General Chat

We always had a twin tub when I was growing up. Mum did washing twice a week, Mondays and Fridays. My brother and I would be allowed to use the big wooden tong things to "stir" the washing. I also remember Mum boiling the hankies, even now I love that smell. Unfortunately after Mum fell ill, Dad took over the household chores and blew up the twin tub and it got replaced by an automatic after months of trips to the launderette. If you want to get your whites whiter, add soda crystals to your wash.

Hiya Mary - my first washing machine was a twin-tub - brilliant and much better at washing and spinning than the automatic. However, it did mean that the kitchen was usually awash with water whilst I did the washing. I remember one day lugging the stuff out of the wash tub and putting it in the spinner - put the hose from the tap into the spinner and then poddled off outside (neighbour called me, and we stood gassing for ages) completely forgot about the hose and water in the spinner - gets back into the kitchen to see vegetable rack floating, kitchen mat floating, small boy sitting amidst 6 inches of water playing boats - door to dining room open, so water flowed through into there -boy did that take some mopping up!! So much nicer now when, as you know, I send the washing to the laundry and it all comes back clean, nicely ironed and folder!!! (Still dreaming Mary, still dreaming) Jacqui

My twin tub yes i remember it well bought second hand for £10 in 1970 it lasted another 12 years then hubby decided it would be nicer to get an automatic washing machine i hated it but that lasted 18 years and only it catching fire was the reason it went. The one i have now is only 4 years old its had more go wrong with it than i care to remember. Give me something that lasts like my dear old twin tub

It’s amazing what memories you can stir up isn’t it. When I was little we lived in West Africa (Sierra Leone). The washing was done by native House “Boys” as follows. First soak in cold water and rub soap (from a hard bar) well in (use a scrubbing brush on stubborn stains). Then lay on a stone slab and pound with a wooden paddle. After that it went into the copper boiler with a wood fire underneath for an hour or so. Rinse, wring (sheets etc needed two men) and hand out to dry. Shirts and table linen would be starched too. Also Reckitt’s Blue was used to make whites whiter. When dry the iron would be filled with hot charcoal and EVERYTHING got ironed. I guess clothes had to be tough in those days. Also my Father would change his shirt at least twice a day so that’s a lot of shirts. Bob

Ahh what memories I remember the old twin tub was massive in size compared to an automatic now! I remember the wooden grabbers too and having to heave all the wet washing into the spinner. I didnt half hold a lot of washing as well but if I remember took ages to fill. My mum used to use acdo washing powder which to me was never the freshest smell,but I do remember the first automatic and being amazed by it Ill hold my hands up I wouldn't swop my automatic for anything else! (and tumble dryer but I wont go into to much detail as my husband moans about the electic bill!) Jan x

My mum has still got her twin tub - not to mention the mangle in her shed that she still uses every day! My sister (50 next year) has just been forced to get rid of her twin tub by having a new kitchen - the plans couldn't accomodate it. I have always had an automatic - with a high spin speed! - as I can't be doing with standing beside it and hauling the wet clothes from one side to the other amid clouds of steam! Would rather just put it in dirty and take it out clean and not dripping! As to how clean the clothes come out - I think that has more to do with the detergent you use and less to do with the type of machine. I use Shout stain removal spray and it works wonders! Maz. XX

yes Ann, they are still advertised in holiday flats. you need them in the uk. dont you ?.

I used to have a twin tub which I agree did give a better wash, I also had a flatley airer, does anyone remember them?

when i was little(not much bigger now) i remember mum having a twin tub, she also had one of those boilers with a mangle over top, she took us out on a trip to morecombe one day,when we got back later that day, she found that she had left the boiler on with my sisters nappies burnt to acinder in them. tracy

PPS. Click on this: http://www.ciao.*co.uk/Norfrost_AC2000_Twin_Tub_Washing_Machines__5317763 without the * Seeing is believing. too old Indeed ?.

When I got married in 1968 we rented 2 rooms in an attic flat (£3/17/6 a week) so didn't have room for a washing machine. We used to go to the launderette once a week. We progressed to a 2 bedroom flat over a shop, still with no washing machine, still weekly visits to launderette. When our first child was born in 1971, my Mum gave us her big old jam-making pan so I could boil the nappies, and my grandparents bought us a spin dryer. I washed all the baby's clothes by hand but still took ours to launderette. My husband got a tax rebate and we were able to buy our first washing machine in 1973 - an Indesit automatic. I still boiled the nappies in Mum's old pan though and still put towels and sheets in the spin dryer after washing them in the machine as it only had a 600rpm spin and the towels came out dripping! My mother-in-law had a twin tub until about 10 years ago when we persuaded her to buy an automatic. She was then about 75! She still bemoans the loss of her twin tub because "It doesn't feel like she's doing the washing"! Happy memories! Sue

hi everyone when me and my boyfriend (now my hubby) first moved in together we booght a twin tub and i loved it ok, it did take longer than an automtic but its more versitile - you can add stuff midway through the wash - and it spun really well we had it until we moved and had our first child and then we got an automatic but i struggled to get used to it at first and the washing wasnt as clean as befroe either but i soon worked out how to get it cleaner however it was brillaint to wash the endless nappies in - they would have been very time consuming in the twin tub in recent years we have had lots of problems with automatic machines which constantly break down and then we have weeks to wait for spare parts so we bought a twin tub second hand and it was brilliant sadly my hubby sold it without me knowing so now when the automatic breaks down i have a terrible time.......

I dont know what your all on about. the twin tub washers have never left us, our shops have a range of twin tubs available, made by a range of companies, NEC, Samsung,Hitachi, all about the same size as the old Hoover and Simpson models. I was just thinking about getting one for my motorhome. Look in Google if you want to see pics etc. and heres one of many UK ads : ( John Lewis - Cheap Twin Tub Washing Machines UK There seem to be more domestic appliance shops online than the highstreet, and it can get confusing as there are many "dud" shops out there - this site is one of the best we've found for - but we take the stress out of the shopping but offering some of the best online shops for Twin Tub Washing Machines. John Lewis Don't forget to check the shipping rates on this one when you're buying your Twin Tub Washing Machines The prices are great and I'd put them in the top list .)

i remember my mum having a twin tub - as a special treat she used to let me "stab" the washing with the stick - you know dunk it up & down! - if i was really good i was allowed to hold the hose from the tap & fill it up - that all stopped though cos i had a waterfight with it one day & there was water everywhere!! also( back in the days when you were allowed to smack children without being taken to court ) i remember if i was being naughty my mum used to say " shall i get my washing stick?" - she never hit me with it - of course but neverthless i would be ob my best behavior from that moment on!!!

Have only just stopped using my twin tub (not by choice but by machine finally giving up after 20 odd years and spares not available). They certainly wash better than automatics - whites are much whiter after being washed in a twin tub. As for taking longer, I don't think so - one load in the automatic takes 90 mins whereas in the twin tub I could have done that in 20 mins - after filling the thing of course. Clothes came out of the twin tub much dryer so it was especially good on a rainy day if I had to use the tumble dryer as well. Just for the record I have a few years to go yet until I'm 50!!

When my eldest daughter was born in 79 I had two twin tubs the washer worked on one and the spinner worked on the other my kind nieghbour took pitty on me and she used to wash Emma's nappies in her automatic for me but I think they washed better too. Sue

Lord..!.I still remember my mum boiling clothes in a big thing she called the 'copper',,,and she had a wringer thing too, Washdays were awful especially in the winter, One of the worst things was that mum would always scrub the yard with the soapy water out of the 'copper' and she would scrub the wooden seat in the outside loo,,,,,In the winter it took ages to dry and created untold misery ,,,lol

omg i'd be dissapointed too, lol i was baffled by twin tub and kept thinking of boob tubes lol why i dont know

Joanne made me laugh. When I got married in 1982 I couldn't afford a washing machine but my friend gave me her old twin tub. It did me for quite a number of years. I knew it was time to get rid of it when my daughter's young friend came in and asked what it was! "You could put that on Antiques Roadshow" she said in all seriousness. Just remembered, after my mum died, when I was 14, my Gran said she was taking me out to buy my Christmas pressie. As we approached the electrical showroom I was thinking stereos, cassette players and the like. I tried not to look disappointed when it was a twin-tub washing machine she bought me. Not many 14 yr olds got one of them I'll bet!

When I marrried in 1967 I didn't have a washing machine I had a burco boiler and when our son was born all his nappies were boiled up in it,The rest of the washing I did by hand and had a worktop wringer ....(God don't that make me feel old) A few years later we upgraded to a twin tub and oh it was bliss although you did seem to spend ages doing the washing ,but it was worth it to spin dry all the clothes.But there is no way on this earth I would swap my automatic for a twin tub these days. Looking back it was hard work.You may laugh but I sill keep a spin dryer just in case the Automatic ever needs repair and it has come in handy on many occasions within the family Lynn