Thread Number: 49846
Kenmore Pernament Press Oddities |
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Post# 720031 , Reply# 1   12/8/2013 at 22:23 (3,788 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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Well, where to begin….
In the early to mid 1960s there was a miracle that was announced. It was was the advent of PERMANENT PRESS garments. These garments were the successor to the earlier wash-n-wear garments. These were clothes that were made of a blend of natural and synthetic fibers that were sewn together and then treated with a synthetic rosin such that they were considered "PERMANENT PRESS" The theory was that if these fabrics were washed at relatively high temperatures and then "cooled down" prior to the first spin that hey would retain relatively few wrinkles. The few wrinkles that remained would be "ironed out" in the 150 degree temperature of the dryer! |
Post# 720053 , Reply# 2   12/9/2013 at 05:29 (3,788 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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The perm press manufacturing treatment relaxed the fabric when it was warmed in a hot or warm wash to shed any wrinkles that developed while the garment was being worn. Specific reason for the cool down in the washer was so that the items weren't spun while warm, which would "press" wrinkles into them. As Kenmore71 says, the hot dryer also relaxed the fabric (followed by the required cool down in the dryer) so spin-wrinkles weren't so much a potential problem. However, for people who line-dried their clothes ... which probably was more common at that time than nowadays ... washing on the Perm Press cycle was beneficial. |
Post# 720198 , Reply# 4   12/9/2013 at 14:57 (3,788 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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Everything you wanted to know about Permanent Press! (and then some) CLICK HERE TO GO TO Kenmore71's LINK |
Post# 720199 , Reply# 5   12/9/2013 at 15:09 (3,788 days old) by retromania (Anderson, South Carolina)   |   | |
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I HATE perma-press anything. Here in the sultry South, it's like wearing a trash bag. Your clothes can't breathe! |
Post# 720205 , Reply# 6   12/9/2013 at 15:52 (3,788 days old) by barcoboy (Canada)   |   | |
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Not all machines drained using the motor's high speed during the cool down portion. I remember my mom's mid 70's Kenmore dropped down to slow speed when the cool down portion of the cycle started, started to drain, then resumed agitating and filling on slow speed. The motor would only switch back to high speed once the cool down portion of the cycle was completed and the full drain before the first spin started.
Here's another 70's machine that behaves the same way. CLICK HERE TO GO TO barcoboy's LINK |
Post# 720207 , Reply# 7   12/9/2013 at 15:56 (3,788 days old) by barcoboy (Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 720219 , Reply# 8   12/9/2013 at 17:16 (3,788 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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Post# 720223 , Reply# 9   12/9/2013 at 17:28 (3,788 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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Post# 720690 , Reply# 11   12/11/2013 at 20:55 (3,785 days old) by Coreyare (Dullsville, Washington)   |   | |
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Thanks for the history lesson folks, great information to glance over :) Im still a bit confused why the kenmores would drain the washer almost out of water then agitate on slow speed and fill up with water. Always recalled this is a kid and the noises it made, fascinating, but odd I must say. |
Post# 722221 , Reply# 14   12/20/2013 at 16:42 (3,777 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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oddly enough....is PermPress being used to its full potential...
for the most part, when usinga PermPress cycle, as mentioned, it should be a Warm/Medium/Hot wash to start...to clean and relax the fabric.....and then the gentle cool-down process, of any method, spray rinse or drain and refill, minimizing wrinkles along with a slower shorter spin..... keeping in mind, a PP load is usually only 2/3rds of a regular full load, so theres plenty of room for movement.......following these directions for PP garments, and for the most part you get great wrinkle free results... and then you see people using PermPress/Casual cycle....and COLD/COLD temps.....doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of the PP cycle?....makes you wonder why a WARM/HOT wash was not a default for this cycle? personally I always found it best to use a Normal cycle, Warm/Cold settings, toss in the dryer for a few minutes, and put on a hanger....easy as pie! |
Post# 722234 , Reply# 16   12/20/2013 at 18:59 (3,777 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)   |   | |
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"I HATE perma-press anything. Here in the sultry South, it's like wearing a trash bag. Your clothes can't breathe!"
Andy: I remember that very well. When I was in public school back in the '60s, I remember when Perma-Prest hit the stores around '64. In those days, kids were dressed by the parents who paid for the clothes; we put a few things over on them, but not many. What we ended up with was stuff like Gant button-down shirts, chinos, cords and Bass Weejuns. It was a three-season wardrobe, due to the timing of the school year; it had to do for Fall, Winter and Spring. What I remember after Perma-Prest hit was that the first few weeks of school were a freaking nightmare, due to the non-breathability of early, heavily-resined Perma-Prest clothes. The calendar said it was Fall, but the thermometer said it was still just as hot as it had been a few weeks before when we were all running around in swim trunks and shorts. And most of Atlanta's public schools were yet to be air-conditioned; that project didn't start in earnest until I was a junior in high school. It was warm wearing! Today's Perma-Prest is very different to the first iteration; all that's asked today is that stuff not wrinkle too much. Back then, pants had razor creases permanently baked into them, and shirts really looked ironed, not just unwrinkled. You could feel the slick, plasticky resin that made it possible. |
Post# 722235 , Reply# 17   12/20/2013 at 19:02 (3,777 days old) by barcoboy (Canada)   |   | |
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Question about the third version... was the pause achieved by the timer switching the motor power to a contact that was energized for only a portion of the two minute increment, or by the pressure switch cutting power to the motor once enough water had drained, but no power being sent to the cold water fill valve until the next timer increment? Or was it done by some other means?
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Post# 722246 , Reply# 18   12/20/2013 at 19:59 (3,777 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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