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Post# 59126   3/5/2005 at 17:55 (6,963 days old) by compwhiz ()        

Why did some old automatic washers not have a cold water setting?




Post# 59134 , Reply# 1   3/5/2005 at 18:22 (6,963 days old) by kenmore1978 ()        
no cold water setting

Soap and early detergents didn't dissolve well in cold water in the wash, and didn't rinse out well in the rinse. Also hard to break years of housewife habits of always using at least warm water. Detergents don't have to suds at all to clean, but the early detergents were high sudsing so housewives could be "weaned" off of judging cleaning ability by the suds level.

Just like vacuum cleaners. People always thought, the noiseier the vacuum, the more powerful it was, though that's not necessarily true.


Post# 59135 , Reply# 2   3/5/2005 at 18:24 (6,963 days old) by cehalstead (Charleston, WV)        
cold water rinse

Another reason for warm only rinses was the low cost of energy to heat the water in the 50's and 60's.

Post# 59138 , Reply# 3   3/5/2005 at 18:37 (6,963 days old) by laundramatt (Youngstown, Ohio)        

Probably the best reason was that there were no fabrics that demanded cold water for the wash cycle, at least early on.

Post# 59139 , Reply# 4   3/5/2005 at 18:39 (6,963 days old) by kenmore1978 ()        
Fabrics washing temp requirements

Cottons and woolens shrink in warm/hot water, non-colorfast clothes fade and run

Post# 59225 , Reply# 5   3/6/2005 at 10:35 (6,962 days old) by designgeek ()        

However, one could usually adjust the faucets on the water supply lines, yes? Set the machine for "warm" and just turn the hot water line down to a bit more than a trickle, so the actual water temp is more like "lukewarm."

Post# 59226 , Reply# 6   3/6/2005 at 10:49 (6,962 days old) by rickr (.)        
Old washer water temps

rickr's profile picture
Sorry,turning the hot water down on my 56 WP just shuts the water flow off altogether. The valve has thermostat in it to prevent any cold water wash.
I really don't wash anything much in cold water in any of my machines anyway.I wear bright colors most of the time,and have not noticed any fading. I think the type of detergent used is more important than the wash temp. Of course I would not wash colors in HOT water though. The machine has: HOT MED WARM settings. The rinses are all the same temp. I would consider the rinse temp. to be cool.

Rick


Post# 59229 , Reply# 7   3/6/2005 at 10:54 (6,962 days old) by peteski50 (New York)        
Old washer water temps

peteski50's profile picture
Rick,
This is one kick ass washer. It is certinally about the best looking in the whole bunch and the performance of a belt drive whirlpool is out of this world.
Peter



Post# 59233 , Reply# 8   3/6/2005 at 12:14 (6,962 days old) by rickr (.)        
Ye Olde Belt Drive

rickr's profile picture
Thanks Pete, of my collection it is my favorite.

Post# 59234 , Reply# 9   3/6/2005 at 12:43 (6,962 days old) by jetaway ()        
Form and Function

Rick....this '56 Whirlpool has to be the " 1959 Cadillac" of design in Washing Machines. There are some great designs out there.....but this one seems to bring form and function together!!! This baby "rocks!!!"

Neal


Post# 59236 , Reply# 10   3/6/2005 at 13:06 (6,962 days old) by david (CA)        
Cold washing a Heresy?

I think back in the 50's and before anyone washing clothes in cold water would have been considered a heretic of housekeeping. That's just the way it was in those days. I can still remember the hot steam with bleach and detergent (or soap maybe) escaping from the top of our Norge in the 50's. I love using cold water and warm for the towels and sheets, but seldom ever use hot. IMHO its just not necessary. But to each his own. BTW off the subject, Clorox was in brown glass bottles in those days, just like hot shot bug spray!

Post# 59237 , Reply# 11   3/6/2005 at 13:21 (6,962 days old) by alr2903 (TN)        
David glass bottles.

Cold water depends on your climate too. Trust me in the summer time here cold IS just about WARM enough. David when you mentioned the glass bottles, I dont remember bleach, but I do remember Mom buying Distilled water for her iron at the Rexall, you did return the gallon glass jug when you got a new one. I hadnt thought of that in years. Have a nice weekend.

Post# 59246 , Reply# 12   3/6/2005 at 15:59 (6,962 days old) by kenmore1978 ()        
cold water temps

"The valve has thermostat in it to prevent any cold water wash. "

Your machine is the exception rather than the rule, WP was ahead of its time in that feature, something they dropped and then brought back andn touted as a "new" idea. Most machines would still let water in if one shut off the hot water in order get just cold water


Post# 59248 , Reply# 13   3/6/2005 at 16:34 (6,962 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
A workaround may be to connect cold water to both inlet valves with a Y-adapter. That should trigger the thermostat to open the 'cold' hot water fully in an effort to warm-up the mix!

Post# 59249 , Reply# 14   3/6/2005 at 17:15 (6,962 days old) by rickr (.)        
Early WP water valve

rickr's profile picture
The water valve could be replaced. I think Robert puts the later style in his early WP machines. They can be adapted easily. Then you can have HOT/MED/COLD,instead of HOT/MED/WARM like the original design.(I don't know what the rinse temp ends up like in this case,Robert could tell us).Since I don't have a use for a cold wash on this machine,I used the original valve. I use the 65 KM for any COLD wash I might have.(a silk tablecloth I have,thats about it)The 65 KM even has a COLD wash COLD rinse setting.

Rick


Post# 59263 , Reply# 15   3/6/2005 at 19:47 (6,961 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Early Whirlpool water temp

My early TOL whirlpool, has 3 thermostats mounted on the side of the outer washbowl. One for Hot, one for Medium, and One for warm.

The inlet valve is just a standard 2 solenoid jobby.

It the logic in the Timer/Thermostats that controls how and when the valves open rather than in the inlet valve body.

In testing I've gotten around it by having 3 taps installed.

One is hot with a hose adapter, one is cold with a hose adapter, and then there is a cold tap to the hot water, so I can effectively run cold water through both hoses.



Post# 59264 , Reply# 16   3/6/2005 at 19:48 (6,961 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Another warm water rinse reason

Early detergents were made from soap which had a base usually of animals fats.

The warm water was to aid in the removal of these soaps to stop the soap scum buidling up.


Post# 59292 , Reply# 17   3/6/2005 at 22:15 (6,961 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
Sorry but Whirlpool was not "ahead of its time" by using a thermostatic water valve. Bendix first did it in 1938 and almost all vintage washers had these valves until the late 50's. You couldn't just turn the hot water off because as Rick said the valve would call for hot water and shut off the cold to try and regulate the temperature. These vintage thermostatic valves usually work really well too. The warm is a perfect 100 degrees.

Rick, you are right in my '52 Whirlpool I placed a modern valve in there for a hot, warm, or cold wash with a cold rinse.


Post# 59304 , Reply# 18   3/7/2005 at 00:00 (6,961 days old) by kenmore1978 ()        
Thermostatic water valves

I stand corrected. As usual, it amazes me how they'll bring some old idea back that used to be common and tout it as NEW, in this ATC water valves in newer machines.

Post# 59365 , Reply# 19   3/7/2005 at 18:17 (6,961 days old) by spiralactivator ()        
Cold wash

The early Blackstone automatics did offer a cold wash option. The temperature selections were Hot, Medium, and Cold. Then, as far as I can figure out, the cold wash option pretty much disappeared until the late '50s, when Maytag reintroduced it.

Post# 60932 , Reply# 20   3/22/2005 at 15:22 (6,946 days old) by agitatethis ()        

The truth of the matter is, with lots of debate going on over this, hot water didn't come along till the early 1970's. Before then, it was merely warm water.LOL.

Post# 60974 , Reply# 21   3/22/2005 at 18:13 (6,946 days old) by cehalstead (Charleston, WV)        
hot water

I hope you are joking about the hot water. I definitely remember billowing clouds of steam coming out of the handle in the '54 Unimatic when it was set to hot...only other choice was warm..


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