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Thread Number: 59625
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
Worst "basket case" washer ever used... |
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| Post# 822306 5/6/2015 at 19:31 (3,270 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
There has been discussion here about the worst washer designs ever. But how about individual washers that had a more or less OK design, but in service aged poorly?
In my case, the worst condition washer ever was one that came out of another unit on the property. It was ca. 1990 Hotpoint. Mechanically, it was missing the low speed IIRC. (I also seem to recall it was also missing the back panel, perhaps due to an attempt to fix the speed issue. Or some other problem.) But the most memorable thing about this washer was the incredible moldy stench inside the tub. Since was there, I tried to revive it, even though I was pretty sure it would be a reject. I'd run cycles of hot water, detergent, and bleach. I'd soak, I'd run it (resetting the timer dial regularly to get longer wash cycles). Two nights of this, and the fumes were still strong enough to warp the ceiling above the washer. I can only suppose there was a massive buildup of crud inside. The machine was run on cold water only for some time. Probably liquid detergent, since that's so common now. And the person who had it previously had tough loads from when working on his car, etc. Runner up: a Kenmore DD. Inside the tub wasn't bad. But it had a leak from the drain pump. (Which, of course, I discovered after hooking the machine up!) I thought I'd be able to fix it, until I discovered the pump was not accessible. At least, not with my tools on that particular machine. Someone had added a number of screws to the cabinet, and they'd rusted badly. At least one screw was so rusty that there was no longer a well defined place for the screw driver blade. | ||
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Post# 822369 , Reply# 1 5/7/2015 at 08:15 (3,270 days old) by Tomturbomatic  (Beltsville, MD) |
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It probably had a slime deposit in the outer tub and under the top where it is sealed to the outer tub. Running it with the detergent & bleach solution on drain with the drain hose held over the tub opening to help prolong the swirling water action might have helped. | ||
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Post# 822380 , Reply# 2 5/7/2015 at 09:21 (3,270 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN) |
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My sister's mid 90's GE with the plastic tub...the trans went out so I bought her a mid 90's orbital Maytag and she gave me her GE. I took it apart to replace the trans and when I removed the basket....found all kinds of slime on the outside built up in and on the reinforcing ribs horizontal surfaces. That thing STUNK! I scrubbed it with bleach and dumped a whole bottle of PineSol in it when it was reassembled. It no longer stank when I sold it. She's still using that orbital Maytag! | ||
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Post# 822429 , Reply# 3 5/7/2015 at 11:47 (3,270 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land) |
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1977 Montgomery Wards (Westinghouse) washer
A guy I knew through my car club asked me if I was interested in this washer. A friend was giving them a newer (mid 90's) Kenmore and he wanted to give this washer to someone who would use it and appreciate it.
As you can see in the photos, this poor thing had some "condition issues". Also the lid lock/switch didn't work, the hot side of the water valve was completely clogged because he never used warm or hot (always washed in cold). The water level control was way off too. I set it for the highest water level because I was going to run a large load in it. As it was filling, it kept filling and filling and filling... the water got SO high I really thought it was going to overflow, so I readjusted the water level until it started agitating. I discovered if you set it for 3/4 full, it filled all the way to the very top of the tub (tub ring / cloths guard)!
Overall it seemed to work fine, but these Westinghouse built machines were not know for being "great performers". These machines have very poor movement / roll over too. Without overloading, it would take about 4-5 minutes of agitation for the load to roll over once.
Ultimately I wasn't interested in restoring or even working on this machine. I listed the washer in Craig's List for $5 (to prevent the scrappers from calling) and when the people came to buy it, I just gave it to them.
Photo #3 shows with and w/o the agitator mounted "lint filter". It was completely clogged / crusted solid as the previous owner had no idea the lint filter was there.
BTW... the last photo was during my Jan, 2010 wash-in when "a little too much detergent" was added. Can you say "suds cake?" LOL Interesting that there was a nice "core" down the middle to the agitator.
Kevin This post was last edited 05/07/2015 at 12:51 | ||
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