Thread Number: 57435  /  Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
Favourite washing machine memories.
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Post# 797945   12/7/2014 at 19:16 (3,399 days old) by CandyD10_14X (London, United Kingdom)        

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Hi everyone!

I thought it would be a great idea to have a thread where everyone can post pictures or memories they have all had with washing machines throughout their life, from their childhood etc.
I have some pretty funny ones, but I'll allow you all to post whatever you may please.

Washing machines have always been a fascination for me, especially as a child being around classic Hotpoint 95 Series, from seeing my old Electra/Servis Gem washer being drained of water and funnily enough replaced by a WM51 First Edition 800 on the same day.

So, feel free to post any of your memories, I would love to hear the memories you have all cherished of your favourite washing machines.

All the best,
Brandon.





Post# 798251 , Reply# 1   12/9/2014 at 07:16 (3,398 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)        

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When I was a kid, my parents would hold me sitting on their dryer to watch their 1974 Inglis Supreme washer while it was agitating. My aunt would let me watch her solid tub Speed Queen in the same way and another aunt showed me her TOL Simplicity from the late-1970s. I also loved to watch the illuminated tub and consoles of the Inglis Royal washers of two other of my aunts! 

Later, I remember being amazed by the lint balls that the GE Filter Flo washers made at friend's places! No one in the family had a GE washer, I was 7 years old when I first saw one!

 

There was no one around with a Frigidaire washer to show me so the first one I saw in person was one I bought not that long ago! The first Frigidaire washer I saw "in action" was the one featured in the movie Freaky Friday (the one shown in my avatar!). I couldn't understand how the lid would pop up as a result of being overloaded!

 

 

 In North America, there weren't many front loaders when I grew up (none that I knew of) and watching action in a top-loader meant having some adult to assist you getting there to see what happened! 


Post# 798315 , Reply# 2   12/9/2014 at 19:16 (3,397 days old) by bendixmark (Winchester Mass)        
Memories

Watching my Mothers 1951 westinghouse frontloader run when I was four.

Post# 798316 , Reply# 3   12/9/2014 at 19:18 (3,397 days old) by CandyD10_14X (London, United Kingdom)        
Top Loaders

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Hi Phil!

That sounds like you had some good memories there, being a UK resident, I've not really seen many top loaders in action, apart from 1 or 2 Fisher & Paykel machines and those 'Maytag Commercial Washers' which, correct me if I am wrong are modified Maytag A806S style machines?

But one memory I can share is asking every person in my block of houses to see their washing machines, at one point I somehow knew every machine someone had, alas all have been replaced now, and very sadly a few of the neighbour's have passed away due to that dreadful, stomach-churning killer we all know as 'Cancer'. But anyway, I look forward to everyone else's memories/stories.

Brandon.


Post# 798328 , Reply# 4   12/9/2014 at 21:13 (3,397 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        
Set the Wayback Machine to Hudson, Quebec, 1964...

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Although I swear that I remember seeing my mother do laundry in her 1955 Whirlpool wringer washer far more often than in the brand-new GE V12 automatic washer (with matched dryer no less), that GE was the washer I remember best.  The house had troublesome wiring, the plumbing wasn't great, and the appliances were installed on a service porch where the water lines froze in winter.  Well, those were the details my father filled in for me... LOL 

 

We eventually moved to a suburb closer to Montreal and that GE V12 washer was the one I remember watching whenever I could.  I think having the matched washer/dryer set is what got me into my collecting habit of trying to have matched washers and dryers whenever possible.  

 

I loved the sound and motion that the classic GE ramped activator set up and it became the standard by which I judged other machines (yes I snuck a peek or two at neighbour's machines...).  I also remember the day in August of 1973 when the GE was declared 'not worth repairing' and how the replacement washer, although a GE-made product, just didn't seem the same. 

 

Needless to say, when I acquired a 1963 GE V12 in 2012, I felt like I was 'home' again!


Post# 798372 , Reply# 5   12/10/2014 at 03:28 (3,397 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

I remember when my parents bought their 1962 Frigidaire Custom Imperial washer/dryer set. It really had the new washer smell to it. While it was running, I'd set my chin on the top of the cabinet with the lid up watching the center post move the water. These machines made a very unique sound. I loved the visual design the washer had with the clamshell control panel. They also had the matching dryer, gas version.

When I came home from college in 1971, I noticed the Frigidaire was replaced by a GE FilterFlo set. I was impressed by what would end up in the filter tray, but it was boring compared to the Frigidaire set. I asked why they replaced the Frigidaire. My father just said "It broke". I asked him how it broke and he just told me to take it at face value that it's broke and leave it at that. Even back then I was interested in why things worked and why things broke. But he wasn't like that at all. For him, things either worked or not, and if they didn't work they got replaced by something that did. They bought the GE at the same place they bought the Frigidaires from, I never found out why they didn't buy a new Frigidaire.


Post# 798382 , Reply# 6   12/10/2014 at 07:14 (3,397 days old) by pierreandreply4 (St-Bruno de montarville (province of quebec) canada)        

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me the washer dryer set i remeber was the one from my childhood it was this set

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Post# 798386 , Reply# 7   12/10/2014 at 07:59 (3,397 days old) by turnamat (Germany)        

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.....1968 me,3 years old with our Constructa that boiled my nappies with 100 degrees Celsius.

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Post# 798425 , Reply# 8   12/10/2014 at 12:59 (3,396 days old) by CandyD10_14X (London, United Kingdom)        
constructa

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Turnamat, is that Constructa the machine that you can move around on wheels or am I confusing it for the Bauknecht?


Post# 798427 , Reply# 9   12/10/2014 at 13:12 (3,396 days old) by turnamat (Germany)        

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Hi!This Constructa couldn´t be moved at all.No wheels and nearly 180 kg!But there have been similar smaller models(3 kg load)without spin that have been on wheels!

Post# 798431 , Reply# 10   12/10/2014 at 13:23 (3,396 days old) by CandyD10_14X (London, United Kingdom)        

candyd10_14x's profile picture
Sounds like you all have shared some brilliant memories in your childhood. Pierre, that washer and dryer set is pretty classic looking. I don't usually see top loaders, being in the UK, but I would like to see something like those.


Seeing as we're all sharing memories, I think it's about time I shared my favourite (possibly quite embarrassing)
washing machine memory as a child.

I use to own a Hotpoint WMA64 Ultima Extra, now these WMA Series have a feature called 'Time Delay', which allows you to set the machine to come on at a later time, but with the programme already selected.
So once I knew my WMA64 had this feature, Dad put his work shirts in....and this is what happened:


Post# 798432 , Reply# 11   12/10/2014 at 13:31 (3,396 days old) by Michael (London /England)        

I clearly remember mums Thor washing machine with the glass lid and pedals to suds saver. can remember when it went to spin and the hose would jump out the sink and flood the kitchen!! Then in 1976, we got the Hoover Keymatic deluxe...soo advanced for its time...think that's when my fascination for washing machines started, pushing a keyplate in and the machine doing everything else!

Post# 798436 , Reply# 12   12/10/2014 at 13:57 (3,396 days old) by CandyD10_14X (London, United Kingdom)        
Keymatic

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Hi Michael, wow, that Thor sounds like quite a diva of a machine haha, was it the 'Automagic' one that could double up as a Dishwasher as well (Semi-Automatic)?

Which model Keymatic did you own? Was it one of the widebody's or one of the later Matchbox series ones?

Cheers,

Brandon.

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Chestermikeuk and Matchboxpaul :)
(models 3203, A3008 and A3062).


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Post# 798437 , Reply# 13   12/10/2014 at 14:11 (3,396 days old) by Michael (London /England)        

Hi Brandon.It was the A3008 matchbox one...exactly as no 2 photo. No, the thor was just a washer, but it did have the suds saver, I remember. That photo of the keymatic is exactly as I remember it... know all 16 programmes off by heart!

Post# 798468 , Reply# 14   12/10/2014 at 18:10 (3,396 days old) by CandyD10_14X (London, United Kingdom)        
keymatic

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Hi Michael, wow that is impressive to hear, I bet you enjoyed those clunks and clicks the keyplate reader made when you started it!

As far as I am aware, I think the only Hoover I ever owned was an A3350, however I only vaguely remember this as I was only about hmm...2/3 years old at the time. :(

Good to hear anyway :)! Shame it didn't last till now though.


Post# 1171043 , Reply# 15   2/2/2023 at 23:25 (420 days old) by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA)        
late to the party...

I'm sorry I'm late to the party, but I have memories of my GE filter-flo. I'd sit by it for hours on end, especially when it was on normal speed agitating and spinning.

Post# 1171053 , Reply# 16   2/3/2023 at 02:10 (420 days old) by aircub (Huntington, AR)        
GE V-12

Hey tourquoisedude any pics of your GE V-12 that was my mothers first washer and i want to find one so bad, i loved the sounds it made and also the lady that kept me during the day went to the laundry mat every week, I sat on the row of solid tub speed queens in the late 60s and watched every minute of the cycle. love the speed queens too. I guess thats why i love the filter flo and speed queens.I also as someone else said too. I knew the type of washer and dryer everyone whos house i went into had when i was growing up and the different machines they aquired through time. i thought i was the only one that checked that out and knew those things.

WOW thanks for bringing back such good memories and allowing me to tell someone else.


Post# 1171086 , Reply# 17   2/3/2023 at 13:23 (419 days old) by statomatic (France)        

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It all started with a 1982 Brandt Statomatic 418 statomatic.e-monsite.com/blog/art...
The machine was in the bathroom between a large wardrobe and the changing table.
Since then I have memories of the sounds of the water splashing and drain pump, the water drops on the glass door after spin and the smell of Lavender softener.
I liked touching the tap of the machine and the selection knobs
My mother said that I even once managed to turn on the machine!


CLICK HERE TO GO TO statomatic's LINK


Post# 1171094 , Reply# 18   2/3/2023 at 15:15 (419 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        

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For me it was the sound the late 90’s Maytag Dependable Care made whenever it went into spin or started agitating. Though the Maytag A806 and A606 are from the 70’s, they still sound like the Maytag washer I grew up with that was left behind when I moved back in 2006.

Post# 1171115 , Reply# 19   2/3/2023 at 18:39 (419 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD)        

the local Laundromat,1979: 12 Norges,a couple maytags,2 big Zanussi machines,chain-drive dryers.The din from all those Norges was music to my ears back then! with the coinbox timers and the dryers adding their sounds :)

Post# 1171176 , Reply# 20   2/4/2023 at 09:44 (418 days old) by Dishmobile (Nashville, TN)        
Favorite Washing Machine Memories

When I was young, and still riding the tricycle, I remember the sunny Saturday afternoon the new Maytag Highlander (white, of course) came to replace the Norge Timeline. My father sold furniture/appliances (Frigidaire/Maytag) and this is one of my first appliance memories. It seems, a bit, like it just happened yesterday.

We would later move into a new home and, of course, the May"tagged" along. In its new home I remember the sound of the distinctive Maytag "sray rinse", and to accompany it, a matching "Halo of Heat" Maytag dryer.

We had these machine into the 1970's, at which time they were replaced by a new Maytag pair (in harvest gold).

Picture below, a similar machine to our Highlander.

Thanks for reading.


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Post# 1171182 , Reply# 21   2/4/2023 at 11:16 (418 days old) by Vintagewashday (Cambridgeshire)        
My memories...

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Hi everyone, great thread 👍

For me it was washday at my paternal grandparents house. My nan always washed on a Tuesday as worked on a Monday, even before I was school age she used to come and collect me to join her on washday. She had a 1974 Hotpoimt Countess (the rare wringerless version) and a white trim Hoover Spinarinse. I can remember the smell of old Ariel powder when I think qbout it and it takes me back to her kitchen.

Sometime during the early 90s she upgraded to a Supermatic De Luxe, my dad worked in an electrical shop and a mint 9410 came in so she bought it. It was delivered during the summer holidays so I got to enjoy playing with it!


I've always enjoyed washing machines, before the countess she'd had a Servis Supertwin Mk 30 which she always said was a fantastic machine. Only reason she went to the Countess was because she upgraded to an Indesit auto in 74, didn't like it and those were the only machines in stock at the shop. She'd had an Acme Challenge before that and I remember how excited I was when she found the manual in a cupboard one day. I still have it and have posted pics on one of the other threads on here. Pre Internet days that's all I had to go on. She did say the Acme wasn't very strong and with 4 children it didn't last long before the Servis arrived. Her first machine was a Hoover single tub with electric wringer which she loved but gave to my aunt when she got married in 62 when the Acme arrived.

There are photos of some of my collection on here in another thread, I have a very rare (but older model) of the wringerless Countess in mint condition and a grey Spinarinse from the early 70s. Also have a 9410 and I did have a Servis Mk30 but sadly had to sell it due to space limitations.

I have several manuals and really enjoy looking over them and the history of machines. Lots of happy washday memories and good to be able to share.



Post# 1171184 , Reply# 22   2/4/2023 at 11:33 (418 days old) by Keymatic (London / UK)        

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@Michael…

I take it your mum had one of these Thor’s, the 244 Automagic which was launched in 1958, it was produced under licence by Parnall Radiation ltd in Yate Bristol, there had been 2 previous models before which allowed the user to switch tubs and use a dishwashing attachment, however by 1958 they deemed it not suitable to wash clothes & dishes in the same machine.

I have had 5 pedal operated Thor’s and still have 3 and one of the previous model 240.

Cheers
Keith


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Post# 1171197 , Reply# 23   2/4/2023 at 13:42 (418 days old) by panasonicvac (Northern Utah)        

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I remember I was putting in so much powder laundry detergent on our second GE top loader as a toddler until my mom caught me. I also remember bypassing the lid switch on both our second GE and my grandparent's but now mine Kenmore 90 Series. And I'd sit and watch our Whirlpool Duet front loader wash up at our last cabin cause you can see through it. Good times. But I think my most favorite was when I really got into laundry, my grandparents were using non HE Tide original powder in their Kenmore like over 10 years ago and it was the greatest smell that I've ever smelled on laundry detergent. It's a real shame that Tide doesn't make them anymore.

Post# 1171281 , Reply# 24   2/5/2023 at 11:28 (417 days old) by anthony (uk)        
A very long time ago my mum has a Parnall wringer washer

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And i had waist length hair [I know what your thinking ]I came home from school on day to find mum doing the washing .I asked her if she wanted a cup of tea and she said yes but i am just going into the garden to hang some washing out first. I flicked the switch on the latest kitchen gadget in the house [the russell hobs auto kettle] and turned round to get the milk from the fridge .As i did so my hair got caught in the running wringer At that moment mum appeared and quickly pushed the release bar on the machine . More than 50 years later i still wonder what would have happened i she hadn't decided to come back in the house when she did

Post# 1171417 , Reply# 25   2/6/2023 at 16:08 (416 days old) by seedub (South Texas Hill Country)        

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Visiting the home of my grandparents cleaning lady at age 4 when she occasionally babysat me. She had a 1961 Kenmore 110.6104500 with straight vane agitator, speckled gray wash tub, 3 cycles, 1 speed, brush lint filter, 3 water levels. Opening the lid to watch it churning the laundry around and filtering as well as waiting to hear it start spinning was exciting. I was well into my 20s when I learned that my father had bought that machine new when he started his medical residency. After the divorce, the family gifted it to Mrs. Ardis. I was equally disappointed and thrilled when I visited her at the age of 12 to find a new 1976 gold Maytag in its place.


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