Thread Number: 58638  /  Tag: Vintage Dryers
Antique Clothes Dryer
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Post# 811968   3/2/2015 at 13:37 (3,314 days old) by burnus ()        

Recently bought an old home from 1930's and discovered this Chicago dryer in the basement. Has anyone seen one like this? Is this a valuable piece of equipment? Any museums that would like this type of equipment? Thanks for any information.

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Post# 811988 , Reply# 1   3/2/2015 at 15:17 (3,314 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)        

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Brand name would help. My guesses are Hamilton or Blackstone.

Post# 811990 , Reply# 2   3/2/2015 at 15:36 (3,314 days old) by eronie (Flushing Michigan)        
dryer

I think it's for drying table cloths.

Post# 812005 , Reply# 3   3/2/2015 at 16:51 (3,314 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)        

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That is kind of drying rack clothes dryer. These were made by a number of manufacturers and this was the only kind of clothes dryer available until the tumble dryer became commercially available in 1936. They could be heated with wood, coal, oil, steam, gas or electricity.

 

They were usually only found in upper class homes. I know that the Glensheen mansion in Duluth has one that is steam heated. 

 

They remained popular to some extent after the 1930s as an easy way to dry flatwork such as sheets and tablecloths with fewer wrinkles than a tumble dryer. Martha Stewart has one at one of her estates expressly for drying flatwork and delicate items.

 

In terms of monetary value I would say little or nothing. In terms of historic value there may be a smaller history museum or historical society that would take it as part of an antique laundry collection. Depending on it's condition and how it's heated (gas or electric being the most sensible), you might even find a member here or a buyer on CL that would take it off your hands.

 

The company still exists and specializes in commercial flatwork laundry equipment.

 

Here is some information from 1920 about them:

 

 


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Post# 812013 , Reply# 4   3/2/2015 at 17:40 (3,314 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

I think this type of drying cabinet was in some apartment houses where my parents lived and might have been one of the reasons it took so long to talk my mom into getting a dryer. These tended to dry things stiff and were not the best things for drying terrycloth towels unless you frequently flapped and fluffed them during drying.

My parents kept their Maytag Master in their storage locker and hauled it out to do laundry in the apartment building's basement laundry room where coin-op wringer washers were provided. Using a wringer washer in an apartment house laundry room in the late 40s must have been a lovely experience. It's bad enough with automatics, but all the time you would have to spend with a wringer--ugh!


Post# 812048 , Reply# 5   3/2/2015 at 20:54 (3,313 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Congrats On Your New Home

launderess's profile picture
As well as the niffy drying cabinet in basement. Now you can look Martha Stewart and the Vanderbilt Estate in North Carolina in the eye.

www.themarthablog.com/2013/12/...

Have a brochure form Chicago Dryer Company showing these appliances. As for value sadly little to none I should think beyond scrap. Problem is these units were built into the home/assembled on site. That probably means you'd have to take it apart to get it out which limits resale value.

The museums who most often have such units it is normally because as with the Biltmore estate they were original to the house

www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/biltm...

If it were me unless they are taking up too much space and or interfering with renovation plans I'd leave them where they are. When spare time is plentiful give the thing a good cleaning and testing for hopeful use. You can dry heavy blankets and other items in those things. Not to mention being able to "line" dry even when outside weather isn't that great.


Post# 812092 , Reply# 6   3/3/2015 at 03:17 (3,313 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN)        
The Biltmore

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in Asheville, NC has one similar


Post# 812110 , Reply# 7   3/3/2015 at 06:50 (3,313 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)        
Cool

jetcone's profile picture

you can have the flatest tableclothes & bedsheets in your neighborhood -hands down !

 


Post# 812145 , Reply# 8   3/3/2015 at 10:54 (3,313 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

"you can have the flatest tableclothes & bedsheets in your neighborhood -hands down !"

IF it can still be heated. It might have been disconnected from the hydronic heating system long ago.


Post# 812147 , Reply# 9   3/3/2015 at 11:16 (3,313 days old) by Michaelman2 (Lauderdale by the Sea, FL)        

I guess this is the same concept as my laundry room racks, clothesline and a space heater or fan in the laundry room? Items dry very, very quickly. The only items I place in the tumble dryer are towels and underwear. Even in the Summer with a fan in the room, the air conditioned, dehumidified air drys items surprisingly quickly .

Post# 812161 , Reply# 10   3/3/2015 at 13:25 (3,313 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Except the drying cabinet, not to be confused with the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, does not have a fan. They go through a whole word salad to describe the ventilation, which includes natural circulation, minimal loss of heat etc, but it's sort of a bake oven for laundry.

Post# 812185 , Reply# 11   3/3/2015 at 18:00 (3,313 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
Best of my knowledge these drying cabinets had several forms of heating (stoves, steam, steam and gas, etc..) but none used hot water. In fact do not even think they were connected to the home's main heating supply which back in the late 1800's early 1900's could have been any of several various methods.

Things dried in these contraptions are the same as hung on a line or rack indoors. Stiff, and often lacking the sweetness you get from outdoor line drying. As with modern condenser dryers the purpose was to solve a problem; how to dry laundry independent of outdoor weather and or more quickly than anything else.

Smaller versions of these drying cabinets could be had in Britain and other parts of Europe. They were nothing more than a hamper sized metal container with suspended racks and a heating element at the bottom. If the latter was exposed and or your laundry hung to low there was risk of scorching and or things going on fire.

Yes, the idea was same as hanging laundry in a heated room and using a fan/other method of ventilation. That had been done for years (well without the fans until electricity came along), but caused many problems. First and mainly having to deal with wet dripping laundry hanging all over one's home or kitchen. This often created dame and moist indoor conditions. That plus often one's washing took on a whiff of whatever air was indoors. So if the laundry was hanging in the kitchen or near it would be scented with whatever cooking went on. Nothing like Kipper scented undergarments and linens.

As mentioned upthread until vented tumble dryers became smaller and installed in homes, these drying cabinets were state of the art. Commercial laundries by the early 1900's could get steam heated tumble dryers, but these were large affairs not suitable for even great estate homes.

Commercial laundries grew to prefer tumble dryers where possible for the reasons we do so today; things dry more softer and often smoother than simply hanging and being baked dry.

With all these methods one worry was constant in the days when soaps were the main detergent for wash day. If washing was not totally rinsed free of soap the residue could and often did turn brown when exposed to heat. Normally this would occur when ironing, but using any sort of heated drying (cabinet, tumble or even too close to a fireplace/range) produced the same result. In fact laundry manuals of the period warned that things dried in these cabinets often came out with a yellow cast.


Post# 812190 , Reply# 12   3/3/2015 at 18:29 (3,313 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Drying Cabinets

In Australia, we had refrigerator sized drying cabinets up until the late 70's.

Usually two levels of wooden dowels to drape things over and an element and fan at the bottom.

The more expensive ones had multiple fan speeds and temperature controls.

The Tumble dryer didn't come into vogue over here until the late 70's early 80's, before then you had clothes horses or a Drying cabinet.


Post# 812193 , Reply# 13   3/3/2015 at 18:45 (3,313 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

I have seen pictures of European kitchen with high ceilings and a movable drying rack that was mounted over the AGA. It was lowered for loading and raised out of the way and up into the heat for drying.

Post# 812195 , Reply# 14   3/3/2015 at 19:03 (3,313 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

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Those hoists on pulleys (Laundrymaid, PulleyMaid, etc...) have been around Europe/Britain for hundreds of years in one version or another. They pretty much were standard in Victorian kitchens/sculleries. In large estates they had huge ones running up and down the length of a room.

These contraptions take advantage of the fact heat rises so the air near ceilings will be warmer. So while you get the washing out of the way again you had to live with water dripping all over the place while things dried. Imagine eating a meal under such conditions. Modern washing machines remove more water than wringers or hand wringing so there will be less of that now.

Also since smoke/fumes rise with currents of air your freshly laundered items could be fouled.

Several companies will ship these driers all over the world. However installation must be done properly. That is you have to really secure them into the joists or studs. If not the weight of heavy wet laundry can yank the entire thing down.

www.pulleymaid.com/deluxe_clothes...


Post# 812231 , Reply# 15   3/4/2015 at 01:59 (3,312 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN)        
Biltmore's Laundry Room

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click on the link below and go forward to 17:22 to see the laundry in Biltmore...they show the dryers briefly. Pretty swanky for pre 1900.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO askolover's LINK


Post# 812232 , Reply# 16   3/4/2015 at 02:27 (3,312 days old) by jkbff (Happy Rock, ND)        

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Has any one noticed that Martha uses Neptunes? :-D

Post# 812249 , Reply# 17   3/4/2015 at 06:04 (3,312 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Biltmore Had Every Mod Con Money Could By For The Day

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Makes Downton Abbey look like a two up and two down in Bayswater. *LOL*

While great country houses in Britain still mainly used fire places with perhaps some central heating, Biltmore had full central heating via steam convector radiators. Biltmore's boilers also supplied full hot water for indoor plumbing at (IIRC) three temperatures; hot, very hot and near boiling. This was achieved by tempering water as it came from the boilers depending upon use. For laundry and cleaning you could get


Post# 812270 , Reply# 18   3/4/2015 at 08:55 (3,312 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Laundress, why do you insist on saying that laundry hug up to dry will be dripping? Even a good hand wringing will remove enough water so that things don't drip and if you have a good wringer, you can remove enough water so that things don't drip when hung up to dry. I have washed in a Maytag washer with the roller water remover and not had things dripping when hung out to dry. Granted, very heavy things would probably drip, but maybe those would be laundered when they could be hung outside to drip and dry.

Post# 812272 , Reply# 19   3/4/2015 at 09:14 (3,312 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)        
Nathan

jetcone's profile picture

I used one of those back in '81 out in Perth at a motel on Scarborough Beach! I was flabbergasted ! Id' done my load in a Maytag and didn't even think to look for a dryer like we knew them. I had to go back to the desk and the manager showed me how this worked- IT TOOK ALL DAY !! 

 

And then my underwear was nice and crunchy hard !! I was underwhelmed to say the least !!

 

 


Post# 812295 , Reply# 20   3/4/2015 at 12:53 (3,312 days old) by rpms (ontario canada)        

rpms's profile picture
Would a place like Biltmore still hang laundry outside? Would it have a hidden area or were clothes lines a no no? I think it was the mini series,Edwardian House, and it should the clothes lines up on the roof and hidden by the gables.
It would be quite a hike from the basements up to the roof with wet laundry.


Post# 812305 , Reply# 21   3/4/2015 at 14:48 (3,312 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

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"Laundress, why do you insist on saying that laundry hug up to dry will be dripping?"

Because every vintage laundry manual one owns says so in several languages.

Also because owning two hand wringers and or having wrung out garments by hand. Is this good enough for you?

Clothing and linens except finer things were made from much heavier cotton or linen fabric than today. As such they held much more water. Suppose you *could* wring them out by hand to something approaching nearly dry; however that not only would get old really fast with a large amount of wash to do it also is hard on fabric.

There is also only so far you can tighten a wringer or mangle before possibly damaging textiles as they went through. That and or creating more work for later by making heavy creases that will take more effort to iron out.

Simply test to my ranting is to wash but not spin a load of heavy laundry; wring it out by hand then hang dry indoors.


Post# 812361 , Reply# 22   3/4/2015 at 20:53 (3,311 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

No, but thank you. Do the clothes you hang up to dry drip all over the floor? If they don't it means that clothes hung up to dry don't have to drip. You make it sound inevitable because it happened historically. Even my mother could wring clothes by hand so that they would not drip, a skill probably learned in the years before her family got a wringer washer. I have done it also, although when I washed heavy throw rugs in the 33" WP combo and hung them out after the spin the machine provided, they dripped for hours. With today's modern appliances there would be a greatly diminished likelihood of dripping and these same adjustable drying racks are still in use in these homes today. I spoke with a woman from the UK at an estate sale who talked about using the drying rack over the AGA.

Drying Yards: There was one at Fallingwater. Once a week lines were strung in a hidden location. It might have been in the carport so that the laundry could not be seen from the house. It had something to do with the carport. I think the guide said the carport was a new concept at the time.




This post was last edited 03/04/2015 at 21:32
Post# 812391 , Reply# 23   3/5/2015 at 06:56 (3,311 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

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20+ years ago, a friend of mine lived in an apartment building here in town that had a drying cabinet like these pictured. Concrete set tubs back to back in the center of the room and one wall lined with storage lockers for machines and supplies. None of my friends knew what the cabinet was for and once explained, were amazed that civilization survived such hardship. Everyone gained a new appreciation for the coin-op Maytags haphazardly installed in that dark and dusty room.

Post# 813272 , Reply# 24   3/10/2015 at 15:28 (3,306 days old) by burnus ()        
antique Clothes Dryer

Hi All,

Thank you for all of your informative responses. I have found out some more details. The machine is made by the Chicago Laundry company & was propane fired (that has been disconnected). Good to know that Martha Stewart found a way to use her machine although I don't think I will have her entertaining schedule or amount of linens. Its a keeper for now I guess!


Post# 813279 , Reply# 25   3/10/2015 at 16:06 (3,306 days old) by rpms (ontario canada)        

rpms's profile picture
Could you use the cabinet as storage? Is there enough ventilation to keep things from smelling musty?

Post# 813309 , Reply# 26   3/10/2015 at 19:45 (3,306 days old) by burnus ()        
antique clothes dryer

Hi All,

I am going to see if my contractor can move the cabinet/drawer part of this to my laundry room on the second floor( they will love the idea I'm sure!!)If we have the space in the room, I was thinking I could use it as a drying rack without the heat source. Would love to find a way to use it since it is an uncommon piece. Thanks again for all of your helpful insights.

Beth


Post# 813550 , Reply# 27   3/12/2015 at 02:59 (3,304 days old) by jkbff (Happy Rock, ND)        

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Would there be a way to build in a dehumidifier to use with the cabinet ?


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