was good at distributing the grease throughout the fabrics whereas the Frigimore actually removed most of it.
I wonder how much mechanical action can actually accomplish compared to chemical action and time - this electrolux series washes a good 17 minutes and the TL ground and shuddered its way through 12.
Sorta.
Spin on the FL: 1200. Spin on the TL: Supposedly 400, but I think that was more optimism than reality.


Post# 193460 , Reply# 36   2/25/2007 at 13:42 (6,240 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Volvoguy87:

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:1987 240 GL sedan. Dark green, almost blue, exterior, tan leather interior. It runs like my A208, like a fine Swiss watch. Companies like Volvo and Maytag should stop what they are doing, think for awhile, and realize that they had it right the first time!"

Y'know, I can't figure out if vintage Maytags are the Volvo of washing machines, or if vintage Volvos are the Maytag of cars! ;-)

And you're right- both companies would do well to take a look back at their older products and work hard at replicating their virtues on their new models.


Post# 193470 , Reply# 37   2/25/2007 at 14:06 (6,240 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
I ran a cycle on my DD KA toploader a few days ago, to rinse out any dust/debris that may be in the basket left from the machine sitting unused in my garage for a couple months, and from my repair on the agitator dogs recently. Interesting, I watched the neutral drain, and saw a particular bit of flotsam dance around for a few moments and then get "sucked out" through a perf. It did not remain in the basket and settle to the bottom. Of course there were no clothes involved so it's reasonable to assume that some bits of detrius may be left on the clothes as the water receeds, but I doubt it's as serious as all that for the normal household laundry situation.

Post# 193473 , Reply# 38   2/25/2007 at 14:35 (6,240 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)        

sudsmaster's profile picture
I ran my '78 GE Filter-Flo for about four years before I replaced it with the Neptune. While the filter tray did snag a fair amount of lint/cat hair, a lot would come out in the dryer as well.

My '83 Whirlpool had a cascading waterfall lint filter - the pullout type with a sawtooth comb type of lint snagger. I found it was a real pain. When it caught a certain amount of lint, it would start spewing water in various directions instead of a steady stream. And cleaning the sawteeth of dried lint was a tedious and imperfect process. I think the hidden lint filters are an improvement over that.

Nowadays I just vacuum things like comforters and blankets that might have collected cat hair before laundering. And the dryer collects most of the lint/hair.



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