Rebirth of Vintage Maytag Wringer Washing Machines

Wringer Washing Machines were once the mainstay of virtually every household during the early 1900s. While several companies produced wringer washing machines, Maytag Wringer Washers long outlived the competition and were still being produced up until 1983. These old relics were very well made with heavy-duty parts. They were being made in the US during the error of when quality and longevity matter long before the idea of planned obsolescence was introduced to manufactures. 

Wringer washers began to fall out of favor when the automatic washers with a spin cycle took hold.

Maytag wringer washers are still widely being used in the Amish self-sustaining communities. They are used in many other non-Amish businesses such as garages and car washes that need to frequently wash rags, coveralls, and shammies. They also are still used in many homes as either the main source for clean clothes or as a garage washing machine for worker clothes that the wife doesn’t wish to use in her main washing machine.

An interesting phenomenon is occurring with the rebirth of refurbished Maytag Washing Machines mainly due to the introduction of online replacement parts by Cottage Craft Works.com

Many of the older Maytag Wringer Washers were retired when parts became obsolete and couldn’t be obtained. Many were turned into a flower planter and antique store display or sent to the junk pile.

Cottage Craft Works.com is a unique general store whose sole mission is to search the back roads of the Amish communities and find old-fashioned reproduction products or parts to fix vintage farms and household implements and appliances.

As the industrial revolution and the introduction of electricity to the common homeowner transpired the common off-grid items began to no longer have available parts. The Amish self-sufficient culture is still stuck in those time periods and relies heavily on this vintage equipment.

As part supplies began to dwindle Amish owned machine shops and foundries began to reproduce the replacement parts. Many Amish companies purchased the molds and patterns from the original manufactures so many of the parts are just like they were when originally made.

Cottage Craft Works.com online general store offers all the Amish parts to refurbish Maytag Wringer Washers from replacement, castes, transmission parts, to replacement rollers and wringer parts. Most all the parts are brand new, but they do have sources for some of the used parts as well.

Cottage Craft Works can also source, DC and air-powered off-grid motors as well as gasoline engines to run Maytag Washers off-grid.

Paint can be sourced through local hardware stores Rust-Oleum Specialty 12 oz. Appliance Gloss White Epoxy Spray Paint #7881830

Maytag was very consistent in the parts they made from 1940s-1983 so most all the parts cross over to the various models with some exceptions between the older round tub and more modern square tub models. Along the way, they also made some improvements with rubber tub gaskets replacing the older cork gaskets.

Since the introduction of the available parts by Cottage Craft Works many have been searching for and refurbishing these vintage washing machines. Several have committed they are returning the wringer washing machines that they grew up with because they reportedly clean better. Others have become frustrated in having to spend the money every few years on a new machine because the ones they were using just wore out and were too expensive to repair of couldn’t find anyone dependable to fix them.

Cottage Craft Works.com offers a full line old-fashioned general store from sewing cabinets, kitchen wares, stoneware pottery, vintage replacement gunstocks, and hunting equipment.  Replacement parts for vintage International Harvester, John Deere, and New Idea implements are also a specialty.