Where's The Maytag Repairman When You Need Him?

I started a load of laundry - flannel sheets and some towels. A few minutes later, he smelled burning rubber. When he opened the washer he noticed that the agitator wasn't agitating. Great. In order to check things out, we had to get the water out and unload the washer. It wouldn't spin out, it wouldn't drain out. That's when we noticed the broken belt lying on the floor, peeking out from under the washer. Luckily, I was elected to make breakfast while he hand-wrung the flannel sheets and the towels.

After a hearty breakfast of french toast, he got out a big bucket and the siphon and I washed dishes, slowly. Five trips outside to pour it out. 25 gallons of water. Of course, it would have to break when I had the largest load. We got out the little booklet that came with the washer. It was purchased at Paul's Maytag in January 1975. It's almost 33 years old. The dryer died about two years ago. It was only 28 years old. Don't they make things to last anymore? I was getting sick thinking that we were going to have to replace it.

We went to an auto parts store and got a belt. Home again, he replaced it and voila! It was spinning and draining! We added another load and oops! It's not agitating. Well, it wasn't until he placed his foot against the motor housing and moved it over a tad. It started agitating! Yeah! If he could only hold his foot there until the cycle was over.

He discovered that he had placed the belt a little too tightly. When he was able to turn the washer over when that load was done, he loosened it and we were back in business.

Whew! We have to give credit to our ancients who had to do the wash by hand. I'm afraid my family would be pretty dirty if I had to do it that way. I can't imagine myself slapping dirty, soapy clothes against a rock, or boiling them in a big pot in the front yard. My mother had a wringer washer and we used a big stick to poke the clothes through the wringer. It took her a long time to do the family wash. I know my grandmothers and my great-grandmothers had an even harder time.

Thank you Mr. Washing Machine Inventor Guy!