Washday Redux

So I received an Auertech twin-tub portable washing machine a couple of weeks ago and tried it out. Washed better than the full-sized Maytag in the laundry room by far, and I thought, "Wow, this is cool."

Problems developed pretty quickly, though. The drain seemed to stop draining. Unless the drain hose outlet was literally at floor level, nothing came out. And at floor level, you can imagine the flood. What a mess. I contacted customer service, and after some back and forth, they suggested a fix which I tried, and it seemed to work for a bit -- have the drain hose start discharging into a tub at floor level then raise to sink level -- but it was inconvenient and still messy. Then I found that the drain hose itself had numerous pinholes which were fountaining water whenever the drain was activated leaving puddles I hadn't noticed before. I reported this to customer service and after some back and forth over a partial refund and sending a new drain hose, they decided it would be best to send a new machine altogether. I could do whatever I wanted with the original one. 

The new one arrived in a few days, and I tried it out and the same thing happened: numerous pinholes in the drain hose, failure of the drain pump to empty the washer, puddles on the floor. I contacted customer service again, and this time their solution was for me to purchase a stronger drain hose, they would pay for it and they would also give me a fifteen dollar credit for my trouble. Maybe like a fool, I said OK. 

I found a drain hose online, ordered it, sent the info to customer service, and they credited my account slightly more for it, but no $15. The drain hose arrived in a few days, and I set to work replacing the old one. Not an easy task. But after a bit of struggle, I got the old hose out and the new one in and tightened down, and I was giving it a try.

Ta da. Drain worked. No leaks. Simple. Straightforward. Or so it seems.

The new drain hose is much sturdier. Whether it will last, I don't know.*[See Update below] It's also much longer, so it isn't such a struggle to get it to the sink where it drains. In fact, it's a piece of cake. So to speak.

I thought about my mother in law, Ms. Ché's mother, who had a twin tub Easy washing machine that she never used. In fact, she preferred to wash clothes by hand. Amazing. I never knew how the Easy washer worked until I saw a video on YouTube, a video I can't find now.

But what I recall is that using the Easy twin tub spinner washing machine was something of a challenge. It worked somewhat like a wringer washer without the wringer. The wash tub had to be filled from the laundry sink faucet, clothes and detergent put in the tub and the agitator activated by a lever. Washing could be timed up to fifteen minutes. After the wash cycle, you had the option of draining the wash water and refilling the tub with rinse water, or putting the wet, soapy laundry in the spinner and returning the wash water spun out of the laundry to the wash tub to use for another load of laundry. Interesting. The spinner could also be used to rinse the laundry by having rinse water flow over the laundry while it is spinning and then draining that water into the laundry sink. It was complicated, but it could be done. But I could see why my mother in law didn't want to use that machine. There were so many dials and knobs and levers and water inlet and outlet hoses and mechanisms, all of which involved complexity that seemed outrageous and over the top, that it was much easier just to wash laundry by hand. Easy! Well, that was the washing machine brand name. It wasn't so easy to do, however. This is a different video, but it's also more complete:

These new and very popular twin tub portable washing machines are similar, though not quite so complicated to use. There was a whole spate of similar machines made in the '50s and '60s and mostly sold abroad. Few of them made their way to the US after fully automatic washers became relatively standardized and priced so that average families could afford them.

We had a fully automatic washing machine (Kenmore) by 1954. Most households I knew of at the time did as well. Never looked back until washing machines were crapified both by regulation and by manufacturers' tinkering so they didn't wash very well and would break earlier -- after a few years' use rather than the decades washers once could be relied on -- and they be nearly impossible to fix. And doubled or tripled the price at the same time. Cool, eh? What could go wrong, right?

Buyers revolted. Looked for alternatives. And they found them.

Portable twin tub washing machines are one answer. There are many others. 

For a couple of hundred dollars and about an hour of fussing with the drain hose replacement, I now have two functioning twin tub portable washing machines. As well as a partially non-functioning full-sized Maytag. 

Wash day should be a cinch!

An UPDATE: Harrumph. Well, new drain hose worked the first time just fine. Second time? Not on your life. Pinholes, approximately the whole length of the drain hose. They only showed up when the drain pump struggled to get the water raised to the height of the sink. And I noticed, too, that a number of these pinholes were covered with transparent tape. Interesting, eh? I'm sure, then, that the seller or manufacturer knew of the problem and literally tried to cover it up. Not a good look. 

Because we have two twin tub washers, both with new drain hoses, I tried the other one with the same laundry. No leaks. No fountaining of drain water from pinholes. Don't know whether that will last. But it is... interesting.

[Now the microwave we got a year ago to replace one we used for almost 15 years has given out. Just like that. Appliances these days....!]