# Maytag wringer washer question



## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I finally got my Maytag wringer washer - beautiful, round, white with the funky aqua blue agitator and trim. I absolutely love it - I can wash my whites at home in the filtered water from the Berkey! (Horrid iron water from our well -ugh.)

I have a question about the wringer, though. There's no hand crank, and it looks like it should be motorized, but I can't figure out how it should work. It's really hard to lift up the top of the wringer to insert anything into it and then it doesn't clamp down hard enough to take much water out of it. I think I'm doing something wrong. I am hoping that one of you smart people can give me some pointers. Right now I'm taking the clothes out, wringing them as much as I can by hand over the washer to save the water, then throwing them in my automatic washer to run them through the spin cycle there (with no water hooked up to that machine). I'd love to eliminate a step or two...any hints?

I Googled Maytag wringer washer and a you tube popped up that showed a washer exactly like mine, right down to the color! Unfortunately, the vid quality wasn't great and I still couldn't tell if the wringer was turning on its own or if the gal was pulling the clothes through it. :help:


----------



## mellba (Oct 15, 2004)

When I was a kid (over 40 years ago) my aunt had a wringer washer, don't know the brand, but I'm pretty sure the wringer turned on its own because I was always afraid I'd get my fingers caught in there. You'd just get the edge of the clothes in between the wringer rollers and then the wringer would pull the clothes through. I think you turned the wringer on someway, but have no clue how.


----------



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

My family had a Twin-tub Dexter wringer washer which was great because you had wash water and rinse water in separate tubs. You could eventually put soap in the rinse water, drain the wash water and then use that side with clean water to rinse into.

The wringer pivoted so that it was between the two tubs, or swung over toward the back of either tub in order to wring out the clothes as they went into a basket. 

The agitators each had lever controls and the wringer did as well. The wringer even had a reverse so that you could back away from a button, etc.

The downside to the Dexter was that it had no water pump so the water drained away by gravity. Less to go wrong perhaps. Also parts such as replacement wringers became impossible to acquire. Ours needed the old hardened rollers replaced.

The Maytag washers do have powered wringers. From looking on line it appears the control lever is on the column near the top where the wringer fastens on. I suppose that could just be a pivot lock lever. 

On top of the wringer is also a handle that turns 90Âº for light wringing or maximum wringing. That might actually be the on/off control.

This video is clear and shows the machine in action and shows the handle turned 90Âº.
http://video.asterpix.com/v/8409581/old-maytag-wringer-washer-demonstration/

Wish I had an old Twin-tub Dexter. When discussing wringer washers with a friend he said his family had a certain kind or brand of machine that was supposed to be super fast and do an excellent job of washing. Said his mother was well pleased with the machine.

Lot of fun as a small kid "driving" the machine via the two levers as it set in the closet.


----------



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

BTW, the Lehman's Hardware Company in Kidron, Ohio has really nice folk and I'm sure they would be glad to help answer questions you may have about the machine.

http://www.lehmans.com/


----------



## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

I've had several Maytag wringer washers. Depending on the model, there should be 2 levers on the wringer itself that you turn. One on the top and one on the side. It's generally the one on the side that you flip to make the wringer turn. The one on the top is generally the one that adjusts the pressure. Although as the poster above said, the wringer will also pivot and there will be a reverse on all electric models.

Some of the newer models were self-adjusting (called "balloon" rollers which were softer and bigger) and had no pressure lever so they went over things like buttons and zippers without damaging. For those, you had to make internal adjustments to the wringer. 

Here could be your trouble: these models also had an automatic release that would pop open the rollers in case you got a hand going through the rollers along with the clothes - ouch! This is going to be a little hard to explain without actually showing you but, the wringers would actually automatically pop open wider if that happened so you could remove the offending hand. I'm willing to bet your wringer is in this 'open' configuration. There should be a little lever thingy you turn or push to put it back in it's 'closed' configuration. 

One word of caution. Well, not really a caution but more like an major annoyance; if you do have the type that 'pops open', you won't be able to put anything real thick through it just one time. For instance, if you try to put a comforter through the wringer, the wringer doesn't know it's just a think comforter going through there, it's going to think you stuck your finger in there along with it and 'pop' itself open.

The only thing you can really do then is to go ahead keep putting the comforter through a couple of times and just live with the fact that it's going to take a whole lot longer to dry.

Also, even with the 'balloon' rollers, it's REAL easy to break a button (remember back then they didn't have plastic buttons and zippers), so be sure when you put a shirt through you fold the shirt in half with the buttons going to the inside. On pants or anything with zippers, again, fold them in half so the zipper is on the inside of the folded clothing.

Also as an FYI, if you call or email Maytag (check their website for the number/addy) they will still send you, FREE of charge eek a manual to any wringer washer they have ever made; you just need to give them them the serial number. Just keep in mind, they aren't too detailed, but most will at least show you all the major parts and how to correctly operate your machine. 

Also, if this machine hasn't been run in a while. You need to be sure the oil doesn't need changed or filled. Even the electric models had to lubricating oil in the tank. Often this leaked out during transporting it over the years if it ever ended up on it's side inside a truck, etc.


----------



## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Incidentally, here's a couple of very helpful Maytag wringer washer sites:

This one tells has a chart where you look up your model and serial number and it gives you the date of manufactoring:
http://www.davesrepair.com/pdfmanuals/maytagwrngrid.htm

This site is to the Maytag Collectors Club which has a lot of info. They use to have a discussion forum, but I'm not sure where it went! There should also be a link on the club site to guy called "Marvin" (if he's still alive). Marvin knew more about wringer washers than anyone I've ever seen. He was so good at answering anyone's questions and would post photos to help.
http://www.maytagclub.com/


----------



## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Here is a photo of our Maytag wringer that we sold to a HT forum member. Do you see the 3" lever on top to the left of the wringer? When this lever is parallel to the wringer, the wringer is off. When the lever is turned toward the rear of the machine, the rollers will turn so you can feed clothes into them. When the lever is turned toward the front of the machine, the rollers turn in the opposite direction, which pushes the clothes back out toward you (in case of a clog).


----------



## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Wow, thanks for all the replies, folks! I knew I went to the right place!

CF, my wringer setup looks like yours, but the tub is round. I thought the lever just locked or unlocked the swing arm on the wringer. Now that I know what it's supposed to do, I'll play with it today when I'm doing laundry.

Karen, yes, I have those "balloon" rollers. That explains why it's loose! I just have to figure out how to reset it.  Thank you for the links - I have the model number Maytag Gyrator Washer model N2L, and the serial number, so I should be able to get an owner's manual. I'll need one, too, so I can figure out how to change the oil. A little bit leaked when I was hauling it. The motor seems to run smoothly, so I doubt enough leaked to hurt, but it was pretty thick, like gear oil, and I don't know if that is the proper viscosity, or if I should be replacing it with fresh.

Windy, I thought at first that the video you posted a link to was the same one I'd watched - it is, but shows parts that were edited out of the version I saw. This video is much more clear! And isn't "my" washer pretty? :

Well, off to experiment! Oh, and Karen, thank you for the heads-up on zippers and buttons. I sure don't want to save money using the wringer washer just to lose it in ruined clothes!


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

The pic that CF has the knob to the Left on Top turns the wringer on,the one on top of the Wringer tightens the Wringers down,the Blue Lever in front releases the Wringer.

Be careful!!!
big rockpile


----------



## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Thanks, Rock! I played with everything today and I think I have a handle on it, although I don't think the wringer takes out all that much water compared to a spin cycle. At least I managed to wring out a few towels without getting my fingers stuck, lol. I maybe didn't crank the wringer down tight enough, but I'm a big chicken - all the warnings have made me extra cautious. 

I did all the washing and rinsing in the Maytag today, but cheated and used the spin cycle on the front loader again.  Most of the clothes were dry in a couple hours on the line, even on a cloudy afternoon. Finished them with an air fluff in my non-heating dryer to get the lint off and the crunchies out. Used my homemade soap for the wash, too, and the clothes sure smell good tonight. Mmmm. I'm feeling very "homesteady", lol.


----------

