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Thread Number: 93828
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
the westinghouse coin drycleaning machines question |
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Post# 1184856 , Reply# 2 7/13/2023 at 22:33 (295 days old) by Adam-aussie-vac  (Canberra ACT) |
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So it makes me wonder would it have the same naming code Such as DC1 short for dry cleaner version one | ||
| Post# 1185321 , Reply# 3 7/20/2023 at 05:43 (289 days old) by thedrycleaner (walton) | ||
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thanks for the reply it was great info, thanks so much. I thought that they were dry to dry machines, I am guessing that they had a vent that went outside, what we called in the trade vented dry to dry machines. thanks Bill | ||
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Post# 1185356 , Reply# 5 7/20/2023 at 18:35 (288 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Those coin-operated dry cleaning plants seemed to cause no end of trouble, either at once or found out later.
First would be deaths, latter was locations and or those adjacent ended up with contaminated soil/ground water. Then came facts as with coin-operated washing machines and dryers who is liable for damage when customers used self-serve dry cleaning. Laundromats long have clearly stated machines were used at customer's own risk. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8618253/... law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvani... www.epa.gov/sites/default... www.coinwash.com/mb/archive/inde... As with so many other areas America back in 1950's or 1960's was just a different sort of place. Offering self-serve dry cleaning seemed so logical and natural and of course there was money to be made. What possibly could go wrong? Indeed by early 1960's coin-op dry cleaning was seen as the greatest thing since sliced bread with money pouring in from investors. It all was destined to end in tears, which it did to some extent. content.time.com/time/subscriber... books.google.com/booksQUESTIONMA... phil-are-go.blogspot.com/2012/05... | ||
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Post# 1185372 , Reply# 7 7/20/2023 at 22:46 (288 days old) by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA) |
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dry cleaning machine I have never seen a dry cleaning machine in my life. I've always wondered how they worked. | ||
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Post# 1185385 , Reply# 8 7/21/2023 at 05:51 (288 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN) |
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Post# 1185456 , Reply# 11 7/21/2023 at 22:07 (287 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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"I have wondered about the health effects of the Perc exposure on those poor women since many of them smoked, too."
No need to wonder; answer is in short, bad. oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/crn... wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/PHS/PHS.aspxQUE.... epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/docs/perc... www.osha.gov/sites/defaul... One off or infrequent exposure to PERC may not be so bad health wise, but constant chronic exposure by various means would be another. | ||
| Post# 1185465 , Reply# 12 7/21/2023 at 22:27 (287 days old) by Stan (Napa CA) | ||
I’ve never seen a coin op dry cleaning machine 
I entered the dry cleaning industry at a time here in Calif when the state required a licensed operator to be on premises during times cleaning machine was operating.
In order to obtain a license there was a written and practical exam conducted. During part of practical part of the exam, and without being told, applicant was given a basket of various 12 inch sample fabrics. Applicant was required to stand at a spotting board..basket of 12 inch squares of different types of fabrics with various stains. Applicant was to identify fabric visually and by feel as well as identify stain..and remove stains there on the board in front of examiner. When finished, sample fabrics needed to be stain free, dry, with no ring. This goal was achieved by use of assorted chemicals at the board and with use of steam and air gun, spotting bone, spotting brush ect. Suction device built into spotting board could also be used. I’m not sure what year the licensing for this was abolished. After abolishment. anyone trained by someone or by the manufacturer could operate machines. Dry cleaning machine have evolved over the years. When I started, it was common to have what was referred to as vented “transfer units” meaning two machines. The cleaning machine itself and the reclaimer (dryer) both vented outside. Old or new cleaning machines operate by way of having two tanks containing the perc. The working tank was what we called “charged” meaning a percent of detergent and sizing was added. While in operation a pump ran during operation which pumped solvent from the working tank into the basket/drum also through a set of filters. When cycle was completed, machine spins and pumps solvent back into working tank. At that point with a transfer unit, clothes were taken out by hand and placed into reclaimer. (Dyer) Of if a dry to dry…machine automatically would go in to a drying cycle. During the drying cycle the solvent remaining in fabrics is heated with hot air and vapor turns back into a liquid which is caught and piped back into the machines 2nd tank, as it’s now pure and free of a charge. During the day, tank levels were checked as sone solvent from tank 2 may need to be pumped back into the working tank and re charged. Towards the end of my time in the profession I was working with a dry to dry unit that was not vented. We were required to keep a log of how many pounds of clothes cleaned each day. And those numbers could be checked against the amount perc we purchased. A excess pec purchase could send up a red flag that there was insufficient extraction or a leak. Knowing what I know about the process, I can’t imagine an untrained person fooling with a coin up dry cleaning machine. Formula for disaster. IMHO On a comical note.. the inspectors would come by from time to time to check on things and they’d end up pulling up a chair and smoking cigarettes with us! No one thought a thing about it. | ||
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Post# 1185502 , Reply# 14 7/22/2023 at 08:45 (287 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Here is the only photo I have ever found of the Frigidaire Rapid-Dry Cleaner. I have to wonder what happened if the load was unbalanced during spin start up and tripped the unbalanced switch. Did the operator have to re-arrange the clothes dripping with Perc? You can't possible have a Unimatic without an unbalance shut-off switch. Look at all of the indicator lights on the control I wonder what they all signaled?
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Post# 1185503 , Reply# 15 7/22/2023 at 08:53 (287 days old) by turbokinetic (Northport, Alabama USA) |
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Hi Stan. Thanks for the info and discussion of how it was operating a dry cleaner back in the day. Fascinating stuff! | ||
| Post# 1185583 , Reply# 17 7/22/2023 at 21:33 (286 days old) by Stan (Napa CA) | ||
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Solvent
should never look brown!
That means solvent is dirty or filters are full. And existing solvent needs to be filtered or cooked off. Cooking off solvent (perc) is a process, and depending on the set up is somewhat dangerous as heated perc can become a poisonous gas. It’s bad enough to breath fumes from it when cold, but heated..now you’ve got possible trouble. Normally a machine will run on a set of filters while previous filters drain into a still. When every drop of solvent can possibly be drained from old filters into still (cooker) a hatch is opened and filters were taken out & set into metal drums with lids for a safety clean company to pick up. The collected solvent in still is then distilled and distilled solvent drips into tank 2. That clean pure tank I mentioned above. Looking at the coin op machine above..my guess is that it has a very small single tank with one cartridge filter or maybe no filter? If no filter.. It’s possible that someone that serviced the machine came by and threw some filter powder (diatomaceous earth) to clear solvent for another few runs if machine didn’t have a cartridge type filter system. I wonder who kept the solvent up and charged with these coin op things? And who stopped some idiot from putting wet jeans in there!! Bill will remember filter powder. Machines without filters were normally prepared at the end of the day to be ready for the following days work. This was done with using the above mentioned products and by adding pure solvent if necessary. And of coarse charging it. Since these machines did not have filters..the days cleaning started with all whites and lights, then medium colors, darks, and lastly reds. After that you needed to be done with that days work and the process of clearing had to be repeated. You could only go so long with all that until you had to take a day to cook off all solvent. After still was cool enough..still had to be scraped out and waste put into drums for a waste co to pick up. Writing all this conjured all kinds of memory’s | ||
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Post# 1185594 , Reply# 18 7/23/2023 at 00:24 (286 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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I found what appears to be a patent by GM for the Frigidaire Dry Cleaner, it does in fact have a filter and a cooling system to keep the solvent cool. It also appears to sense to the amount of water humidity/moisture within the solvent and if it is too low it appears to add a small amount of water to solution to aid in cleaning.
The fluid circulation system operates as follows. The pump 58 draws dry cleaning fluid or solvent from sump 52 through the dip tube 60. This dry cleaning fluid, cleaned of large objects by the trap 86 is forced through the conduit 64 to the filter 62 which is effective to remove small solids solubles and any loose carbon particles from the dry cleaning fluid. After an initial period in which the two-position valve 78 returns the Solvent to the Sump, the valve is actuated to discharge the Solvent from the filter byway of the conduit 76 and its end nozzle 80 into the spin tub 34. When the level of dry cleaning fluid within the tub reaches the outflow ports 35 the dry cleaning fluid will continue to overflow into the solvent container 30 and will return by gravity through the conduit 84 to the sump 52. For additional details on the replace able cartridge type of dry cleaning system reference may be had to the now Patent No.3,110,170, and to the other applications referred to therein and assigned to the Same assignee. In the aforegoing equipment a cleaning solution of perchloroethylene and detergent will remove or dissolve most of the soil from the garments being cleaned and water soluble spots not removable in dry cleaning solvent alone can often be removed by spotting with water prior to dry cleaning. Such pre-spotting requires a certain amount of skill and extra time on the part of the attendant. Thus it appears that the presence of water in a dry cleaning solution is helpful in the removal of water soluble spots and it is known that even an increase in detergent concentration does not sufficiently increase the system's potential for spot removal unless accompanied by an increase in the relative humidity (R.H.) of the solvent, i.e. the water content of the cleaning solution. More over carbon soil removal will also increase slightly with the solvent solution at a higher R.H. and linting on the clothes will be reduced. On the other hand an excess of water in the dry cleaning solution has some disastrous side effects such as severe wrinkling of the garments being cleaned shrink age and higher re-deposition of soil or graying of the garments. The foregoing suggests that the proportion of water to solvent maintained in the dry cleaning system is critical and it is to improved apparatus for sensing and controlling this proportion that this invention is directed. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Unimatic1140's LINK
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This post was last edited 07/23/2023 at 01:03 | ||
| Post# 1185598 , Reply# 19 7/23/2023 at 02:48 (286 days old) by Stan (Napa CA) | ||
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Thanks for posting Robert
Thats impressive for self service machine.
Looking at diagram and reading above..it’s makes more sense to me. However that trap (86) is something that needs daily cleaning by someone who would have known how to service it. Those clog up quickly and can cause the pump to suck dry and burn up if not caught in time. The machines I worked with..well I knew the sound of a clog or a pump sucking dry. Cleaning that trap was usually done daily at the end of each day to ready the machine for next morning. I once was cleaning a down comforter and a seam busted loose and that trap and pump let me know it real quick! The trap had to be removed and blown out with an air gun and pump sometimes had to be primed with solvent. Certain stains were or treated with a water based pre treater but stain removed and dried with the same air gun on the spotting board before going into machine. The detergent..Staticol I believe was the name of it..was added at 1% and sizing at 1% to the total volume of solvent in working tank. So it also make sense as to why it says “increased detergent dose not increase the systems potential for spot removal” Water soluble stains really needed to be dealt with prior. Every garment already had a certain amount of moisture in it (relative humidity) even if it felt dry, and you’d want the least amount moisture possible entering the system. I’m still curious about this coin op machine..who drained and changed filter? Who recharged solvent? Who kept that trap clean during operation? | ||
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Post# 1185602 , Reply# 20 7/23/2023 at 04:29 (286 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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There’s were two Westinghouse dry cleaning machines at the laundromat in the small town of 2,000 I grew up in. There was a local dry cleaning business in town—owned by a classmate’s parents, in fact—and I always knew the weeks when money was tight in our household because we’d take dry cleaning to the laundromat instead of to the “cleaners.”
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| Post# 1185724 , Reply# 21 7/24/2023 at 07:25 (285 days old) by thedrycleaner (walton) | ||
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westy drycleaning machne-what would be the equivalent? thanks fellows for all the great writing. also much thanks to stan for mentioning me about the filter powder. we must talk sometime. what would the westy washer dryer equivalent be? thanks Bill | ||
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Post# 1185742 , Reply# 22 7/24/2023 at 10:10 (285 days old) by neptunebob (Pittsburgh, PA) |
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We had a coin operated dry cleaner....
There was an attendant there because the dry cleaning process would take over an hour and people would leave after putting the coins in. I just vaguely remember it, had to be around 1970 and the next year a Dunkin Donuts went in there that is still there.
I guess the environmental regulations were not as strict back then because later on, a regular dry cleaner in another community went out of business nearby and it had an expensive cleanup because it was a Superfund site back in the 80s. Only now is there any other development after a huge amount of dirt was removed and replaced. I thought coin op dry cleaners went away because they were an environmental disaster. the machines were not as well sealed as professional machine would be and maybe people might open one in the middle of the cycle and let all the PERC fumes out. Also, most legitimate dry cleaners will clean things like sofa cushion covers by the pound without all the pressing a suit would need. Mom did that once, and the covers came back on hangers, covered with the dry cleaning plastic. Reading all that Stan had to do with the PERC solvent it is a wonder we don't have a Superfund site on every street corner. It had to be worse in the 50s, when people dressed up sharper than they do now and thus used a dry cleaner more often. There were rumors going around that PA DEP might ban PERC in Pennsylvania and if that happens I heard most dry cleaners will just retire than get something else (if there is a something else, is there?). I have read that dry cleaning machines that use CO2 can cost upwards of a Million dollars which most cannot afford. I guess if that happens, the world around here is going to look more casual. | ||
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