POD 3-10-2024 Maytag SAVASUDS system

For various reasons post WWII some housewives clung to semi-automatic washing machines well into 1960's. Some did this out of necessity (issues with hot water supply, indoor plumbing, personal preference...) and so forth so they clung to wringer washers. Suds saving automatic washers were a sales/marketing answer to that situation in hopes of countering various objections Her Indoors may have had against fully automatic washing machine.

Never a huge part of market as affluence grew post WWII many couldn't get over the "ewwww" factor of reusing wash water. That was something their mothers or grandmothers did and seemed antediluvian to many modern housewives.

As with a wringer washer using a suds saver required a housewife or whoever to put a bit more planning into order of laundry work. Something not universally welcomed and could be avoided by not reusing water.

Many consumer groups didn't see point of suds saving washers either. Aside from ick factor of reusing "dirty" water they pointed out whatever hot water was stored waiting to be used again likely cooled considerably.

Post war housing boom saw huge numbers of modern homes built designed for "modern living" as it were. More often than not large sinks or built in tubs once used to wash/rise laundry by hand, soak or just drain water were replaced by standpipe drains. One could purchase portable tubs from Sears among others, many designed to accommodate suds saving washers, but that was another expense on top of machine itself.

Newer hones were more likely connected to public sewer systems replacing septic systems. This helped solved worries about water use that suds savers helped solve. This or more and more local areas were connecting existing homes/streets to public sewer system with same results.

Indeed well into 1980's areas of country were homes still largely were on septic systems were likely to be same still using wringer washers or maybe a suds saving automatic. During that decade there was renewed interest in suds saving washers in some quarters as way to reduce energy and water use on wash day.

Like wringer washers and other semi-automatic machines AW seems to have these lively discussions on suds saving washer pretty often. It's always fun to hear from those who were there and their experiences. Our sainted mother dear wouldn't have anything to do with reusing wash water. *LOL* Thus such a machine stood nil chance of getting past front door.

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Post# 1201258 3/10/2024 at 14:36 by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes 1 WOW, Maytag dealers must have been reporting lost sales to Sears when prospective customers wanted an automatic with Suds Saving capabilities for Maytag to come up with this Rube Goldberg contraption that looked like something from outer space had landed in the set tub. I guess that the other thing we can learn from the water usage table is that some other machines had a larger tub.

Post# 1201282 , Reply# 1 3/10/2024 at 18:49 by appnut (TX)
Checkrate/Likes 2 Tom looking at it it still reminds me of looking at an outboard motor on the back of a boat.

Post# 1201300 , Reply# 2 3/10/2024 at 23:59 by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes In picture/step 3 they mention that the hose from the bottom of the unit is placed in the washer tub before the unit is plugged in. They neglect to say that step required reaching down to the bottom of the tub of hot water. Maytag could have provided some sort of clip or wire to hold the hose closer to the surface of the water or to hoist it up out of the hot water.

Post# 1201306 , Reply# 3 3/11/2024 at 08:25 by Helicaldrive (St. Louis)
Checkrate/Likes *The thing I�ll never understand* About suds savers is that I never have loads that could be washed in the same water. Start with whites, that�ll have Clorox which can�t be used on colors. Even a load of light colors first would cover the darks with lint. I remember relatives washing a load of colored towels first, and then a load or two of sheets second. But � especially if the towels were re-used to the stinky and grody point most people re-use them until, then it�d be totally gross to wash sheets in that funk water. Disgusting.

Post# 1201323 , Reply# 4 3/11/2024 at 15:46 by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)
Checkrate/Likes 6 You�ve got to remember that hot water supplies were usually limited and people were used to reusing water in wringer washers and even baths. It got even worse if you had to boil the copper for hot water. That was my grandparents only hot water supply up until the late 50s. You generally sorted the loads based on temp. Start with the hottest and work your way down to work clothes at the end. Until people had large hotwater supplies, it was just about working with what you had.

Post# 1201339 , Reply# 5 3/11/2024 at 18:57 by qsd-dan (West)
Checkrate/Likes 2 The only time I washed more than one load in my wringer washers was if the initial load was lightly soiled and the subsequent loads were of the same water temps and not very dirty themselves. The same rules would apply to me, personally, for suds-saver use. Most don't truly appreciate their water heater until it fails, especially if it's during the winter months.

Post# 1201344 , Reply# 6 3/11/2024 at 20:20 by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes 2 I spent one Thanksgiving with a beloved aunt in Milwaukee. After the luncheon feast, we went to the basement and did the weekly laundry because she worked 5 days a week and this would give her Saturday free. She had a Maytag Highlander with a suds saver. She ran load after load through it and the water heater ran full blast the entire time with the mandatory warm rinses which were not super warm with the extremely cold tap water and the water heater not able to fully recover to supply the 140F water to blend with the ice water for rinsing. She would not have had enough hot water to do back to back loads without the suds return feature. No bleach was used in any of the loads and additional Oxidol added, which she had used for years. Additionally, she still had her Maytag Master in the basement which she said she sometimes still used in the summer when she was not working. I would say this about using bleach with a wringer washer from watching my mother and grandmothers using bleach in the laundry with a wringer washer. The bleach was added to the first rinse, just like the Whirlpool Duets did. When the load or loads to be bleached were finished, the water was dumped and the first rinse tub refilled. Another thing about washing multiple loads in the same water is that additional detergent or soap was added to the water for each subsequent load. These instructions were printed on the laundry detergent boxes of the time. A great deal of soil can be suspended in the wash water with higher concentrations of cleaning products and in those times, laundry products were really heavy duty as far as being caustic and the surfactants were powerful. Early ads for the Bendix Automatic Home Laundry mention how it helped ladies doing laundry avoid red hands. Additionally, if soap was being used for the laundry, enough soap had to be used to maintain an active layer of about 2 inches of suds on the water because if the suds collapsed, the soil was no longer suspended and cleaning stopped. The comments about lint being deposited on dark fabrics have been answered by Launderess and others. With a wringer washer the clothes were lifted out of the water at the end of each step, hopefully leaving the lint behind. Granted, it was not a 100% sure thing, but it helped. This is one reason why breezy days were favored for laundry.

Post# 1201351 , Reply# 7 3/11/2024 at 22:29 by Helicaldrive (St. Louis)
Checkrate/Likes *Interesting!* Thanks

Post# 1201361 , Reply# 8 3/12/2024 at 02:00 by Launderess (Quiet Please, There�s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes 1 For various reasons post WWII some housewives clung to semi-automatic washing machines well into 1960's. Some did this out of necessity (issues with hot water supply, indoor plumbing, personal preference...) and so forth so they clung to wringer washers. Suds saving automatic washers were a sales/marketing answer to that situation in hopes of countering various objections Her Indoors may have had against fully automatic washing machine. Never a huge part of market as affluence grew post WWII many couldn't get over the "ewwww" factor of reusing wash water. That was something their mothers or grandmothers did and seemed antediluvian to many modern housewives. As with a wringer washer using a suds saver required a housewife or whoever to put a bit more planning into order of laundry work. Something not universally welcomed and could be avoided by not reusing water. Many consumer groups didn't see point of suds saving washers either. Aside from ick factor of reusing "dirty" water they pointed out whatever hot water was stored waiting to be used again likely cooled considerably. Post war housing boom saw huge numbers of modern homes built designed for "modern living" as it were. More often than not large sinks or built in tubs once used to wash/rise laundry by hand, soak or just drain water were replaced by standpipe drains. One could purchase portable tubs from Sears among others, many designed to accommodate suds saving washers, but that was another expense on top of machine itself. Newer hones were more likely connected to public sewer systems replacing septic systems. This helped solved worries about water use that suds savers helped solve. This or more and more local areas were connecting existing homes/streets to public sewer system with same results. Indeed well into 1980's areas of country were homes still largely were on septic systems were likely to be same still using wringer washers or maybe a suds saving automatic. During that decade there was renewed interest in suds saving washers in some quarters as way to reduce energy and water use on wash day. Like wringer washers and other semi-automatic machines AW seems to have these lively discussions on suds saving washer pretty often. It's always fun to hear from those who were there and their experiences. Our sainted mother dear wouldn't have anything to do with reusing wash water. LOL Thus such a machine stood nil chance of getting past front door. www.automaticwasher.org/c... www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/... www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/... www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/...

Post# 1201362 , Reply# 9 3/12/2024 at 02:20 by Launderess (Quiet Please, There�s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Let's go to the video tape! Suds Save and Return Demo 57 GE WA857: 1966 Maytag A806S 2002 Maytag Dependable Care Performa Washer, Cottons, Sud Saver Active: Not to be confused with WP's "Resource Saver" washer. From across the pond a Hoover washer with suds saver. Who knew? As for "ewww" factor in reusing water, commercial/industrial laundries do it all the time. Indeed as Continuous Batch Washers (CBW) become more common reuse of water to some degree has as well. Water use can be down to a low of 0.5 or high of 0.75 gallons of water per pound of wash. This is done by using water more than once.

Post# 1201368 , Reply# 10 3/12/2024 at 05:55 by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes 3 *Suds saver automatic washers* And reusing wash water in wringer washers. There was never any proven reduction and cleaning ability from reusing wash water. If it was done properly, even the two times consumer reports tested suds savers on automatic washers. They said they could detect no loss of cleaning effectiveness, even after reusing the water three times. I know many people are eicked out by the fact that a dirty pair of underwear went in And the water got reused, but you also have to use the same logic that you couldn�t even wash a pair of dirty underwear in a given load because the soil from it would affect everything in the load. If you�re that anal about washing dirty things with other items, then you would have to wash every single item every single pair of socks in a separate tub of water , not very realistic. John L This post was last edited 03/12/2024 at 09:09

Post# 1201369 , Reply# 11 3/12/2024 at 07:27 by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)
Checkrate/Likes 1 I remember lots of 'saving suds' laundry, my grandmother's sister had one. They lived on a farm with a well. Though modern enough equipment; pump, air-tank, softener and water heater, they still had to use water sparingly. During times of drought, the well would run poorly and even at times nearly dry up. Each load done in her suds-saver required a few gallons more fresh water to satisfy the water level because some water was lost (absorbed by the now wet clothes) in each load. A little more detergent was added each load as well. I don't recall her using the wash-water more than a few times before it was let go for fresh water in the next load.

Post# 1201372 , Reply# 12 3/12/2024 at 08:32 by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes *Please clarify* said saver out of paddock washers.

Post# 1201378 , Reply# 13 3/12/2024 at 10:07 by rpms (ontario canada)
Checkrate/Likes 2 Always wondered how people washed dark clothes in a wringer if they used bleach. Never thought of putting it in the rinse. Makes a lot of sense now. I think using a hot tub with strangers more disgusting than reusing wash water.