I’ve mentioned before that my mom is in the first stage of dementia. Now that she is on medication, she’s doing a little better. Often memories of the good old days are much more vivid than what happened last week.
Yesterday I was talking to her and some how the subject of laundry came up. She said, “Oh my, is it Monday? You know I always do my laundry on Monday.” She then went on to tell me all about her Maytag washer. Her family was so proud when she married my dad because he was rich enough to buy her a Maytag washer and two rinsing tubs. He was such a good man that he hung clothes lines up for her outside and down in the basement too!
When she mentioned the rinsing tubs, the memory came back quite clearly for me, too. I remember those Mondays. The laundry area would be spread with huge piles of clothing.
Mom hooked up her beautiful Maytag and filled it with hot water and soap. The first load would always be the whites. Mom said she let each load run for about fifteen minutes. Then she turned the machine off and, using a stick, dug out each piece of laundry from the washer and fed it through the wringer. She was very careful with her fingers, zippers and buttons.
The items were then put into the first rinsing tub, back through the wringer and then into the second rinsing tub and again, back to the wringer. Now the laundry could be hung up on the clothes lines.
But wait – back to the Maytag! That was only one load. The next pile of laundry would be put – one item at a time – into the Maytag and turned on for another 15 minutes. Mom used the same water and soap for, sometimes, as many as five loads.
All day on Monday my mom repeated that process of washing – wringing- rinsing – wringing – rinsing – wringing – hanging up and taking down. I asked my mom if she ever did it any other day than Monday. “Oh sure. When you four kids were little I had extra loads of diapers to do.” She said that in a cheerful tone of voice. I said, “I think there are parts of the good old days that were exhausting.”
The picture above is a Maytag ad from 1942 and is the same machine my mom had. I can guarantee you, however, that my mom did not do the laundry in high heels. What about you – can you remember when laundry was an all-day process?
OH MY — she did laundry for a family of 6 this way?! We have certainly become a society of convenience, without even realizing it. I complain when I have laundry piled up and it takes me “all day” to do it; that is, put a load in the washer for 30 minutes; put it in the dryer for 45 minutes; fold it. “All day” for me is about 2 hours of actually doing “work”
Thank you for putting my good life in perspective.
We have a story in our family about the day Aunt Lois got her t*t caught in the wringer. Growing up with that true story meant that I always eyed my grandmother’s wringer washer with a great deal of suspicion. If I were a female Stephen King, I could probably make a ton of money off those suspicions! My grandmother stuck with her wringer washer much longer than most because she firmly believed it got her clothes cleaner. She finally changed her mind after Mom had her new-fangled one for over five years, and my grandmother could see that it did an excellent job cleaning clothes.
I love this feature! And it reminded me: we actually had a washboard in our basement when I was little. (and a jug of coke syrup, which made me actually WANT to get sick, so I could take some, not finding out until I was older that it contained a bit of cocaine which is why it was used for illnesses!)
lol I remember this washer. Grandma actualy had it till I was a teenager. She would have it on the back porch by the pool so us kids could wring out our towles. I do remember one of us cousins getting their hair stuck in it. I dont remember which one though…was not me this time lol
It seemed so small compaired to all the other washers I had seen that I couldnt believe it was a washer.
I’m a bit too young to remember this type of washing machine BUT I do have a story for you! When my mom was about 10 years old she was playing around with the Wringer Washing Machine in her house while it was running. She would put a pencil in to the wringer then try to pull it back out again. She did it over and over until suddenly the pencil got pulled all the way into the wringer, taking her arm with it. The wringer kept rolling and squeezing and she couldn’t get her arm out. I think her mother had to come rescue her. It damaged her arm so much that today, over 50 years later, she still has long, stretched out scars where the skin was rubbed up against her elbow.
Needless to say, these old fashioned washing machines give me the creeps.
(And I am totally shocked by rhapsodyinbooks comment above – I never knew that about coke syrup, and my mom used to give it to us all the time! I hated that stuff …)
My mother’s sister had a machine like that for years and as I child, I remembered being appalled that she was washing clothes in “dirty” water. Thanks for the memory!
Oh boy do I remember wringer washers. My grandmother had a boarding house and it was one block from our house. My Mon. chore when not in school was to help Gram with the washing and hanging, then Tues. of course we did the ironing with a mangle. She even ironed my grandfather’s socks and shorts!
We have another thing in common. My father and his sister both had Alzheimer’s. It’s a cruel disease; I’m glad your mother still has these memories.
I knew there was a reason why I was thankful to be born when I was! Five loads with the same water? Your mom went ‘green’ before it became the thing to do
We forget how easy we have it now. I really enjoyed this post. Sometimes I just want to simplify my life. Gadgets are great when they work but man, when they don’t work we are so shell-shocked by it, aren’t we?
The apartment where we lived when we were first married had a wringer washer; we didn’t get an “automatic” until we already had two babies. (Have I mentioned that I’m older than, well, the water in that fifth load of clothes (;>).) We got ours before anyone else in the family, our moms or anyone else we knew. I’m sure they thought I was lazy.
Hi Margot,
I sure do remember those days. My mom had a wringer washer also. It was a chore and a half on laundry days. Thanks for stopping by my place. Have a great weekend.
Sherrie
Just Books
My grandmother had a huge mangle in the basement. I was always so fascinated with it. She had a housekeeper who could work that machine like a pro.
When I was little my mom didn’t have a washer and dryer. Once a week she’d gather all the laundry and the kids and we’d spend the day at her mother’s house while she did the laundry.
I loved hearing the story of your mom and laundry!! I’m thankful that I have never had to do laundry like that and can’t remember a machine that resembled that in my grandparents’ house. We are really lucky that we live in a time with such advantages!!
Reason #1,832 why I am glad I was not born in the good old days!
If only hanging lines was enough these days! We still don’t have a dryer, and I think it might be straining our relationship …. I might have to break down and purchase the next greatest appliance ….
I don’t think my mom ever had a wringer washer, but I do remember she had one small washing machine at one of the places we lived in, and we had the lines in the basement and outside in the backyard.
nice post. thanks.
And for anyone longing for the good old days-I have a 1954 Kenmore wringer washer, in storage since 1958, with owners manual and original vinyl cover-in working condition I’d like to sell. I can deliver anywhere between Kansas City and Phoenix, for free! (And yes, it gobbled a little girls fingers-my sister-when she was six.)
Oh I was looking into getting a wash board set up or a wringer washer like this, i know it sounds bad but i think it will save money! Especially when I spend all day at the laundrymat anyway!
I think most have the wrong idea about wringer washers and time spent. Line drying actually dried more cloths faster than any dryer on a good day.
In the Maytag instruction book it states about 3 to 5 minutes to wash a load. One must realize that you did not pack the washer like you do with an automatic. The cloths whirled through that wash water and really got clean. So imagine having 1o loads of laundry to do. Wash a load, rinse and hang that load. Then next load is now ready to do the same. Ok 15 minutes a load 4 loads an hour, 2 1/2 hours your total laundry is done being washed. You are now ready after 2 1/2 hours to remove cloths and start to fold them. Compare how much time it takes with an automatic. Are you done in three hours with 10 loads? I doubt it. Our mothers didn’t have that much time to deal with the wait of the washer in large families… Plus it is a very green way to do laundry. I’m a country boy that grew up with a well and septic tank. One never let the water constantly run in the sink. You used what you needed and that is all.
Growing up wringer washers was my.mom’s appliance of choice,I was very.little but I.remember the first one she got was brand,it washed very good, but the wringer seemed to have a ghost in it, it jamed up atleast 90% of the time, everything in the whole went.through it 4or5 days a week my mom had a ball with it but it always got stuck sometimes for 3 whole minutes miracle the roller didn’t wear out though it peeled,but a year of that that wringer was never quiet again the 6 years of It’s life, i really liked those funny little sounds.it made I think my mom did too, We had others after that one died,.though she tried she never found another like it again..
Oh my yes, I remember oh so well. My parents owned a trailer court and there was one washer in the basement of the house we lived in. There would be a sign up sheet for the days a person wanted to wash. I remember a blueing liquie we would put in the final rinse that made the whites look whiter. I remember hanging diapers on the clothesline in freezing weather and not needing clothespins. It was so cold that they stuck to the metal clothesline. Those were the days. There was nothing like going to bed on clean sheets that had been dried on the line. Nice smell!
dale healy,
i would love to buy your wringer washer but wouldn have to find a way to ship unit as we would need it shipped in spring to virginia coastal community “Horntown” va. I really need this washer!
thanks,
jody