Maytag DE606 from Dec 1967 in Coppertone

Abigail I'm speeechless. CONGRATULATIONS. I had to do a double-take when I looked at the pictures as its been a while since I've seen a center dial Tag that hadn't the Perm Press cycle on the timer. I was just thinking about a friend of my mom's getting her brand new 606 washer August of 1966 or 1967 recenty. I got to go over and see the new washer a day or so after it had been installed and she saved a bunch of laundry for me to do. I was reminiscing what the new washer smell was for that very washer.

I also had a former co-worker back in the early 1980s who was nearing retirement age. He and his wife got that same set in coppertone so it would be th washre to serve them during their retirement years. When I walked through their laundry room, I had to stop and stare at just how stunning they were even then. Nick commented that it as the best washer & dryer they'd ever had and his wife knew just how to use them, he felt their laundry was perfect.

That set looks like it is brand new. Ditch cold water washes as a general rule of thumb, only very special when needed instances. Wash predominantly in warm or hot. Especially now that it's fall/winter and you'e in CT. Also use top-knotch powdered detergent such as Tide. Not liquid detergent. If you live in an area that has hard water, get some STPP (sodium tri poly phosphates (phosphates) from Amazon and add a couple of tablespoons per wash load.

Also, the Perm Press cycle on the dryer was recommended for loads that are hard to dry, such as jeans, sweats, think bulky towels, blankets. That cycle has a higher temperature set point to get the wrinkles out of perm press fabrics as they were produced back then. The Perm Press cycle also has a longer cool down phase than regular. The cooldown is thermostatically controlled and is only about 3-4 miutes on regular and 7-10 minutes on Perm Press. If you have some items that you wish to be slightly less dried than normal, then use Damp Dry cycle and when it turns off, use Air Fluff to let the load cool down. Back then, Maytag dryeres had Air Fluff, low, and regular temperatures. Their Electronic Control dryers dried at low temperature so that it was deemed an all-fabric dryer. I had a Maytag dryer for 27 years and I used the Perm Press cycle 98% of the time.


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Post# 1161798 10/16/2022 at 12:21 (556 days old) by lilmamabigdrama (Colchester, CT)
Checkrate/Likes 9 Just scooped these out of a house that was being renovated to be put into my first home. It was a facebook marketplace find, so I google lensed them and quickly found out what they were through here. I've waited over a week to make this post, but introducing: my first Maytags!! Photos... < > Photo 1 of 4 View Full Size

Post# 1161800 , Reply# 1 10/16/2022 at 12:48 (556 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Beautiful Pair!* Congratulations on your purchase. They really do look nice. Enjoy them for a long time! lawrence

Post# 1161801 , Reply# 2 10/16/2022 at 13:12 (556 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)
Checkrate/Likes *Nice!* That looks like an 18 lbs agitator in a machine with three water levels. Did they make large capacity machines with three water level options? I always thought they had four.

Post# 1161802 , Reply# 3 10/16/2022 at 13:36 (556 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)
Checkrate/Likes Congrats! Very nice looking pair for sure.

Post# 1161803 , Reply# 4 10/16/2022 at 13:42 (556 days old) by qsd-dan (West)
Checkrate/Likes *Early Set* Beautiful set, they were very well taken care of! If the agitator is original to the washer, it was made somewhere between Nov 1967 and December 1968. Probably closer to Nov 1967-Feb 1968. If you shoot us a photo of the model placards on the back of the washer and inside the door of the dryer, we can decode the dates for you.

Post# 1161808 , Reply# 5 10/16/2022 at 14:32 (556 days old) by Good-Shepherd (New Jersey)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Wow* Nice score. Maytag shaded coppertone set in excellent condition are rare as hens teeth these days.

Post# 1161809 , Reply# 6 10/16/2022 at 14:44 (556 days old) by lilmamabigdrama (Colchester, CT)
Checkrate/Likes *thank you!* thanks everyone! I'm incredibly excited to have these for years to come (I'm in my mid-20's so we'll see how far these take me!) @jons1077 to be honest, I don't know. This is my first big girl appliance purchase, so I'm not very versed in the history just yet! Hoping to learn more as I research them and get to know em better. @qsd-dan Will do!

Post# 1161813 , Reply# 7 10/16/2022 at 16:27 (556 days old) by lilmamabigdrama (Colchester, CT)
Checkrate/Likes *serial numbers* Here are the serial numbers for both! Photos... < > Photo 1 of 2 View Full Size

Post# 1161814 , Reply# 8 10/16/2022 at 16:33 (556 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)
Checkrate/Likes 4 Washer is November 1967 and you have the dryer correctly dated in your post title as December 1967. It�s nice to see a younger generation get excited about laundry equipment built 55 years ago.

Post# 1161821 , Reply# 9 10/16/2022 at 19:15 (556 days old) by Good-Shepherd (New Jersey)
Checkrate/Likes *and get to know em better.* Did you try removing the agitator? Should pull straight up, hopefully without a major battle.

Post# 1161842 , Reply# 10 10/17/2022 at 08:35 (555 days old) by lilmamabigdrama (Colchester, CT)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *younger generation + agitator* @Repairguy There's some of us in Gen Z that really do appreciate this stuff! I quickly realized I could buy things made in the mid century and have to replace them FAR less frequently than anything built today, and the aesthetic of new stuff today just doesn't even compare! @Good-Shepherd I will certainly give it my best effort! Is there anything I should be looking for specifically when I get it off?

Post# 1161845 , Reply# 11 10/17/2022 at 10:25 (555 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)
Checkrate/Likes *Agitator removal* Isn�t there a retaining screw near the base of the agitator?

Post# 1161855 , Reply# 13 10/17/2022 at 14:36 (555 days old) by Good-Shepherd (New Jersey)
Checkrate/Likes *looking for specifically when I get it off?* If the agitator comes off without a battle put some silicone grease or vaseline on the splines/ stop ring and breath a sigh of relief. Sometime the agitators on older models with the stop ring are stuck tight.

Post# 1161850 , Reply# 12 10/17/2022 at 11:52 (555 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)
Checkrate/Likes 2 Hi Jon, in the early large capacity washers there were 3 water levels. The screw in the agitator base started with the 12 series machines around 1984. Before this there was a rubber stop ring on the shaft where the agitator just popped on or off if removing.

Post# 1161885 , Reply# 14 10/18/2022 at 04:05 (555 days old) by Easyspindry (Winston-Salem, NC)
Checkrate/Likes You're gonna love 'em!!! Jerry Gay

Post# 1161959 , Reply# 15 10/18/2022 at 20:05 (554 days old) by electronicontrl (Grand Rapids, MI)
Checkrate/Likes *Congratulations!* They must have been well cared for. They look brand new. Such fun!! Enjoy!

Post# 1161987 , Reply# 16 10/19/2022 at 08:58 (553 days old) by appnut (TX)
Checkrate/Likes Abigail I'm speeechless. CONGRATULATIONS. I had to do a double-take when I looked at the pictures as its been a while since I've seen a center dial Tag that hadn't the Perm Press cycle on the timer. I was just thinking about a friend of my mom's getting her brand new 606 washer August of 1966 or 1967 recenty. I got to go over and see the new washer a day or so after it had been installed and she saved a bunch of laundry for me to do. I was reminiscing what the new washer smell was for that very washer. I also had a former co-worker back in the early 1980s who was nearing retirement age. He and his wife got that same set in coppertone so it would be th washre to serve them during their retirement years. When I walked through their laundry room, I had to stop and stare at just how stunning they were even then. Nick commented that it as the best washer & dryer they'd ever had and his wife knew just how to use them, he felt their laundry was perfect. That set looks like it is brand new. Ditch cold water washes as a general rule of thumb, only very special when needed instances. Wash predominantly in warm or hot. Especially now that it's fall/winter and you'e in CT. Also use top-knotch powdered detergent such as Tide. Not liquid detergent. If you live in an area that has hard water, get some STPP (sodium tri poly phosphates (phosphates) from Amazon and add a couple of tablespoons per wash load. Also, the Perm Press cycle on the dryer was recommended for loads that are hard to dry, such as jeans, sweats, think bulky towels, blankets. That cycle has a higher temperature set point to get the wrinkles out of perm press fabrics as they were produced back then. The Perm Press cycle also has a longer cool down phase than regular. The cooldown is thermostatically controlled and is only about 3-4 miutes on regular and 7-10 minutes on Perm Press. If you have some items that you wish to be slightly less dried than normal, then use Damp Dry cycle and when it turns off, use Air Fluff to let the load cool down. Back then, Maytag dryeres had Air Fluff, low, and regular temperatures. Their Electronic Control dryers dried at low temperature so that it was deemed an all-fabric dryer. I had a Maytag dryer for 27 years and I used the Perm Press cycle 98% of the time.

Post# 1161989 , Reply# 17 10/19/2022 at 09:19 (553 days old) by peteski50 (New York)
Checkrate/Likes *Maytag!* Congrats on this Great set!

Post# 1161992 , Reply# 18 10/19/2022 at 09:30 (553 days old) by Washerlover (The Big Island, Hawai�i)
Checkrate/Likes Absolutely stunning! Congrats!

Post# 1162003 , Reply# 19 10/19/2022 at 11:59 (553 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)
Checkrate/Likes 3 *Aferim!* These are classics; enjoy them in good health! View Full Size

Post# 1162012 , Reply# 20 10/19/2022 at 15:21 (553 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)
Checkrate/Likes That�s a great photo. Look at all of those new bleach reservoirs.

Post# 1162028 , Reply# 21 10/19/2022 at 19:18 (553 days old) by thatwasherguy (Kentucky)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Congratulations!!!!* Those look like beautiful low-mileage machines. With just a little bit of preventative maintenance (damper pad lubrication, mainly), they should last for years to come. My 1978 Maytag set had about a million miles on them, and needed a lot more work than these look like they will. Center dial Maytags are my favorite machines of all time, so I am particularly happy to see someone who appreciates them as much as I do. Thatwasherguy.

Post# 1162226 , Reply# 22 10/22/2022 at 00:58 (551 days old) by Hippiedoll ( arizona )
Checkrate/Likes *WOWZERS...* Congratulations on such a beautiful Maytag set! They look GRRRRREAT!