West of Mpls MN about 50 miles on Hwy 12 | I grew up with ringer wash machines, mom used them well into the 80's. When I moved out in 1983 and no more mom washing clothes, my first wash machine was a Speed Queen wringer just like the one in your picture... except mine was factory painted pink and white. When I bought my first automatic wash machine a year or two later, I turned my Speed Queen into a parts washer...I bet not many farm shops have ever had a pink parts washer.
The old school reasoning for using a wringer washer for as long as we did was a person could get by using way less water than the old automatic washers and were easier on the old wells and sewer. A single guy like I was at the time could get by filling the wash machine tub only once. Fill wash machine tub and with hot water and soap, fill wash/rinse tub wash with warm water, wash "good" clothes first, then bedding and towels, then socks and undies, then dirty work clothes, add a little water and more soap as needed....water was pretty dark sometimes when it was drained from the wash machine.
They didn't wring out nowhere near as much water as a single spin cycle, mom always had two clothes dryers for winter washing and always used a clothesline weather permitting. And IMO, they didn't save any water over a automatic after a person factored in a wash tub or two of rinse water...but what did a kid know. |
Antique Speed Queen
