Front loading washing machines

we've had the kenmore stackable front loaders for near a year now.. I'll never go back to a top loader. the washer and dryer both are much more efficient. Of course, we make sure there are no kids inside when we use them.. geesh!!

check that.. ours is a whirlpool

When did the first front loaders come out? I recall my mother replacing the old wringer washer with a Bendix front load about 1950 or so.

Actually I understand the newer dryers are no more efficient than the old ones, but the front loaders spin at a higher speed and the clothes come drier to start with so the dryer does not need to work as hard.

Yes, it's true generally, but I had a Hitachi top-loader washing machine that spun as fast as today's front loaders. When it died after 17 years, I got a Maytag Atlantis top-loader and was quite disappointed with the spin speed, clothes comes out much wetter than with the Hitachi. Can't get a front-loader though, not enough space in front to open a door.

My parents bought a new house in 1947 with a Bendix front load "builder installed." I recall that it was bolted to the floor in a corner of the kitchen, and when it went into its wringer cycle at the end it shook the room -- that's why it was bolted to the floor I guess. My mother loved it; her first automatic washing machine.

Comical, isn't it.

The newest "innovations" are often rehashed ideas.

The front loaders were just abandoned by the manufacturers in the 60's when you were supposed to "live better electricly" with all new power sucking toys, right down to having electrical swizzle sticks.

People wanted lots of clean water to wash with, and front loaders wouldn't hold as much as top loaders.

Electricity and water was cheap, we were all going to own "flying cars" and the only talk of ozone was at the amusement park where the bumper cars were.

Sigh ! Am I just getting old ?

On Wed 17 Aug 2005 07:25:44p, Edwin Pawlowski wrote in alt.home.repair:

Bendix held patents for front loaders at least as early as the mid-1930s, but production was virtually non-existent during WWII. It wasn't until after the war that production and sales of automatic home laundry equipment grew dramatically. The Westinghouse Laudromat was a major competitor beginning in the mid-1940s.

On Wed 17 Aug 2005 07:25:44p, Edwin Pawlowski wrote in alt.home.repair:

Ed, you might enjoy this site. Lot's of vintage stuff and restorations.

On Sat 27 Aug 2005 01:50:00a, Wayne Boatwright wrote in alt.home.repair:

Oops, sorry, Ed.

The 1938 Bendix looks pretty much like the one my mother had in 1947. Not exactly the same if my memory serves (I was 5 years old) but very close. Round, tube-like machine with a short base.

I think there were no metal panels on the sides, however, just a front panel and it may have not been black. Looked very industrial, with bolts and frame showing, although I doubt this was a design feature in

You poured detergent in the hole in the top. I'm pretty sure the machine was bolted to the kitchen floor. You had to bend over almost to the floor to open the door and put in clothing. No dryers in those days at our house, but the house came from the builder with a clothesline in the back yard and the washer installed.

On Sat 27 Aug 2005 10:04:13a, Tom Miller wrote in alt.home.repair:

Like this one, Tom?

Yeah, that's the one I was referring to.

On Sun 28 Aug 2005 09:28:29a, Tom Miller wrote in alt.home.repair:

That's a really neat old machine! When our washing machine died, I can remember going a couple of times with my mom to a laundromat where they had a row of those machines.

Another interesting oldie... Back in the 1930s and 40s many large apartment buldings had "drying rooms" adjacent to the room where similar washers were installed. Clothes were hung on lines in traditional fashion, then the room was closed and hot air was pumped into the room until the clothes were dry.

We have a Maytag Neptune front loader and it does do a better job cleaning, holds a ton of laundry ( three boys under ten) . It is gentler on clothes than any top loader we've had including Maytag . However we have noticed black mold growing on the door seal and treat it regularly with Sol-u-mel to control it. Having said this we just received notice of a class action lawsuit against Maytag as a result of mold, defective motors ( had ours replaced with a new and better motor under warranty) and defective door latches.This may or may not influence your decision on Maytag but front loaders are definitely worth the extra price in our opinion