Haven't had much luck at estate sales in several years in my area - most cases basements and laundry rooms are sealed off with police tape. Interesting turn of events today. Was running late since I was going from store to store trying to find any remaining stock of Bluette, and passed some estate sale signs. Figured it couldn't hurt to swing by, but was expecting nothing. The house apparently belonged to a guy in his late 90's who just went into assisted living and while not dilapidated, needed a good cleaning. Imagine my surprise when I encountered an unpoliced laundry alcove off the tiny kitchen and spotted, yes, an early 1970's genuine Frigidaire 1-18 Gold Crown complete with instruction book and window lid. Was kind of hard to get at as there was all manner of detritus piled on top. I believe it was model W23T or W32T - couldn't see that well as of course the eyeglasses were in the car. I did manage to move some stuff and the machine seems in remarkably good cosmetic shape - a bit grungy, but nothing a good cleaning and polishing couldn't fix. No surface rust and the control panel was in fine shape as was the tub and agitator - no chips or breaks. I guess that is what happens when the laundry isn't sitting for years in our damp, moldy Northeast basements.
The folks running the sale were pleasant but apparently the washer is not for sale at this time and neither is the late model Maytag dryer it is paired with. So, I finessed the guy and he agreed to talk with the conservators to see if they would sell the washer. He will let me know next week and agreed that if they were willing to sell, he would arrange for me to try it out to check for leaks, etc...
So we will see what happens. Now for the potential challenge - I may have to start begging for help with parts if anything needs to be replaced. I am kind of banking on the fact that since the guy was in his late 90's, and the machine is from the 70's it didn't get a lot of hard use with a growing family. Oh, well, I can fantasize can't I???
Comes to the Rescue!
