Laundry appliances back in the fifties actually varied a lot, because that’s mostly when the big transition from really old-fashioned machines — the early models that were a step up from washboards and wringers — were finally replaced with more modern machines. Here’s a look!
Vintage Speed Queen washing machine (1950)
Washes more clothes clean per hour, per dollar — Whether you want to pay $99.95, $109.95, $119.95 or even $139.95 — you can guarantee yourself the most for your money in home laundry service by buying a Speed Queen.
For America’s fastest washday: A 7-load washing can be done in ONE hour… with one tubful of hot water… each piece sparkling clean.
Blue vintage washing machine and dryer in a linen closet (1957)
Porcelain work-top Washer-Dryer by General Electric fits beautifully into a small space. Only 30 inches wide, standard cabinet height and depth, it can be matched to other counters or cozily closeted near your bath as shown above.
Compared with many separate washer and dryer pairs. you save up to four square feet of floor space. And General Electric’s lovely Mix-or-Match Colors or white blend with any decor.
Vintage Bendix washer (1950)
See these spots disappear in 60 seconds with the “Magic Minute”!
60 seconds of automatic pre-scrubbing with double-rich suds to cut grease better, wash everything cleaner
Spill grease on a pretty apron. Splash it with coffee. Smear it with meat sauce. Then watch the new 1957 Kelvinator go to work.
Kelvinator starts with the “Magic Minute” — 60 seconds of automatic pre-scrubbing with the full amount of soap and only a small amount of water. This cuts grease and grime before the regular washing action starts.
Following the “Magic Minute,” the tub fills completely and the “3-Way Agitator” washes out every last speck of dirt. No other washing action gets clothes so white, so bright! Kelvinator has 2 separate automatic cycles — one for regular fabrics, one for fine fabrics.
“Suds Back” for suds and wash economy. New push-button control gives a choice of water temperatures. There are no gears to get out of order and cause service problems.
Ask your Kelvinator dealer to demonstrate the “Magic Minute.”
Announcing the new 1957 Kelvinator Washer with the Magic Minute
Only Kelvinator has it! 60 seconds of automatic pre-treating before the regular washing begins. It uses the full amount of soap or detergent in a minimum amount of water. Only Kelvinator’s washing action is so easy on clothes that it makes possible the “Magic Minute.” In other washers, the agitator cannot be started safely until the tub is full of water.
THERE’S NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT — the “Magic Minute” of concentrated pre-washing, impossible in any other washer.
This double-rich sudsing cuts grease and grime, loosens dirt and stains before the regular washing cycle is even started.
After the “Magic Minute” — with a full tub of water — the “3-way Agitator” washes out every last speck of dirt. No other washing action gets clothes so white, so bright, so clean!
And Kelvinator gives you these great features, too: Two separate cycles-one for regular fabrics, one for fine fabrics. New push-button control gives you 3 different water temperatures needed for different fabrics. The new 1957 two cycle Washer and matching low-heat, high-speed Dryer are available in your choice of three decorator colors or white.
Take a minute to see the “Magic Minute.” Ask your Kelvinator dealer to demonstrate its amazing grease-cutting action.
Westinghouse 1000 Laundromat & Electric Dryer (1959)
Philco Duomatic washer and dryer (1958)
You’ll never lug laundry again! Philco Duomatic washer and dryer — So compact you can put it anywhere — in an upstairs bathroom or closet, bedroom wing, or in the kitchen. Use it as a hamper. Turn on when full, clothes come out fluffy dry, wrinkle-free! Many ready to wear or put away!
The new Duomatic gives you full 8-lb. capacity, washes and dries in as little as an hour. Does everything any automatic washer will. Does everything any automatic dryer can. All in one machine only 26-3/4 inches wide. One-year warranty. The Duomatic is for you.
Vintage 1950s Crosley washer and dryer (1953)
Retro 1950s GE Automatic Washer – Laundry (1955)
GE Automatic Washer cleans and re-cleans wash water to give you cleaner clothes
Now a new kind of washer — takes dirt out of the water while you wash — the General Electric Automatic with Filter-Flo Washing. This wonderful new system circulates and filters the wash water at the rate of six gallons per minute.
As the Filter-Flo Washing System circulates the water. lint and floating soil are trapped in a filter which lets only the cleansed sudsy water flow back into the washbasket. Rinse water stays clear of lint. Soap scum can’t dull colors. You get a dazzling clean wash … simply by setting a dial.
Big capacity, too! This G-E washer has over 50%more clothes capacity than many other automatics. In one load, you can wash big family wash that would take two separate loads in some other automatics. Water Saver Control lets you select from 17 down to 11 gallons of water for small washes.
The AMC fully-automatic washer and dryer (1955)
Here they are — the newest, most modern identical washer and dryer twins created by the genius of top engineering specialists. Designed with you and your pocket-book in mind… built with all the advanced features that give you the utmost in beauty, convenience and service.
The AMC washer and dryer are styled for now and for the future. They make you realize what a joy it is to own automatic laundry equipment, to be able to forget the weather and the back-aching drudgery of old-fashioned washdays. No wonder more and more smart, thrifty homemakers are saying, “AMC is the brand for me.” electric or gas models.
Vintage Frigidaire automatic washing machine from 1953
Toss in ‘clothes and soap — touch the Select-O-Dial once — and presto! Your laundry is being done automatically! For your touch has put hot, sudsy currents of water to work chasing dirt. Clothes are never tumbled or scrubbed by harsh metal parts. Even “miracle” fabrics are safe!
Frigidaire’s Float-Over Rinse goes into action during the last part of the wash cycle and during the entire rinse. It floats all dirt, soiled suds and used washwater away. So no matter what the fabric, if the maker says it can be machine-washed, it’s safe in your Frigidaire Washer!
It damp-dries more thoroughly than any other washer! Your clothes come out lighter — because Frigidaire’s Rapidry Spin whirls out up to 20% more water than any other washer! Then the washer drains, cleans, shuts itself off. Your hands never touch water.
Frigidaire’s “Porcelain Pair” — the only Automatic Washer and matching Electric Dryer with cabinets, tub and drum finished in Lifetime Porcelain. Built and backed by General Motors.
Old Norge gas laundry appliances (1957)
Look what the Norge Gas laundry offers you today: Perfect drying weather — right indoors! Plenty of hot water — to get clothes really clean.
Vintage Hamilton laundry appliances (1957)
Know what’s so wonderful about today? It’s the beginning of Hamilton’s Fall Laundry Festival! And for the next few weeks only, your Hamilton Dealer is offering once-a-year buys on famous Hamilton automatic washers and clothes dryers. Comes at a perfect time, too, with winter washdays almost here.
58 Philco-Bendix Duomatic washer and dryer 2-in-1
Bendix gas dryer with front window (1956)
Old Maytag clothes dryer – Halo of heat (1959)
Bing Crosby for the Philco-Bendix gas dryer (1957)
Frigidaire’s old-style washing machines from 1953
Pink washing machine – Home appliances (1956)
