It's one of these front-load 'energy and water efficient' things

So I put in a load & set it to "quick wash", "pre-wash", "cotton 60 degrees", 1600 spin

Blind Io! you need a HNC in "washing technology" these days.

Anyway I started it at 13:30 and it's just gone 16:30 and it's still going.

It goes round and round and round ..... pause ...... dnuor, dnuor, dnuor.... pause .....round and round ..... pause ...... dnuor, dnuor, dnuor.... pause ..... etc etc

It doesn't actually fill with water, just enough to make whatever's in there very slightly damp.

Anyone know where I can get a "energy wasteful, water wasteful, ungreen, creates a huge amount of CO2" machine which will do a complete load in 20minutes ???

This is interesting. When it comes to washing machines, I get stuck trying to work out whether it's a monkeys or a toss I couldn't give.:E

I know, I know, but SHEEsH !!! I'm BORED !!!!

.... it's still going

You're on the wrong forum, mate. Try Grumpier Old Men ;)

.... it's still going

Just a guess here, but I do believe it is broken. Sounds like the timing thingy is not working. Three hours is way too long for any washing machine to run.

Well, we have a water saving machine at home. After the wash all the clothes are still sticky from the powder ( we check what is needed and put a lot less in ) .

So we have to go through the rinse cycle three times to make the clothes wearable. ( water saving, my ar*e )

coldair

...and don't even get me started on what they do with my socks. For every dozen you put in, eleven come out. Where DO they send them ?

the water input isn't working.Stop it and throw in a bucketful.

the water input isn't working.Stop it and throw in a bucketful.

Or that. :p



Does make sense.

It doesn't actually fill with water, just enough to make whatever's in there very slightly damp.

I thought that was a clue.

Yeah, try turning the tap on at the wall.

Washing machines are designed for women to operate.

That's why they're illogical.

Hmm just had a digs in newcastle with the same type of machine.

Couldn't get it to do the simplest of things at a normal pace.

Gave up and stunk for twa days until home, did washing in the miele, no such probs.

You get what you pay for....40 mins at 40C spun at 1200..all nice and simple :)

GR the ex miele tech from many lives ago...

AHA !!!!

it finally finished and I set the next lot off at "60 degrees synthetic"

It did pre-wash, wash, 3 rinses & spin in 48 minutes.

So it's something to do with the ".... cotton" setting, so I'll avoid that in future.

Hey! this is the most interesting thing I've had to talk about all week!!

Hey! this is the most interesting thing I've had to talk about all week!!

I'll arrange a sudden powercut, that should give you your next conversation piece :}

Strewth! With those timings, you would be better off find a decent rock, go down to the local stream and do your cotton stuff there.

Mind you, you'll need to check the local laws on putting polluting stuff in your stream. Pretty tough on that this side of the globe. ;)

Le Vieux

I can't use those damn things, I have no idea what the settings and terms mean. Ours has about 6 dials and knobs, several buttons, 20 different cycles, for 15 different types of fabric, different temperature settings, and 2 or 3 slots where you put the detergent stuff in, and one for bleach and softener. On the shelf next to the washing machine are about 50 bottles and packets of various powders and fluids.

At my stage of life I am proud to say that only clothes I possess are jeans, sweatshirts, t-shirts, safari shirts, undies, and socks. I just want ONE setting that will wash, rinse, and dry the whole lot with ONE press of ONE button, which says something helpful like ON/OFF.

If a MAN invented a washing machine that does that he would probably become richer than the late Steve Jobs. And of course it would have to be a man, no woman could invent something that simple and functional.

So why this :

http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/539572/539572,1269113969,1/stock-photo-washing-machine-control-panel-49139485.jpg

When this would do the job :

http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/541585/541585,1273898904,14/stock-vector-on-off-button-53098132.jpg

Happily, I have been banned from the laundry room!

If it electronic search the net for the test sequences for that particular washer. Test it. My two bob? The water inlet valve ($30- $50)

....there was me thinking how empty my life was......quite cheered me up:p

ONE press of ONE button,

They exist; in the Far East. The standard washing machines there are vertical drum models with a cold water input only. There are no drain pumps to go wrong; a solanoid opens a valve at the bottom of the drum and the water flows along a hose to a convenient drain in the floor. Why is there all this rubbish about different temperatures? Detergent works just as well in cold water as it does in hot, they certainly did with me.

Lift the lid, throw in ALL your kit, a capfull of detergent, switch it on and twenty minutes later pull it out and throw it into the dryer.

The maid would pull it out and iron it.

And then the OTHER thing about doing the laundry...

WHAT DO ALL THOSE LABELS MEAN ? - on the clothes that is...

I mean what in Blind Io's name is a triangle with an extra line through it supposed to convey?:ugh:

I can sort stuff out into "whites" and "coloureds", except that I can spend 20 minutes worrying about something which is white with some colours in it (patterns or stipes), or is it possibly coloured with some white in it. But then they trow all these little cymbals at you (spelling I think I mean symbols)

I think I'll just give it all up & get married, seems that salves all domestic chore problems.

G&T, if you give me time to take off my pinnie and turn off the iron, I'll explain some of the "domestic" Facts of Life...

Le Vieux

WHAT DO ALL THOSE LABELS MEAN ? - on the clothes that is...



Ah don't sweat the small stuff, just dump everything in there together, must admit I've some rather interesting coloured shirts. :p

40C for coloureds and 60C for whites: anything woollen, silk or unusual/expensive looking, leave to the wife as it's not worth the risk.

We have an 11 year old Whirlpool, and, luckily, soft water. Iy has a dial on the front with lots of symbols - but one is larger than the rest - it says 30 min 30C QuickWash. It has stayed on that setting since leaving the shop. The only other setting is the spin speed - it has stayed on 1000rpm since leaving the shop. The only other control that is used is the ON/OFF button. It works just fine.

Many years ago I threw in a load in my old clockwork Hotpoint and set it going. I then nipped out to run some errands which took longer than originally planned. About three hours later I got home to find it still running. The timer had eaten the stop and so it just kept running through the cycles. I figured out it had run through two and a half complete revolutions by the time I'd stopped it, which meant my washing had been through two boil washes. Well there was nothing too delicate in there so no damage done I thought apart from my jeans being a bit tight. That was until I discovered the elastic in nearly every single pair of my boxer shorts was fried. After putting them on in morning they gave out very shortly and would end up runched up round the crotch of my trousers! :O

would end up runched up round the crotch of my trousers!

They're not supposed to?

Oops. :uhoh:

Worst failure is when the pressure sensor thingy which tells the machine when the water has reached the right level in the drum stops working when you're out.

When you come home, you've not only got a brand new indoor pond, but also a rather amusing ornamental fountain centred on the detergent powder drawer.

A substantial amount of swearing generally follows.

We've got one of the eco efficient A rated things, granted being German it has only two dials.

Everything I own, wear and dirty goes in together and gets a 40 wash.

If its a big load it gets a 40 wash with the "Aqua Plus" (more water) button pressed.

If its a really dirty load it gets the "Aqua Plus" button plus the "Wash Plus" (more time) button pressed - and two tabs instead of one.

Works for me. :ok:

This is interesting. When it comes to washing machines, I get stuck trying to work out whether it's a monkeys or a toss I couldn't give.

I don't know, men . . . just can't get interested in the more important things in life. Oh, that's right, I are one.

That was until I discovered the elastic in nearly every single pair of my boxer shorts was fried. After putting them on in morning they gave out very shortly and would end up runched up round the crotch of my trousers!


Waaaaaaaaaaaay too much information. :yuk:

Oh it's dreadful to be an engineer..............try pulling the machine out of it's slot, it may just be a 'kinked' inlet hose. I hate myself.

Ah yes. Washing machine logic.

About 20 years ago, we had a Zanussi. More settings than you could shake a sweaty sock at. Very impressive.

On the first wash, all seemed to be going well. Eventually, the wondrous Appliance of Science fell silent and still.

Five minutes later, it was still silent and still.

'It's finished', I concluded.

Opened the door...

WHoooooooosssshh!!! Water, clothes and more water on the floor. ":mad::mad::mad::mad:" in the air.

Fantastic.

http://www.hobotraveler.com/uploaded_images/207-92-togo-children-washing-clothes-734402.jpg

:ok:

Le Vieux

pollution..........Pretty tough on that this side of the globe.

Try telling that to the oyster farmers in the Bay of Islands.

Clean, Green, ??? Con-trick, like the Winterless North fiasco.

(sorry guys, Regional argument )

I think I'll just give it all up & get married, seems that salves all domestic chore problems.

Are you sitting comfortably ? Then I'll begin ...........

In the interest of research on behlaf of fellow Ppruners, I did a little research and have come up with the ideal washing machine.

I may have a little resistance at home over the installation .............
http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee406/Helios340/MaidWashingWallpaper__yvt2.jpg

Whatever you do; do not share a house with an American.
Conventional European washing machines have a two minute delay after completion before you can open the door. It says so in the instructions that I gave you to read!

YOU DO NOT JEMMY THE HANDLE OFF WITH A BROOMSTICK!

granted being German it has only two dials.

Are they "Temperature" and "Occupy Austria" ?

P.S. Cape, I did ask you not to print that picture of my cleaning lady !

G&T, you managed to register on PPRuNe, but googling 'laundry labels' is beyond you? How very.... curious.
Oh and while you´re googling anyway, try 'colour catcher UK'; it´ll ease those thorny "white with coloured stripes" moments. ;)

Anyway, here´s the answer to your biggest problem, the Easy Washing Machine:
6DFaFhjBs9c

Then we have crippen proposing a spot of child labour, and Capetonian sharing his domestic & sexual phantasies with us.
Curiouser even.

glad rag has the definitive answer though. You get what you pay for, and Miele will do it all. From fast and furiously pounding the dirt out of your work jeans to gently laundering Capetonians´s favourite undies.


PS: You were a Miele tech glad rag? That puts you right at the top of a woman´s favourite-type-of-men list. :ok:

I can sort stuff out into "whites" and "coloureds",

You do realise that such segregation is now illegal?

Miele at home here, too. Seems to get the job done.

Hey, Capetonian, does that thing double as a Goblin Teasmade? :E

I've always considered washing machines to be evil things. They eat clothes without pretense (mostly socks and underwear. On occasion bras as well.) They're noisy, unruly and wasteful. Evil things, I tell ya, evil things.

Magnus

that was very naughty of you. Take a spanking.

and extremely funny.

sorry, not read all the posts, but have you turned the water on?

From experience, the filter between the plastic input pipe could be blocked, or it could be a "dodgy solenoid" which is usually placed on the other side of the pipe. It's easilly replaced- you could try swapping it with the hot water side. If said machine works, then you can be pretty sure that this is the problem.:)

..........does that thing double as a Goblin Teasmade?

What was that Ad. ? "Wake up to Goblin " ?

Hey, Capetonian, does that thing double as a Goblin Teasmade?

http://images.zaazu.com/img/iwish-i-wish-wish-hope-smiley-emoticon-000268-large.gif

kinky input hose ?

Now, I know this is totally unacceptable behaviour, but....

:O I've been reading the owner's handbook:O

It seems that the pogrom I first selected is sort of "super-duper extra green and economical and huggy-fluffy-friendly almost no water use" pogrom usually used overnight with 'cheaper electricity' (WTF?? http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/yeees.gif )

quite how having a machine running for many hours to wash a few bits of clobber are way beyond me

My washing machine handbook doesn't define the times of the various programmes - it just reflects the limited information on the control, such as 'Easy Cares 30degC'.

http://www.laundrysystems.electroluxusa.com/node350.aspx?productId=6307

That one is installed in our house here. (shared laundry room with 4 machines)
40 mins for a normal 60° wash cycle.
I'd rather have the tea-maid though...

I have to agree with Fareastdriver (post #20) that the best machines are

"Maid-in-Asia"

I am frequently disappointed with the performance of modern detergents.

All the effort seems to have gone into providing a 'perfume' which pervades for days and which they fondly imagine smells 'fresh'. Horrible stink, especially those conditioners.

It seems that the pogrom I first selected That sounds like it would get you in very hot water.......

A serious business. My 12 year old plus ( the previous flat owner elected to leave it so l have no clue as to its real age ) washer handed in its dinner pail about the time the thread started.
lt neglected to empty itself.

The plumbing ? straight from the mains, at mains pressure. No stop tap.

l thought that l had it under control, oblivious to this lot, when enjoying a romantic dinner on Saturday evening something gave way and the noise suggested that the flat above had a major problem.
There is no flat above, the leak was about the same as a second world war sub diving to 2000ft.
lnvisible until it bounced off the ceiling.

Got a Beko now, to match my fridge/freezer, you know the one ..... set fire to half of London.

I have a top loader, never had a front loader or even seen one in operation, so one thing puzzles me.

If my top loader drum tries to spin with an unbalanced load, the machine stops with a red flashing light.
When a front loader has finished the rinse cycle and the drum comes to a stop, presumably all to clothes fall to the bottom of the drum.
How does it balance the load when it starts to spin ?

Cos one is made in Spain, and the other is made in China.
the Spanish one takes a siesta.

You do ask complicated questions, that's as bad as wondering if the light has gone out when you close the 'fridge door !

This coagulation (if that's the right word) of soap powder is sooooo common. Solution is to say hell with eco-temperatures once a week (or whatever) and run the damn thing at high temperatures now and then. A cable-feeder (for poking cables down ducts) pushed down the hole (or up the waste pipe if access is easier that way) will probably be necessary in really bad cases.

Ooh, please sir, please sir, I know I know ( I think :O). Doesn't the drum start up slowly this redistributes the clothes evenly before going flat out.

I recently bought a new washing machine, one of those outer space ones from the planet Zanussi. After a quick skeg through the FCOM, checking for V1, V2, Vr, flap speeds &c I find it about as easy to operate as a C152. It's best feature is that I can set it to wash during the night when the electricity is on the cheap rate. I really can't pretend that washing machine operation is difficult because it isn't! :)

Ahhh.. cmon - that's cos you are a PILOT

being just ground staff ( in eeuuw! cargo! hawk & spit), you know, the ones that wait for the big silver bird that fly in sky and brings many fine gifts as long as we sacrifice correctly, you know we're not allowed near complex machinery.

How does it balance the load when it starts to spin ?

It starts off slowly and the heavy bits stay at the bottom whilst the light bits are picked up by the drum. As the speed builds up the heavy bits cannot go on top of the light bits so they take up the empty space in between.

The drum is also a lot squatter which helps even more.

We have two Bosch machines, side by side, in our laundry room. One we brought out from the UK, the other was sourced here. They are both ostensibly the same machine except the UK one has a digital display, and the model numbers suggest they come from the same range. Now, if I switch both machines on at the same time, on the same programme, the UK one finishes its cycle in about two thirds of the time taken by its partner.

Why would that be?

Zis is because your locally sourced machine, she stop for dejeuner, eh?

Why would that be

Because digital electrics are faster than analogue electrics.

OL I'll get my coat.....

sitigeltfel: inlet valves providing different flow rates? Or one has an energy-saving feature = less water, less heating time &c.?

we had a problem with our machine a year or two ago,the fabric softener remained in the dispenser.i spoke to a neighbour(a domestic serivce engineer)who told me the soap drawer and the water inlet into the dispenser must be blocked,and if i sourced and bought a new one he would fit it for me for a small fee!:=
so i removed the top, disconected the pipes and took out the water inlet box and sure enough it was full of black gunk and unused soap powder.
i got my drill and made the inlet holes a little bit bigger to allow more water to flush through.gave it a good clean and now it works fine.
then i read the instruction booklet,which said to avoid soap and black residue build up do a service wash once a month,which means running the machine empty on the hottest wash,we do this now every so often when we see the black gunk building up and it does clear it.

We have two Bosch machines, side by side, in our laundry room. One we brought out from the UK, the other was sourced here. They are both ostensibly the same machine except the UK one has a digital display, and the model numbers suggest they come from the same range. Now, if I switch both machines on at the same time, on the same programme, the UK one finishes its cycle in about two thirds of the time taken by its partner.

Why would that be?

Zis is because your locally sourced machine, she stop for dejeuner, eh?

That's closer to the truth than you maybe realise ... a friend of ours runs a company which services/repairs domestic appliances. And when we went looking for a new washing machine there was only one brand he would 'let us' buy. Bosch. More specifically though, he would only sanction a Bosch made in Germany!

Apparantly greedy Mr Bosch has set up manufacturing plants in Hungary and (IIRC) Spain to save on costs := but you get what you pay for and the resulting models aren't a patch on those made in Germany.

Anyway, CS household has been very, very pleased with our 'made in Germany' purchase - it never eats anything, does a great job of cleaning things and is a doddle to operate.


Slight TD but hey ... this chap is a goldmine of stories about cockups when it comes to appliances and one classic springs to mind..

He is called in to look at a miscreant machine in the home of a terribly snooty woman in her immaculate and horribly expensive kitchen. A quick examination poses the question to her "This has been moved hasn't it?"

Her: "Yes, it was one of my engineers. I own my own kitchen design company so I can afford the very best" [http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/pukey.gif]

Him: So which do you want me to smash to get the washer out then - the marble worktop or the made to measure real wood unit?

Her: "Why?"

Him "Because when your genius moved the appliance he didn't move the water inlet closer to where it is now. And then he simply built the kitchen around it. There isn't enough length on the water hose or electric cable to get the washing machine out. So, I can either forcibly pull the machine out and flood the kitchen/ fuse everything / risk electrocuting myself in the process, which I'm not prepared to do, or I can smash something expensive to turn them off first. Your choice!"

CS

Come on guys, we are men. Women might be reading this so keep it steady.

It's best feature is that I can set it to wash during the night when the electricity is on the cheap rate.

Round these parts they make you pay extra to go on the "cheap" white meter rate.

I kid you not. We got ourselves taken off it and we now save money.

Most meters using Economy 7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_7) switch the entire electricity supply to the cheaper rate during the 7 hour night time period,[/URL] not just the storage heater circuit. The downside of this is that the daytime rate will be significantly higher, and standing charges may be a little higher too. For instance, normal rate electricity may be 9p per kWh, whereas [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_7"]Economy 7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_meter#cite_note-19)'s daytime rate might be 14 to 17 p per kWh, but only 5.43p per kWh at night.
From:- Electricity meter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_meter#United_Kingdom)

Try this site. A few surprises there. Who makes what? Many are the same machine under the skin and you pay more for the name.


Washing machine (miscellaneous) information (http://www.washerhelp.co.uk/misc.html)

PPRUNE glitch is inserting post in the wrong order: This should be Post #78..or #77, after this is removed?

Hmm. Many thanks hellsbrink.

I need to investigate. Email to EON tomorrow, methinks, assuming they allow such an economical method of communication.

Most of the well-known machines - including those bearing famous German names - are made here in Spain. The only thing is, the German machines made here don't require an Anschluss.

Most meters using Economy 7 switch the entire electricity supply to the cheaper rate during the 7 hour night time period,[20] not just the storage heater circuit. The downside of this is that the daytime rate will be significantly higher, and standing charges may be a little higher too. For instance, normal rate electricity may be 9p per kWh, whereas Economy 7's daytime rate might be 14 to 17 p per kWh, but only 5.43p per kWh at night. Timer switches installed on washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers and immersion heaters may be set so that they switch on only when the rate is lower.

OK, I'm confused.

Economy 7 is automatically switched to operate for 7 hours, during the night.

For the remainder of the 24 hours in one day, Economy 7 is automatically switched off and the normal daytime supply is automatically switched on.

So why does the above quote say that Economy 7 is charged at a higher rate during the day?

It isn't activated during the day!

It is activated during the day, because "Economy 7" is just the name for the way the electricity is metered and it means your entire, 24/7, electricity supply....


Anyway, E7 is soooooooo old hat, the one they're even doing over here is "Total Heating (with Total Control)". Unfortunately, your entire leccy supply don't change over to cheap rate at night, but you can, with the aid of a compliant sparky and provided you are sensible about things, put the odd appliance or socket on 24-hour cheap rate leccy........ :E

Still confused.

It says 'night units' and 'day units' or something on the bills. So does that mean we don't have Economy 7 in our house, then? I thought they were all the same thing.

So us heating our water and setting up the washing m/c and dishwasher to come on at 2am is on cheap leccie, is it? We've assumed it is.

I wouldn't put it past these leccie companies to be pulling a fast one.

Depends on what you have, but since you mention "night units" is on the bill I would bet it's an E7 sort of setup and not the "Total Heating" one where all heating and water heating is on cheap rate. The main water heater and storage heaters are on the equivalent of E7 (night time only) and all the convector heaters, fan boosters on storage heaters, "boost" on the immersion heater and even your shower are on cheap rate 24/7 on "Total Heating" and that means that everything else is billed at the normal, not-so-cheap price.

We have economy 7 and it works out cheaper mainly because we run a storage radiator. There will be a time clock near the meter.

Buy the simplest top-loader you can find, water temp; "warm" for everything, adjust the water level if you're the fussy type, turn it on when you need stuff washed energy savings be damned, and go live your life more worry-free.

There will be a time clock near the meter.
I thought off peak was run by Telemeter these days. I seem to recall that in the late eighties when I briefly worked for SWEB it was was one of the priority jobs before privatisation. That and putting individual feeds to each property so they could cut off defaulters from outside the property without cutting off whole streets! A down side to having a Radio Tele Switch Meter was that if they needed to balance the load they could cut off the off peak from Droitwich so your storage heaters and timer Oven would lose power.

When I started work here at the Lab I got put onto Emergency shift cover. One Afternoon I got sent over to the dormitory block to see why one of the Boffins had no power in his room to run his lap top. Sure enough no juice at the socket, checked the fuse board all OK then noticed the storage heater was on. Turns out the Sockets had been wired into the Off peak and the heaters into the Normal supply. Turns out when the place was wired up the contractors had a job lot of red cable. It took the sparks weeks to sort out as all three phases were wired in red and not a single cable had any form of identification. Every single one had to be belled out and numbered before they could rewire the place.

Hmm - tell SWMBO that and there will be no requirement for the suicide.
A full and frank confession might be in order. A couple of months practice on 'domestic duties' and you might be outa the doghouse by New Year :eek:

Windy, sounds a bit high tech for rural Bedfordshire. We had a new meter installed a couple of years back and still have a time clock.

I had to use ours yesterday. Stuck all the stuff in including some belonging to SWMBO. Press buttons and turned dials, put in liquid soap.

Her stuff all shrunk. I'm wondering if I should commit suicide now or wait until she gets home and tell her she has to lose weight.

Came back from work and into my apartment in China. No Power; main RCCB tripped.

Tried resetting, went 'clonk.' Wandered around the apartment unplugging things and trying again and and again eventually everything unplugged and still the RCCB went 'clonk.' However the lights would work so it was a plug circuit wiring problem.

The apartment was equipped with a mixture of old round pin 15 and 5 amp sockets. Presumably it was job lot off one of the ships that had been stranded in the Suez Canal since the Six Day War because the place had been built by a Hong Kong contractor and HK used British fused square pins.

I then had to take out the sockets to see where the problem was. I was on the ground floor so the electricions who had wired the place had only started their job, and their career..... The wiring was horrendous. It was the old fashioned steel conduit with 14/1087 wire. The was no apparent colour coding and it looked as if the cable used was whatever happened to be handy at the time. They had installed a kind of ring main but the plugs could not take two strands of wire so the circuit was continued with copius amounts of insulation tape with a spur for the plug. Two of the sockets were still live with the apartment shut down so they had been wired into next door.

I telephoned the agent and he came around to have a look. He arranged for an electrician who arrived with his bag of tools. He took one look and walked out again.
"Too difficult," said the agent.

It was now up to me. It took about two hours and the fault was a shaver socket. When they had chased out the wall it was insufficient so the cable was jammed between the concrete and the box. Miniscule movement when a shaver was pushed in and pulled out had eventualy worn away the insulation and it had shorted to earth.

Two minutes with screwdriver and a steak hammer; there was enough slack to rewire it properly and I was back in business.

except that I can spend 20 minutes worrying about something which is white with some colours in it (patterns or stipes), or is it possibly coloured with some white in it.

If it has white bits and coloured bits, then the coloured bits are colour-fast (or they would bleed into the white bits), and so it is safe to wash it with the whites. ;)

Ah ha! You do know washing stuff. :E

Capetonian, you were warned !

I have never, EVER, seen an old electrician in China!

I have never, EVER, seen an old electrician in China!
It's all to do with personal qualities:

Down to earth electricians don't last long.

...although positive thoughts or a negative attitude don't help either.

Plumbers just go with the flow.

No joiners have split personalities.

Plasterers are good at smoothing things over.

Bricklayers need to be level headed, although its a plumb job anyway.


And when I tried to post this it said: 'Your submission could not be processed because the token has expired.'

Clues, anyone?

...or was that just a token gesture?

Our 3 month old washing machine (from John Lewis with free 2 year guarantee) suddenly refused to pump out the water. Called in our local island washing machine expert who quickly diagnosed the problem - cat had chewed off a 2 inch long piece from the wickerwork laundry basket and the piece of wickerwork had jammed the pump. Time taken = 30 minutes, total cost = £5 plus a cuppa & bikkies. Island life in Orkney has its benefits.
--
Bruce Fletcher
Stronsay, Orkney

Earliest washing machine that I can remember (from age 3) was similar to the one above (with a mangle). In addition there was a 'boiler' - which did just that - a cylindrical tub of similar size to the washing machine that heated the water to which ammonia and Sturgene were added to cook the whites. Was electricity that cheap or was it essential to boil white sheets to get rid of 'stains'?

Monday was always washing day and the whole kitchen was devoted to the task.
Meals were Sunday leftovers re-heated (I liked fried mashed-potato).

In 1955 we moved into a new-build house with a new front-loading combined washer/dryer (the make of which escapes me but it was 'top of the range' back then (no German brands of course). I think the company subsequently went TU (it wasn't Rolls).
It was Bendix . . .

No more boiling, no more Sturgene, no more ammonia.

(Mother also had a poss-tub and a posser before we moved, but that must have gone with the boiler and the mangle.)

Going right back to 1950 was when our family got our first washing machine. Just a 6 (?) inch impellor on the side to stir the water and clothes in a vertical cartwheel. Fairly simple but it worked.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee224/fareastdriver/Hoover2.jpg

In 1955 we moved into a new-build house with a new front-loading combined washer/dryer (the make of which escapes me but it was 'top of the range' back then (no German brands of course). I think the company subsequently went TU (it wasn't Rolls).
It was Bendix . . .


Ah the Good old Bendix! My mum had one of those:ok: I remember the day it was delivered. My brothers mate plumbed it in temporarily and we fired it up, all went well until it started the spin cycle. There were four of us sitting on it and it still bounced all over the Kitchen.:} After bolting it to the floor it soldiered away for a good twenty years with ner a problem. It was tough as old boots and one of the jobs I had as a lad was removing bent nails from the drum after my brothers had omitted to empty them from their pockets when they finished work. You could tell it had happened again by the ding, ding from the machine and the loud cries from mother.
It finally washed it's last load when the rubber connectors to the drum eventually perished and replacements could no longer be found.
It took three blokes to deliver the Bendix and just one to wheel in the new Hotpoint, which despite never ever eating nails broke down with tedious regularity.
However the Bendix rumbled on as in those days recycling was a more homespun thing. The motor and drum shaft became the main elements of a saw bench and the drums with the solid outer standing on the inner perforated drum became an incinerator for the garden. the rest of the casing and internal bracing was used to patch up various cars and motorbikes over the years. The drum finally succumbed to terminal oxidisation last year and was sadly condemned to the bin. :(

I've just remembered my mum is still using the enamelled top as a tray for holding her seedlings ready for potting off!

Horrified.

Horrified and shocked.

lf you remember a mangle you must remember a dolly tub.

The theory is identical to what flight crew do in hotel bathrooms.

The theory is identical to what flight crew do in hotel bathrooms.

...and so the thread creeps onto the inevitable topic. :rolleyes:

I once knew a young lady that told me she got much pleasure from her washing machine when it went into its spin cycle. I suppose she was exited that the washing was almost finished

yes, and probably AA ++ rated too.

l can understand her excitement.

I once knew a young lady that told me she got much pleasure from her washing machine when it went into its spin cycle. I suppose she was exited that the washing was almost finished
-------------------------------------------------------------

Did she sit on it?

Going right back to 1950 was when our family got our first washing machine. Just a 6 (?) inch impellor on the side to stir the water and clothes in a vertical cartwheel. Fairly simple but it worked.

Ahh...the old Hoover. My parents gave us theirs when we got married in 1971 - they'd just got a posh new one. It lasted several years with us until we also got a 'new'(secondhand) front-loader.

The stainless steel drum of the Hoover finished its life (after a thorough cleaning) as a brewing vessel for beer. It was ideal for that, just the right size for a 5 gallon brew, siphon the beer out of the top when it was ready and use the original drain pipe for cleaning out all the lees.:ok:

Who said re-cycling was a new idea?

GG

We bought a twin tub washing machine (remember them?) when we married in 1971.
A new Comet 'warehouse' opened up in the local town, so we tootled along and bought one.
The guy asked where we wanted it delivered (for an extra charge of course), but I said we'd take it.
"What kind of van have you got?"
"It's not a van, it's a Renault 4." I replied.
Much doubtful looks expressed, and when the forklift truck appeared I realised it was in a packing case and not the sizes that I had carefully measured! However, there was just enough height and I was able to maintain the smile, having thwarted them from extracting what, no doubt, amounted to the extra profit from the sale.

We bought our first washing machine (twin tub) in 1976. It was not in a crate or any other sort of packing and it just fitted (lying on its back) in my Mini Clubman (half timbered Mini).
--
Bruce Fletcher
Stronsay, Orkney

Brings new meaning to 'taking it for a spin'.