Vintage Hoover Washing Machine Brochure 1970s

[@AlistphotoUK]

Grandparents had one of these, they were very reliable machines. Lasted them 20 years! Seemed really high-tech at the time, with no buttons just a card and it worked like magic!

[@audreyfforbes-hamilton]

Oh I enjoyed this trip down memory lane! My Mum had a single tub with the power wringer which folded down into the machine when not in use. The aluminium lid clipped onto the back of the machine to catch the washing after it had passed through the wringer. She had to pull it over to the sink for filling/emptying the water. This was the sixties, the single tub must have been going for years .

[@markrich7693]

Good washing machine brochure video love to see a part two with Hoover’s best vacuum cleaners of the 1970s

[@stevejones1972]

I believe the Wide Body series machines pre date the 70s Roger, according to a chart I have stored, the series came out in 1966, and the ones in your brochure, the 3221H, and 3223H date to 1969, so almost but not quite in the 70s. From 1970 the design of the cabinets for the washers changed to the more modern slimmer version called the Matchbox series, which evolved into the later Aluminium, New Magic, Electronic and Electron Series in the later 70s / 80s.

[@Vacbear58]

Mostly correct, the Matchbox Automatics were introduced in 1970 although I think the Matchbox style Keymatic was a little later. There were two versions (both are the second version here) of each wide body machine, the Keymatic Deluxe being the first followed by the reduced featured Automatic - the Automatic shown was very cheap though at 89 guineas, considerably cheaper than the Keymatic and a Which Best Buy. The tumble dryer is just a badged English Electric dryer. The Hoovermatics had a long run in this style, up to about 1975, although again there were two versions of each (the earlier one shown here) although they are largely identical. The single tub machines are pretty much identical to those introduced in the 1950s

[@fillistine]

Who remembers having hot and cold feed for the machines. Its just cold now

[@uknick12info1]

Yes, I remember hot and cold feed

[@MrWolfSnack]

I don't have to remember it. I have vintage washer and dryer set because I want clean properly washed clothes, not ruined soap scummy and sticky clothes.

[@fillistine]

@MrWolfSnack that is great! I wish I had hot water back!

[@blb2022]

Yes I remember them. I wonder if it would save energy and lower the cost per wash these days if they still had a hot and Cold fill ?🤔 Obviously it wouldn't need to use the heating element so much in the machine.👍

[@sdm3447]

​@@blb2022 Funnily enough, given that we are talking about Ebac elsewhere in this thread. the hot & cold fill is the key selling point for Ebac, as they are firm believers in using a hot water feed where there is a plentiful supply of hot water. Even still they only use hot water or a mix of hot & cold on some cycles - the majority are still cold fill only, depending on the temperature of the cycle (it's the high temperature washes that draw on the hot water supply). I am skeptical of the benefits, as I worked in electrical retail for several years from 1997, and even back then we were promoting cold-fill as the most economical way of washing, given that only small amounts of water are drawn for the wash cycle, and when hot water is drawn it is frequently very cool as the first water to enter is that which has been sitting in pipes. Even more so, the water from a combi boiler might never get to the point where it was hot (this, of course, depends on the distance from the boiler to the washing machine, and the further away they are from each other, the less chance there is of hot water actually making it to the washing machine). Back then, the only way to obtain a cold-fill option was to use a "Y-piece" 2-way adapter to connect both water pipes to one cold tap, as water needed to flow to both inlet valves on the machine, even if hot water was never, ever drawn. Something else which we had back then was in-store training from the various manufacturers - they frequently sent us beautiful mature ladies in power-suits & killer heals and immaculate can-I-see-the-manager? hairstyles, who talked us all through the products we sold. I remember only too well being told (and not just by one manufacturers representative either) that another big advantage of cold-fill washing machines was that it allowed the detergent to go through the full range of temperatures needed in order to fulfill all of its potential - for example, hot water can set stains, so a cold start helped to lift stains at the beginning of the cycle, while enzymes in biological detergents began to work around the 40'C mark and would be "killed off" at higher temperatures, so again it allowed a window of opportunity for the enzymes to take effect as the water rose through the temperature range. I have had a great many washing machines since I bought my first Zanussi in 1996 (I do a lot of washing for my job, so they get a beating), and not one of them has ever been connected to the hot water supply. Even now, when I went-in for an Ebac, I still chose a cold-fill model as I believe it to be the most efficient way of washing.

[@blb2022]

It says It's true Hoover make a bigger range washing machines than any other manufacturer in his country. It's very sad that these days almost every washing machines and tumble dryers on sale in the UK are made abroad I would say. Are there any UK washing machine manufacturers these days ?

[@ibaisaic]

A company called Ebac manufacture washing machines in the UK.

[@blb2022]

​​@@ibaisaic Thank you for that information. I really enjoy looking at these old brochures about the washing machines and vacuum cleaners. Merry Christmas and happy new year to you. 👍

[@sdm3447]

@@blb2022 I have an Ebac. I got it about 6 months ago. It's very good, but it cost a lot of money for what it is - I paid £660. It's a 10KG 1600 spin. The large capacity is lovely. I only wash every two or three days now, as opposed to every day, and on Sundays when I change my bed linen I can wash it all in one go.

[@blb2022]

​@@sdm3447 Sounds great.👍 It's good to know there's still a British manufacturer out there making washing machines. I wonder why you don't see Ebac on online sites like Very Littlewoods Argos etc or in shops like currys 🤔.

[@sdm3447]

​@@blb2022 I don't have the answer to this, but I have my own theories & suspicions. Ebac have been around for decades, making dehumidifiers, and for a long time were almost the only manufacturer to do so (there are a lot more now). These dehumidifiers could be purchased from all the usual electrical retailers of that period. About eight years ago, Ebac started making washing machines. They have only ever been available to purchase directly from Ebac, or from independent retailers , such as those in the Euronics group. They have never been available from those retailers you mention. Now, I think this is possibly because Ebac really want to encourage the buying direct option, which was unheard of until the internet really became a part of everyday life, but like with so many other things, the internet has well & truly cut out many a middle-man from a process. It could also be that some manufacturers might be refusing to supply their products if a retailer chooses to stock Ebac too. I think this is unlikely in this day & age, but certainly during my stint in the industry it was well known that manufacturers would refuse to supply a retailer if it was they thought the retailer wasn't doing business as they wanted them too...I know for a very long time there was an unwritten rule that no retailer was allowed to drop their prices below a certain level, as dictated by the manufacturer. It was known as "price fixing", and it became illegal in 1998. The effects were instant, as some big retailers began dropping prices left, right, & centre. It made it so much harder to compete.

[@sdm3447]

@blb2022 Funnily enough, given that we are talking about Ebac elsewhere in this thread. the hot & cold fill is the key selling point for Ebac, as they are firm believers in using a hot water feed where there is a plentiful supply of hot water. Even still they only use hot water or a mix of hot & cold on some cycles - the majority are still cold fill only, depending on the temperature of the cycle (it's the high temperature washes that draw on the hot water supply). I am skeptical of the benefits, as I worked in electrical retail for several years from 1997, and even back then we were promoting cold-fill as the most economical way of washing, given that only small amounts of water are drawn for the wash cycle, and when hot water is drawn it is frequently very cool as the first water to enter is that which has been sitting in pipes. Even more so, the water from a combi boiler might never get to the point where it was hot (this, of course, depends on the distance from the boiler to the washing machine, and the further away they are from each other, the less chance there is of hot water actually making it to the washing machine). Back then, the only way to obtain a cold-fill option was to use a "Y-piece" 2-way adapter to connect both water pipes to one cold tap, as water needed to flow to both inlet valves on the machine, even if hot water was never, ever drawn. Something else which we had back then was in-store training from the various manufacturers - they frequently sent us beautiful mature ladies in power-suits & killer heals and immaculate can-I-see-the-manager? hairstyles, who talked us all through the products we sold. I remember only too well being told (and not just by one manufacturers representative either) that another big advantage of cold-fill washing machines was that it allowed the detergent to go through the full range of temperatures needed in order to fulfill all of its potential - for example, hot water can set stains, so a cold start helped to lift stains at the beginning of the cycle, while enzymes in biological detergents began to work around the 40'C mark and would be "killed off" at higher temperatures, so again it allowed a window of opportunity for the enzymes to take effect as the water rose through the temperature range. I have had a great many washing machines since I bought my first Zanussi in 1996 (I do a lot of washing for my job, so they get a beating), and not one of them has ever been connected to the hot water supply. Even now, when I went-in for an Ebac, I still chose a cold-fill model as I believe it to be the most efficient way of washing. I don't have the answer to why Ebac aren't available from the usual retailers, but I have my own theories & suspicions. Ebac have been around for decades, making dehumidifiers, and for a long time were almost the only manufacturer to do so (there are a lot more now). These dehumidifiers could be purchased from all the usual electrical retailers of that period. About eight years ago, Ebac started making washing machines. They have only ever been available to purchase directly from Ebac, or from independent retailers , such as those in the Euronics group. They have never been available from those retailers you mentioned. I think this is possibly because Ebac really want to encourage the buying direct option, which was unheard of until the internet really became a part of everyday life, but like with so many other things, the internet has well & truly cut out many a middle-man from a process. It could also be that some manufacturers might be refusing to supply their products if a retailer chooses to stock Ebac too. I think this is unlikely in this day & age, but certainly during my stint in the industry it was well known that manufacturers would refuse to supply a retailer if it was they thought the retailer wasn't doing business as they wanted them too...I know for a very long time there was an unwritten rule that no retailer was allowed to drop their prices below a certain level, as dictated by the manufacturer. It was known as "price fixing", and it became illegal in 1998. The effects were instant, as some big retailers began dropping prices left, right, & centre. It made it so much harder to compete.

[@blb2022]

Thank you for this great information it was really interesting to read. I remember we had a Y adaptor with hot and cold pipes going into it and at the start of the wash I would turn the hot tap on which was under the sink and when the machine was filled and started to wash I would then turn the hot tap off and just turn and leave on the cold tap obviously for for rinsing.👍