[Danielle G.]

Wringer Style Washing Machine​

Did you have one of these wringer-style washers back in the day? Now, it has become a rare vintage find, but back then, countless households depended on this machine to get the laundry job done—just don’t get your fingers caught in the wringer or else it would have been a nightmare! Got any special memories using this washer? Share it with us here.

Image source: Reddit

 

[Mikev]

Yes, I can just remember one of these when I was very young. My parents had it in their laundry and I used to be amazed at how it worked.

 

[DLHM]

I remember my mum had one when I was a small girl.

When I moved to Australia in Dec 1974, I lived in my In-Law’s beach house for a few months, so was the first time I used one myself. Then moved up to Tom Price and there was a wringer washer there until it was replaced a year later with an automatic!

 

[janj]

they were great lasted forever

 

[Gsr]

Mum was given a second hand one of these in about 1964. It was a step up from the copper and cement wash troughs we used before this. It must have run by battery as we had no electricity in the house we lived in out in the sticks. I remember it had a lever on the front we pushed to one side to start and stop the washing action. The wringer part had a handle on one end we pushed down to get the rollers to work wringing out the clothes. It made washing days so much easier. I remember mum putting clothes through the wringer one day and she accidentally let her hand pushing the clothes into the wringer get too close to the rollers. Her hand and arm were drawn into the rollers, she couldn’t reach the handle to stop it so was yelling out to us kids playing near the outside laundry. I raced in and stopped the rollers, her arm had been dragged into the rollers up past her elbow. It took some effort to release it, from memory we had to undo part of the wringer cover so we could physically lift the top roller up to release her arm. Mum had a squashed, bruised arm for a few weeks but luckily no permanent damage caused, mainly because the rollers did not squash together tightly when wringing out the clothes. Often we had to put the thicker items through the wringer two or three times to get the water out of them enough that they stopped dripping water.

 

[DLHM]

they were great lasted forever

I didn’t have one long enough to know.

 

[NotNats]

Wish I still had one or at least the wringer part. Best wringer

 

[RieTreesSilver]

My Nanna had one till the late 60's. It was the cause of my not speaking to her for about a week as a three year old. She put my teddy, who went everywhere with me , including my grandfathers veggie patch in the wash. On putting it thru the wringer the glass eyes went in 2 different directions across the laundry lean-to. Of Course I was watching closely. The resulting noise brought my grandfather running from the back of the 1/2 acre block thinking a disaster had happened. Teddy was put back together that day and i still have him nearly 70 years later. Nanna and I patched up our differences when she was making biscuits a few days later.