Thread Number: 5228
A unique wringer machine
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Post# 112908   3/2/2006 at 13:54 (6,601 days old) by knitwits1975 ()        

Up for sale in Ohio. I hope someone here will grab it.

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Post# 112910 , Reply# 1   3/2/2006 at 14:18 (6,601 days old) by jaxsunst ()        

How does that work? Wash in one tub, pass through the ringer, and rinse in the other?

Post# 112913 , Reply# 2   3/2/2006 at 14:29 (6,601 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
That's exactly how it works. I'm sure people who had one of these babies felt they had the Cadillac of washers! Most people I knew who had a wringer washer would send the clothes into a laundry tub filled with rinse water, swish them around by hand, then run them through the wringer again.

My parents had a Kenmore wringer (probably a '56 or '57) for a couple of years before I was born. They purchased a 1960 Kenmore model 80 when I was a year old. They kept the wringer until about 1965. My mom would use it when the automatic broke down.

If I recall correctly, the wringer's manual suggested this routine for each load
1. Fill for wash.
2. Wring clothes.
3. Drain wash water.
4. Refill with rinse water.
5. Wring clothes.
6. Drain rinse water.
7. Repeat process for next load.

I honestly don't recall anyone doing that. Most people with wringer washers used the wash water for a couple of loads before changing it.

I'd love for anyone old enough to remember wringer washers to share their memories of their mom's (or grandma's) washing process.


Post# 112915 , Reply# 3   3/2/2006 at 14:58 (6,601 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI )        

polkanut's profile picture
Both of my grandmother's did it the usual way. Two rinse tubs on a bench. The 1st one with bluing in it, and the 2nd one with good ole' fashioned original Downy, or Final Touch. Both had Speed Queens. The reason being that SQ's were made in Ripon, WI, and you had to support your state's economy whenever possible.

Post# 112916 , Reply# 4   3/2/2006 at 14:58 (6,601 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA)        

peterh770's profile picture
Water changes (drain/refill) have been elimintated for brevity. Swishing clothes either by hand or with an implement is assumed when clothes are wrung into rinse water. Replenishing lost water and adding additional detergent/soap is assumed after wringing clothes from washing in the wringer to the first rinse.

Here we go!

Set the wringer in front of the left-hand side of a double sink.

Wash load 1 for 10 minutes in the wringer.

Wring load 1 into the rinse water filled left sink (sink 1). Swish!

Start washing load 2 in wringer.

Swing wringer head 90 degrees so it is between sink 1 and sink 2.

Wring load 1 in sink 1 into sink 2. Swish!

Swing wringer head back between wringer and sink 1.

Wring load 2 from wringer into sink 1. Swish!

Start load 3 in wringer.

Swing wringer head 180 degrees so that it is between sink 2 and a laundry basket on the floor in front of sink 2.

Wring load 1 from sink 2 into laundry basket.

Swing wringer head back between sink 1 and sink 2.

Wring load 2 from sink 1 into sink 2. Swish!

Swing wringer head back between wringer and sink 1.

Wring load 3 from wringer to sink 1. Swish!

Swing wringer head back between sink 2 and laundry basket.

Wring load 2 from sink 2 to laundry basket.

Swing wringer head back between sink 1 and sink 2.

Wring load 3 from sink 1 to sink 2. Swish!

Swing wringer head back between sink 2 and laundry basket.

Wring load 3 from sink 2 to laundry basket.

Whew!

Drain both sinks.

Drain wringer and rinse machine out.

Remove agitator to assist drying the machine out.

Wipe down machine to prevent rust.

Clean out sinks.

Mop floor from splahes and spills.

Moan as you pick up the laundry basket.

Haul it outside and line dry.


Post# 112918 , Reply# 5   3/2/2006 at 15:09 (6,601 days old) by cehalstead (Charleston, WV)        
wringer cycle

see thread #5187 in the Super Forum....

Post# 112919 , Reply# 6   3/2/2006 at 15:13 (6,601 days old) by jeb (Mansfield Ohiio)        
I remember

I remember! Fill with hotest water. Wash whites, wring into first tub. Put in next light colored load. While it washes wring first load into second tub with softner then wring into basket to take out to the line. Repeat adding alittle soap with each load until water was too dirty (may wash rugs here). Drain and fill with water from first rinse tub replace with fresh rinse water (softner water was used all day). If laundry was dried indoors run throught wringer twice last time to remove more water.

Post# 112926 , Reply# 7   3/2/2006 at 16:06 (6,601 days old) by maytagluver ()        
Sweet Memories ! ! !

My neighbor lady had that same Dexter!!
Never thought I'd see another one!! We also used a Dexter at that time, however, moms was single tub. Same aqua trim.
Mom's wringer had chrome trays on either side of the wringer, as opposed to the white.

What was said about large familes is true, there were six (6) kids in the neighbors family, Betty used that Dexter hard, replaced w/ Westinghouse f/l



Fond memories..indeed!!!

Al :>


Post# 112930 , Reply# 8   3/2/2006 at 16:47 (6,601 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
Only three loads of washing, Peter? Must be for just one person for a whole week! I've read stories about large families that had two wash days because there was so much washing - bedding, linens and towels were done another day of the week.

People used (and owned) fewer clothes 'back in the day' but the work must have been daunting.


Post# 112935 , Reply# 9   3/2/2006 at 17:34 (6,601 days old) by bingwsguy (Binghamton NY)        

That is a great looking machine!

Post# 113002 , Reply# 10   3/2/2006 at 23:24 (6,601 days old) by jetaction (Minneapolis)        
Peter,,,

jetaction's profile picture
Never knew you to swish so much...

Post# 113007 , Reply# 11   3/2/2006 at 23:53 (6,601 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)        

toggleswitch's profile picture
and all that swinging and wringing..oy vey!

Post# 113028 , Reply# 12   3/3/2006 at 02:30 (6,601 days old) by designgeek ()        


It sounds complicated but would have become "muscle memory" quickly enough and gotten easier to keep track of.

Given the rinse cycles by hand in sink tubs, I wonder how thorough that would have been.

Did any of these machines have overflow drain lines, so rinses of multiple loads could have been done in overflow mode?


Post# 113058 , Reply# 13   3/3/2006 at 05:49 (6,600 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI )        

polkanut's profile picture
In those days there was no such thing as an overflow rinse. The only time you had an overflow rinse was when there was too much water in the tub or sink and it overflowed onto the floor.

Post# 113062 , Reply# 14   3/3/2006 at 07:10 (6,600 days old) by westyslantfront ()        

i saw a dexter twin tub set in pink here in tucson at "rosano's appliances"....it was way in the back of the store....even had new rollers on the wringer....they wanted $700.00 for it but i was not interested as it takes up too much space...

Post# 113064 , Reply# 15   3/3/2006 at 07:12 (6,600 days old) by westyslantfront ()        

i saw a pink dexter twin tub wringer here in tucson at a place called "rosano's appliance"....they wanted $700.00 for it.....looked in great shape even with new rollers on the wringer....but i did not have the space for such a large machine...

Post# 113090 , Reply# 16   3/3/2006 at 08:53 (6,600 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA)        

peterh770's profile picture
Greg: Did you really want to see a post where I go through more? Let's see how many time you can hit 'Page Down'! ;)

Don: Leave my hips out of this!

But that is a fantastic wringer. I wonder how much they went for, compared to a regular, single tub wringer?


Post# 113118 , Reply# 17   3/3/2006 at 11:29 (6,600 days old) by agiflow ()        

Were Philco and Dexter related brands?

Post# 113147 , Reply# 18   3/3/2006 at 14:44 (6,600 days old) by repair-man (Pittsburgh PA)        

This machine was pretty common here in PA. I remember people refering to them as "Double- Dexters"

Ed


Post# 113276 , Reply# 19   3/4/2006 at 07:33 (6,599 days old) by laundramatt (Youngstown, Ohio)        

The second tub was not at all used for rinsing. Each wash load would get two washings. According to the user's manual, you would fill the first tub with warm suds, and the second tub with hot suds. My mother always did it the opposite way, she would wash the clothes first in a hot tub, and second in the warm suds. All rinsing was done using stationary laundry tubs. so in effect, each wash load got 2 washings of about 10 to 15 minutes each. (Longer, if my Aunt Marge decided to call my mom while she was doing the laundry!). My mom would come back downstairs all mad saying, "She knows I wash clothes on Monday, why does she always have to call me on Monday?!" I would laugh to myself, because all the while my mom was upstairs, I was downstairs playing with the washer.

Post# 113304 , Reply# 20   3/4/2006 at 11:58 (6,599 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )        

petek's profile picture
That's the Dexter Double Discomboobulator model isn't it?

Post# 113605 , Reply# 21   3/6/2006 at 00:50 (6,598 days old) by knitwits1975 ()        

5 Bids but no one got it because the reserve did not get met.

Post# 113649 , Reply# 22   3/6/2006 at 08:48 (6,597 days old) by designgeek ()        

Interesting points, Laundramatt; warm then hot = a kind of early profile wash. And yet if one wanted to, one could rinse in the second tub instead of the sink.

I was thinking the standard routine with (single-tub) wringers was:

1) Agitated wash, then empty the tub while wringing out, and put the load(s) on a countertop.
2) Refill tub with clean water.
3) Agitated rinse, then wring out.
4) Repeat (2) and (3) again if needed. Hang clothes on line.
5) If multiple loads, one could save the final rinse water and add detergent for re-use as wash water for the next load.

So the Dexter Difference would be, you could put the load(s) directly through the wringer and into the 2nd tub for rinse, and then if an additional rinse was needed, empty & refill the first tub. The main time savings would be in not having to delay one operation while emptying & refilling a tub, which saves a decent amount of time at each cycle. Or you could do multiple loads by saving the rinse water from the first load and using it as wash water for the next, reversing the direction of throughput from left-to-right, to right-to-left.

Question is, were the agitators in both tubs identical in dimensions, speed, and arc?

All this about rinsing in the sink is intriguing because it seems that would take enough effort (stirring it all around with a broom-handle or whatnot) that people would start figuring out ways to mechanize the process by doing it in the wash tub.



Post# 113707 , Reply# 23   3/6/2006 at 16:53 (6,597 days old) by laundramatt (Youngstown, Ohio)        

Both agitators and tubs were identical. The point was to make an assembly line out of your wash. After clothes were put from the first wash tub through the wringer and into the second wash tub, the first tub was filled with the second wash load. Both loads washed. It was cool to hear both agitators running. At times they would be in complete unison, but most of the time they were not. I can still hear them both agitating. Also, my mother used to put the clothes through the wringer into the second wash tub while it was agitating.It was neat watching the clothes come out of the wringer and drop into the suds of the second washer, to be slowly pulled back and forth until they were submerged in the suds. This is something that was unique to Dexter washers.
Rinsing didn't take any work at all in the stationary tubs. It was basically a couple of rinse soak cycles, there was little or no agitation by hand. One stationary tub had bluing added to it. I can't really remember what my mother used in the other rinse tub, if anything. But most clothes were put in both stationary tubs.
I never saw anyone use a stick to remove clothes from a washer because of hot water. Maybe this was done when and where water was heated, but we used the hot water right out of the spigot, which was pretty hot. I think my mom got good at grabbing at the clothes pretty fast out of the hot side. I know I couldn't keep my hand in that water for any length of time, so I usually played with the other wash tub.
I think that Dexter eventually became Quick Twin wringer washers. They were identical, so maybe someone bought them out.


Post# 113856 , Reply# 24   3/7/2006 at 09:54 (6,596 days old) by designgeek ()        

Laundramatt, thanks for the details. Interesting about the passive soak rinses.

Some years ago when I was experimenting with hand-powered washing methods, I found that a "passive overflow rinse" could be done by putting a load in a tilted container in the bathtub, and letting water trickle in at one end and overflow from the other end. The point was to take advantage of the natural tendency toward diffusion, i.e. the detergent would naturally diffuse into the water which would then exit at the other end. It seemed to work well at the time, though it did take a while to get all the suds out. Makes one thankful for motors:-)


Post# 113923 , Reply# 25   3/7/2006 at 17:49 (6,596 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
nice week for me, dexters and easies

mickeyd's profile picture
If I break a promise, then I'll have to eat a machine, but I own a pink dexter. I left it some years back, at the Fleckenschteen. Two summers ago, it was still nestled snuggly in the back of the garage.

Someone can have it--gratis!!!

Why--------

Because I hated it-- somewhat overstated. The washing was poor, consumer reports said so. I didn't really notice because my clothes don't get too dirty, normally. Not at all surprized that the manual instructs double washing. Gotta get the muddy bike clothes clean somehow. The pump actually sucked, took forever to drain, the valves would slide shut when you wanted to drain. Mine is different from the one in the pix which looks like drain valves might be better.

Love wringer washers; this one is beautiful, but I don't like using it.

This summer I'm hoping to go touring, and if someone is touring too, stop by and I'll give it to you. The pink is really cool, and it looks great in the house.


Post# 114070 , Reply# 26   3/8/2006 at 10:05 (6,595 days old) by designgeek ()        

Pink, eh? Re. bad reviews, this is why I was amused at folks who were making boo-hiss noises about Toggleswitch's new GE he's leaving in the house when he moves. Today's bad reviews --> tomorrow's classic period piece. And to be fair, it's entirely possible that your Dexter was malfunctioning, after all some folks in this thread said their families had 'em and they worked fine.

Post# 114101 , Reply# 27   3/8/2006 at 15:01 (6,595 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Toggle's all over the threads

mickeyd's profile picture
But the coolest thing about the Dexter is how dexterous it is: there are no rules:

You can wash in one tub, rinse in the other; wash in both; rinse in both; use only one tub; make chili sauce in one, soak you feet in the other------ OR------- GO DANCING------- Lalalalalalalalalal.

But don't hold your breath waiting for the slow coach drain to finish.


Post# 114243 , Reply# 28   3/9/2006 at 13:59 (6,594 days old) by abcomatic (Bradford, Illinois)        

Hi,I called the man last week about the "Twin Dex" that was for sale on E-bay. The begining bid was set for $500.00. I have a Twin Dex from the late 40's. When I use it, I wash in one and rinse in the other. I think it does a great job.
I also called the Dexter Co. in Fairfield, Iowa. They make commercial washers now and no longer make home laundry equipment. They don't have any parts for former machines.
Get out the "Fels and Little Boy bluing" and have a great day doing laundry. ABC-O-Matic


Post# 114251 , Reply# 29   3/9/2006 at 14:51 (6,594 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
abc

mickeyd's profile picture
Hi, how's the draining on your Dex--honest. How long, how forceful--how good is the pump and the valves. Thanks, Man

mikey

Again: someone can have my Dex for free.


Post# 114259 , Reply# 30   3/9/2006 at 15:57 (6,594 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)        

swestoyz's profile picture
ABC (Gary),

I'm not surprised about your findings with Dexter. I used to live in Fairfield, and the company is very much into commercial washers. I find it hard to believe that something as neat as the double unit above even came from Fairfield! I have walked past the old factories and have seen the 'Parts dept' through windows looking into the basement. Lots of old stuff down there...

Ben



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