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Thread Number: 94607
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same |
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Post# 1192625 10/27/2023 at 12:12 (189 days old) by Unimatic1140  (Minneapolis) |
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I found this letter to the editor in a 1962 issue of Consumer Reports. Kind of shocking to think this reader thinks a 250-300 pound 1957 automatic washer is "tinny" lol. She should knock on the cabinets of the 2020s models.
This letter sounds like it could have been written yesterday. I was even more surprised to see her talking about foreign competition as how many foreign made major appliances could be purchased in the USA in the early 1960s, my guess would be none.
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Post# 1192631 , Reply# 1 10/27/2023 at 14:29 (189 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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Post# 1192633 , Reply# 2 10/27/2023 at 14:54 (189 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Could it have been a Frigidaire?
Since she didn't mention anything about tangling so I doubt it lol. Also being all porcelain would make a Frigidaire far from "tinny". In the 1950s they used the word "Deluxe" everywhere in advertising, it was a very common term.
It could really be any brand and she may have received a lemon machine by chance. I know as I have all of these machines hooked up and running and I rarely have to do repairs on any of them, but my machines certainly aren't prefect either repair wise. I recently had to do a repair on my '47 General Electric AW6, it was the first repair I have done in nearly 12 years of use and I use that machine often, it's one of my daily drivers -- '58 Frigidaire Unimatic, '47 GE AW6 and '53 Apex Wash-a-Matic are my go to machines weekly. | ||
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Post# 1192634 , Reply# 3 10/27/2023 at 15:32 (189 days old) by Mrsalvo (New Braunfels Texas) |
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Do you like your Apex machine? The tub looks small to me but I bet it holds a lot. Is there any fabric wear from it? I love your collection. Do you have a least favorite? Barry | ||
| Post# 1192637 , Reply# 4 10/27/2023 at 17:35 (189 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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Post# 1192645 , Reply# 5 10/27/2023 at 20:45 (189 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut) |
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Wasted opportunity I'm almost mad at this person for not indicating what brand they were talking about.
But there are so many people to be mad at right now it seems silly to throw shade at a likely deceased Texan. CLICK HERE TO GO TO bajaespuma's LINK | ||
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Post# 1192652 , Reply# 6 10/27/2023 at 21:52 (189 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Do you like your Apex machine? The tub looks small to me but I bet it holds a lot. Is there any fabric wear from it? I love your collection. Do you have a least favorite?
I absolutely love my Apex, the tub is small length wise but it is the widest tub in my collection. It holds a standard 8lb wash load as it is able to turn over the wash load even when it's packed. It's not that great for queen size sheets as they tend to balloon up without careful loading, but for everything else it is wonderful. No fabric wear as it is a very gentle wash action. As for my least favorite I'm not sure I can answer that without thinking about it for a while. | ||
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Post# 1192688 , Reply# 8 10/28/2023 at 20:49 (188 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Tinny unreliable 1957 automatic washer
Yes, I agree. Consumer reports would not have published a brand-name in that type of letter, if you look at 1957 automatics, many of them were noisy and cheap, sounding even Kenmore and whirlpools were quite noisy in that time period and no automatic washer was tremendously reliable in 1957, GE had just gone to an all new design, which was quite troublesome for example.
When you look at the history of early automatic washers, almost no automatic washer made in the 1950s made it to 1970 they just weren’t that reliable in spite of their high cost. People just got tired, repairing them and bought newer machines when they broke down for the second third or fourth time. John | ||
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Post# 1192692 , Reply# 9 10/28/2023 at 21:14 (188 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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"almost no automatic washer made in the 1950s..."
One hears this often and thus wonders if those housewives who wouldn't give up their Maytag or other wringer washers knew what they were doing... Of course there's no comparing semi to fully automatic washing machines in terms of ease of use and other factors. However am guessing a Maytag wringer bought new in 1950 even with hard use outlasted many automatics. | ||
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Post# 1192694 , Reply# 10 10/28/2023 at 21:23 (188 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.) |
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Another thing to consider is that many dealers gave a modest trade in value towards a new machine. Just like today, people watched ads on TV and saw the newest offerings and wanted to trade up. Getting a trade in allowance towards a new machine helped to take the sting out of the purchase price, just like it has for the new car buyer since the beginning of people owning automobiles.
There didn’t need to be necessarily something wrong with what they had, they just wanted the new whatever that they saw on TV, in Life, Sunset, Good Housekeeping, B&G, ect. Eddie | ||
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Post# 1192698 , Reply# 11 10/28/2023 at 22:00 (188 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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True! True!
Manufacturers of major white goods took a few pages from automobile makers of the time. Prominent among them were promoting whatever "new season" models were on offer. Other was trade in value for used washer, dryer, refrigerator, etc... to be applied towards new. To be fair these trade in allowance pitches did have merit on some level. Advances in all sorts of areas made major appliances bought in years just after WWII (say until maybe 1949 through early 1950's) seem ancient compared to late 1950's through early 1960's. For those who could afford to "trade up" it was a no brainer. Then as noted in previous comment there was the lively market in used appliances. Dealers took and refurbished traded in units, marked them up and sold them on. Times being what they were many households who couldn't afford new were happy with used appliances. Maytag devoted entire section of service manual on how dealers could refurbish traded in wringer washers to make money selling them on.
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Post# 1192701 , Reply# 12 10/28/2023 at 22:15 (188 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.) |
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Even when I began adult life on my own in 1970 and thru the mid 80’s many appliances that I owned I bought used because thats what I could afford at the time. I even bought a 1953 Admiral 17” console TV used in 1972 from a TV dealer for $30.00. I used that TV for 6 years with no repairs, not even a new vacuum tube.
We didn’t just sh*t can everything that was unwanted then. Eddie | ||
| Post# 1192704 , Reply# 13 10/28/2023 at 22:41 (188 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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We didn’t just sh*t can everything that was unwanted then. That mentality seriously needs to return. Too much waste these days but mostly because of cheap prices due to cheap build quality and slave labor.
The amount of perfectly good items I see next to trash cans every week while walking my dogs is just mindboggling. Perfectly good bikes, furniture, kids toys, lawn equipment, appliances. For God sake, donate that stuff. In this area, there's no restrictions to what one can throw away and no extra charge occurs, so I see a bunch of stuff every week sometimes piled from one end of the property to the other. I was recently looking for a gas edger so I could significantly reduce wear and tear on my weed eater, string use, as well as my arms. Found one in perfect condition by the trash. Went back after my walk, grabbed the truck and brought it home. I was expecting a plugged up carburetor at the very least. Nope, fired up on the second pull and works perfectly. WTF?
I don't EVER remember seeing bikes in the trash in the 80's or 90's, not even once. Nobody that I new threw away lawn equipment that worked fine or appliances that still functioned properly and I grew up in a very upscale area. Just wild... | ||
| Post# 1192716 , Reply# 14 10/29/2023 at 01:19 (188 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
Reply #13
The problem is, things are simply too cheap these days. If washer dryer sets were built with quality and were upwards of $3000+, not many would be thrown out since it would be a investment and would be foolish just to pitch something that costs upwards of several grand to the curb over something that costs a hundred bucks to fix.
Thankfully, Waste Management in my area doesn’t touch anything with a 10’ pole if it’s outside of the bin. If you want them to haul something away, you’ll pay big fees and penalties just for them to haul away unwanted stuff like furniture etc. Once upon a time, I set a few bags of leaves aside since the yard waste bins were packed full, came outside to bring the bins up and they were still there and untouched. Even if you attempted to dismantle and stuff something into the bin, they simply will leave a note saying “too large, too bulky”. They are quite strict about that stuff in the SoCal area. | ||
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Post# 1192717 , Reply# 15 10/29/2023 at 01:41 (188 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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"I’ve never understood why people throw away perfectly working appliances either."
Careful now! One person's rubbish is another's found treasure. Speaking for myself... and I am unanimous; leave people throw things away that are perfectly good. They often will find new homes before getting anywhere near local tip. Miele vacuum cleaner Hoover vintage vacuum cleaner Three Keurig coffee makers A Nespresso coffee maker Regina "electric broom" Haier portable washing machine Instant Pot Nini "Foodie" dual air fryer Two NIB sets of dishware and more.. Rather like Edwina Monsoon pushing that full trolley in supermarket one often just passes things by out of exhaustion. If one had one's skates on could have had a new Miele heat pump dryer and vintage but NIB Maytag "Porta-washer" twin tub. | ||
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Post# 1192730 , Reply# 16 10/29/2023 at 14:58 (187 days old) by JustJunque (Western MA) |
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Post# 1192906 , Reply# 18 11/1/2023 at 13:11 (184 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI) |
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TINNY—prope uses and descriptions of:
I was at Lowe’s shopping for a dryer for our washer so somehow that gal may have been in some sort of a Back To The Future time loop via a flux capacitor to know any sort of an appliance as being tinny… (things like that a’plenty would fit that description over there)
My cousin had a cassette tape recorder she’d said was tinny, there was a record reviewed in my Rolling Stone Record Buying Guide to have had a tinny sound and finally canned fruits/vegetables most likely to be Dole or DelMonte packaged in a specially-lined can to avoid having a tinny taste! — Dave | ||
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Post# 1192908 , Reply# 19 11/1/2023 at 14:49 (184 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O ) |
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Once a month we have what's called Large Items days for curbside pickup. It doesn't include construction materials or fridges/ac's that have not been tagged to show they have been purged. But everything else in the house is pretty much good to go like washers, couches etc. Pretty much every day and evening prior there are pickers driving by in pickups or just random people in their cars driving by looking to see what's available. . I've grabbed stuff myself
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Post# 1192933 , Reply# 20 11/2/2023 at 06:41 (183 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Average U.S. household income for 1958 was only around $5k. Adjusted for inflation that's $53,067.07 in today's money.
www2.census.gov/prod2/popscan/p6... That $50 for a second hand wringer washer would have consumed quite a bit of family income. It couldn't come out of housekeeping but was often an investment saved up for, funds came from some sort of windfall and or worked towards. Other option was credit such as easy payment plans offered by all sorts of dealers of major appliances large and small. Key to Sears having more appliances in homes across America than anyone else was their easy payment/credit plan. Alice Kramden did it on Honeymooners but plenty of real life wives also had a go at their husbands over mod cons. If he wouldn't (or couldn't) provide funds many wives took in some sort of work or got jobs to provide "pin money" for household. These funds went towards providing many of the mod cons associated with middle class living. Including going towards making payments for things bought on credit. Many old enough to remember will recall there was a time when many local appliance stores offered "easy credit" terms. One could get washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, fridges, televisions, radios... all sorts of electronics or major appliances on credit terms. Each week or month you went down to said store to make payments. If one missed payments for too long stores could (and often did) send someone to take all that stuff back. This post was last edited 11/02/2023 at 08:07 | ||
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Post# 1192935 , Reply# 21 11/2/2023 at 07:49 (183 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Home appliance were certainly more expensive relative to today in 1955, however the big ticket items is where 1955 was much more affordable compared to 2023.
In 1955 according to google the median home price in the USA was $18,395 or $211,528 in today's dollars compared to $410,200 in June 2023... www.bankrate.com/real-est.... Same with cars, in '55 a New Dodge Sedan, 6-passenger: was $21,091 in 2023 dollars compared to $34,876 in 2023. | ||
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Post# 1192938 , Reply# 22 11/2/2023 at 08:19 (183 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Back in day "major" appliances or white goods were just that; things designed to last.
Whereas appliances of old (that were largely mechanical in nature) lasted 20-30 years or longer. Today's modern appliances on average last only 10-15 years. All those added bells and whistles including motherboards, electronics and so forth add functionally I suppose, but at cost of durability. Once they go and appliance is out of warranty it rarely makes sense economically to repair. This goes long way in explaining why fleaPay, CL and other online are full of older appliances from 1960's through say 1980's that are still perfectly operational. Whereas you have modern stuff barely ten years old falling apart and or otherwise busted. People will say modern fridges, dishwashers, washing machines, etc... use less energy than in past, so there is that. But if one has to replace things after just say fifteen years how much is really being saved? | ||
| Post# 1192947 , Reply# 23 11/2/2023 at 13:14 (183 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
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Reply #22
I ask the same thing. If modern appliances are more efficient but yet, have to be replaced every 10 years, where’s the savings in energy? It takes an insane amount of energy to process steel, even when you recycle steel, still takes a lot of energy to do so.
To give you guys an idea on what it takes to produce steel from scratch along with recycling steel, I suggest check out this film from the Ford Motor Company called Steel On The Rouge from 1968. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Maytag85's LINK | ||
| Post# 1192974 , Reply# 24 11/3/2023 at 08:02 (182 days old) by Aquarius1984 (Planet earth) | ||
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Post# 1192978 , Reply# 25 11/3/2023 at 09:22 (182 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany)) |
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I did that calculation on here before. Energy usage during use is the significantly higher CO2 factor compared to production. I think the emissions for production was between 200-400lbs for an appliance. A kWh emits about a pound of CO2. Came down to 5-10 years to break even, IIRC. | ||
| Post# 1192980 , Reply# 26 11/3/2023 at 10:46 (182 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
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Reply #24
Steel is produced very much the same as it was 55 years ago. There have been some changes over the years but remains very much the same. Biggest difference is they went from open-hearth furnaces to oxygen based furnaces which could produce more steel in less time. In recent years, electric arc furnaces have started to become more prevalent but require lots of juice to run so they aren’t common. The blast furnace aspect hasn’t changed since then, that’s for sure.
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Post# 1192994 , Reply# 27 11/3/2023 at 19:56 (182 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Energy needed to build a new washing machine etc
It takes vastly less energy to make steel today, and then couple that with the fact that a new washing machine only has about 1/3 the amount of steel a belt drive whirlpool had or a dependable Care Maytag had in it.
Yes, I agree that appliances should be kept used as long as possible But Reality is all appliances especially those that use water have a limited life nothing last forever in this category automobiles do not last forever, etc.. A front loading washer will use one quarter of the energy and water that an old dependable Care Maytag or belt drive whirlpool, or even a direct drive washer used so it really does pay to replace them when they were out and even if they only last 5 to 20 years instead of 10 to 30 there’s a huge savings with new machines. John | ||
| Post# 1192995 , Reply# 28 11/3/2023 at 20:07 (182 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
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| Post# 1193033 , Reply# 29 11/4/2023 at 16:05 (181 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
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Reply #27 | ||
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Post# 1193041 , Reply# 30 11/4/2023 at 18:59 (181 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Reply number 28
Hi Sean, the only thing I can’t figure out is how you keep sand and dirt out of your eyes and nose.
Reply number 29 what does my collecting appliances have to do with energy efficiency, none of the appliances we collect were purchased new so they don’t cause a waste of steel and energy. They were all slated for recycling when we acquired them, We don’t even have to heat or air condition that building that they’re in, you simply don’t make any sense in your comments. John | ||
| Post# 1193044 , Reply# 31 11/4/2023 at 19:27 (181 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
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Reply #30 | ||
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Post# 1193056 , Reply# 32 11/4/2023 at 22:32 (181 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Sean, it makes perfect sense you have your head stuck in the sand when you make ridiculous statements that new machines don’t use less energy than old ones.
Modern refrigerators and freezers use 1/2 to 1/4 of the energy they once did new washing machines use one 10th the hot water they used to use less than half the electricity and less than 1/4 the total water. New dishwashers use 1/4 of the water and electricity they used to use, I could go on and on these are facts. If you want to dispute them no one‘s interested in talking to you, you might as well just go drive your 1966 galaxy and stop driving around in modern cars like you’re doing if old things are so energy efficient. John | ||
| Post# 1193058 , Reply# 33 11/4/2023 at 23:06 (181 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
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Reply #23
No one will be interested in talking to you since you since you always bring up the subject of energy consumption and politics in your posts.
Actually, you have your head stuck in the sand since when people tell you the truth and facts, you seem to get pissed off then start going off on your tangents and such ALWAYS WITHOUT FAIL. It’s hypocritical to tell me when I have my head stuck in the sand when you have had your head stuck in the sand all along. | ||
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