Laundryette washing machine.

I am fourtunate to own this "dream machine" I saw as a boy on display in the picture window of the big Salvation Army downtown. I brought my Dad to see it, laughed and said "not for $100.00"! Never thought I would see much less own and use one someday! The manager let me in the window, plugged it in, and I just started demonstrating to my Dad. I was able to see it run, and got to push the pedal making the perforated stainless steel tub spin with the turn of a little lever, it amazed me, this wonderful machine for only $100.00!

The furnace man was in my appliance asylum basement a few years ago, couldn't help notice all the old washing contraptions especially the copper tub Easy's. He noted there was one like these, but it was missing the wringer, or didn't have one, and no spinner tub on the side in an old house he just installed a furnace at. The old lady was clearing out, after 3 generations getting ready for the home to be sold. I knew it was my dream machine the beautiful kitchen ready Laun-DRY-ette or it's "cuzn" the masculine new "Savage". Are these great names or what?

When meeting the lady, she said her mother had "taken in wash" during the hard times of the depression, the machine was used to abandon, the iron wheels are flat from sliding on the floor when spinning. It was to sit on rubber floor cups like Fridigaire copied for their early automatics. Other machines included Easy, General Electric Spinner, ABC, 2 grey ghost "Maytag's". These had been used up, and were gone, too bad! "Mother would never part with her Laun-DRY-ette,it supported her family, and it still worked, used it till she died!" What modern appliances will be in use even 5 years from now?

She also told wonderful stories of all the laundry work in the basement including a huge gas Thor mangle from a hotel, they used for sheets & table cloths. A professional laundry business going for many years, out of a residential home, with many girls to do the work, for pennies on the dollar.

Where were the child labor laws? Funny how these depression kids were not shooting each other in the public schools like the spoiled nasty bored brats of today! Go figure. Idle hands are the devils work!

The service man even located the original motor among 20 stacked in a heap, her older brother collected from all the appliances tossed out over the years in the coal room, where this washer was safely stored, covered with a fruit printed oil cloth waiting for rescue. I cleaned polished oiled the heavy motor, matched the mounting holes up, put the original leather belt on, plugged it in, away it hummed & k-chuncked. Oh the squeel of joy! The pleasure of another treasure! LOL! :)

It is really amazing to see & hear the operation with water, as the plunger sits down on the wash-load it springs the tub forward, forcing the water thru the entire wash basket. It is marvelous for washing blankets, like the Easy very gentle, never get the lint from these electric servants, like the grey ghost! It can shred jeans in 20 minutes, if you are not careful!

Like I say the other "Dream Machine" would be a Savage. Look that one up on "You Tube". Having the unique 1948 Launderall & this Laun-Dry-ette is a real treat since both are rare machines, frozen in the technology of the time.

Untill next time, a blue Monday to you all in A.W land


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Post# 667676 3/22/2013 at 15:24 (4,051 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)
Checkrate/Likes Another unusual brand. CLICK HERE TO GO TO goatfarmer's LINK on Southbend Craigslist

Post# 667678 , Reply# 1 3/22/2013 at 16:05 (4,051 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There�s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes In the early days of electric powered washing machines two formats were boxing it out. Shifting water versus shifting laundry. Under the first category we find twin tubs, wringer washers, washing tubs with mangles/wringers, etc.. anything that involved doing washing as it had been done for ages; moving the laundry from a sucession of tubs. OTOH shifting water was only possible when small but powerful enough motors could be mounted onto washing machines to allow them to extract and pump out water. This obviously was a time and labour saver for housewives and anyone else doing the wash as it reduced or elminiated contact with laundry until the process was completed. Washing and rinsing took place in the same tub and this method was the forerunner of the fully automatic washing machines we have today. Shifting laundry does have a slight advantage when soaps are used for laundry. When washing is lifted out of the soapy water scum, suds and filth are much left behind in the wash water. This versus spinning that soap water through laundry. However as detergents replaced soaps much of that advantage was reduced. Well that is what those in favour of neutral draining washing machines say and are sticking with it! LOL

Post# 667717 , Reply# 2 3/22/2013 at 20:15 (4,051 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes It is amazing to look through shelter magazines from the period between World War I and World War II and see the many small ads for small companies that made many brands of washing machines. There were some wonderful, very advanced designs for doing laundry emerging, especially in the mid to late 30s. With the conversion of heavy manufacturing from domestic appliances to the war effort, most of these small companies vanished forever for many reasons. Patent history is all that remains of most of them. There was a washer with mesh at the bottom of the tub separating the laundry from whirling impellers below that created water currents to tumble clothes safely through the water. There was even a non-automatic with an up and down pulsating agitator. What inventors did with the technology available to them at the time was amazing. I would like to think that their genius helped us win the war.

Post# 667722 , Reply# 3 3/22/2013 at 20:29 (4,051 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There�s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes *When You Get Right Down To It There Are Really Two Ways To W* Move things through water, or move the water through things. The sheer numbers of various early washing machines for domestic use mostly all worked on one or the other premise. What is interesting is that for industrial/commercial laundries be they steam or electric powered H-Axis washing machines quickly became and remain the standard. In the era before domestic laundry appliances really took hold there was money to be made from running a laundry. In many parts of the United States this lasted right up until after WWII. Then in the post war "boom" of consumerism washers and later dryers started becoming the norm. This not only sent women back into the laundry room, but resulted in a shift in the laundry business.

Post# 667724 , Reply# 4 3/22/2013 at 20:43 (4,051 days old) by mixfinder ()
Checkrate/Likes *She Was Easy* The look of the copper tub and the plunging cones it looks like some genealogy was shared with Easy.

Post# 667727 , Reply# 5 3/22/2013 at 20:55 (4,051 days old) by Whirlaway (Hampton Virginia)
Checkrate/Likes *Before 1954* I asked my grandmother what kind of machine she had before the 54 Automatic Kenmore,and she told me it had no wringer and 2 tubs,she said you stepped on a pedal and the top of the machine came up and then it spinned like an automatic.For the life of me I could never picture what she was talking about.SOOOOO! Now this must have been what she had until 54.Thanks for the posting, Bobby

Post# 668003 , Reply# 6 3/24/2013 at 03:12 (4,050 days old) by launderall (Minneapolis, MN Orig home to Listerine & pop up Toastmaster)
Checkrate/Likes *step on pedal, raise the wash basket out of the water, spin,* I am fourtunate to own this "dream machine" I saw as a boy on display in the picture window of the big Salvation Army downtown. I brought my Dad to see it, laughed and said "not for $100.00"! Never thought I would see much less own and use one someday! The manager let me in the window, plugged it in, and I just started demonstrating to my Dad. I was able to see it run, and got to push the pedal making the perforated stainless steel tub spin with the turn of a little lever, it amazed me, this wonderful machine for only $100.00! The furnace man was in my appliance asylum basement a few years ago, couldn't help notice all the old washing contraptions especially the copper tub Easy's. He noted there was one like these, but it was missing the wringer, or didn't have one, and no spinner tub on the side in an old house he just installed a furnace at. The old lady was clearing out, after 3 generations getting ready for the home to be sold. I knew it was my dream machine the beautiful kitchen ready Laun-DRY-ette or it's "cuzn" the masculine new "Savage". Are these great names or what? When meeting the lady, she said her mother had "taken in wash" during the hard times of the depression, the machine was used to abandon, the iron wheels are flat from sliding on the floor when spinning. It was to sit on rubber floor cups like Fridigaire copied for their early automatics. Other machines included Easy, General Electric Spinner, ABC, 2 grey ghost "Maytag's". These had been used up, and were gone, too bad! "Mother would never part with her Laun-DRY-ette,it supported her family, and it still worked, used it till she died!" What modern appliances will be in use even 5 years from now? She also told wonderful stories of all the laundry work in the basement including a huge gas Thor mangle from a hotel, they used for sheets & table cloths. A professional laundry business going for many years, out of a residential home, with many girls to do the work, for pennies on the dollar. Where were the child labor laws? Funny how these depression kids were not shooting each other in the public schools like the spoiled nasty bored brats of today! Go figure. Idle hands are the devils work! The service man even located the original motor among 20 stacked in a heap, her older brother collected from all the appliances tossed out over the years in the coal room, where this washer was safely stored, covered with a fruit printed oil cloth waiting for rescue. I cleaned polished oiled the heavy motor, matched the mounting holes up, put the original leather belt on, plugged it in, away it hummed & k-chuncked. Oh the squeel of joy! The pleasure of another treasure! LOL! :) It is really amazing to see & hear the operation with water, as the plunger sits down on the wash-load it springs the tub forward, forcing the water thru the entire wash basket. It is marvelous for washing blankets, like the Easy very gentle, never get the lint from these electric servants, like the grey ghost! It can shred jeans in 20 minutes, if you are not careful! Like I say the other "Dream Machine" would be a Savage. Look that one up on "You Tube". Having the unique 1948 Launderall & this Laun-Dry-ette is a real treat since both are rare machines, frozen in the technology of the time. Untill next time, a blue Monday to you all in A.W land

Post# 668005 , Reply# 7 3/24/2013 at 04:37 (4,050 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)
Checkrate/Likes That's a great story!

Post# 668014 , Reply# 8 3/24/2013 at 07:03 (4,050 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes Thank you for the great story. I am so happy that you have found at least one of your dream machines. With our wonderful treasures, the only thing blue about our laundry days might be just the color of the liquid detergent or the fabric softener.

Post# 668020 , Reply# 9 3/24/2013 at 07:28 (4,050 days old) by akronman (Akron/Cleveland Ohio)
Checkrate/Likes *a pic* for the record

Post# 668025 , Reply# 10 3/24/2013 at 07:59 (4,050 days old) by kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes It is a similar action of a Beebe washer..... The difference is that it can spin also so no need of wringer....and is very more simplified about mechanical.. Machine number: 456 www.oldewash.com/... In this website you can find alot of interesting machines of the past....

Post# 668029 , Reply# 11 3/24/2013 at 08:10 (4,050 days old) by kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes Others models including this one of Laun-dry-ette Are viewable in the same website: ID: 41 ID:466 ID:821 There is also a washing video.....