Our Maytag Wonder

Somehow, we managed to end up with three dogs. We live on a wooded lot with an unpaved driveway, so we have a lot of dirt on dry days and a lot of mud on wet days. This means we wash a lot of dog beds, towels and throw rugs on an almost daily basis. The washer in our mud room gets a work out.

I set out to buy a Maytag washer and dryer about 15 years ago, but could only find Whirlpool. Whirlpool bought Maytag in 2006- so we started out with a nice matched pair of a washer and dryer from Whirlpool. We still have the dryer, but the washer wore out quickly. We repaired it twice before we gave up. The repairman said it would be cheaper to buy a new one than fix what we had. Not music to my Yankee soul.

Remember the ads with the lonely Maytag repairman? It turns out The Whirlpool man is not so lonely.

I decided to buy a used machine as a replacement rather than fork out retail again. I found a place in the next town over. They operated out of a defunct brick paper mill with a plywood door and a bungee cord to hold it shut. The city girl in me hesitated. Was this a good idea to go into this mostly abandoned building? Had I told anyone where I was? I decided to call from my car to double check that they were open. They were.

The place occupied one room and there were appliances everywhere, stacked floor to ceiling, with paths in between, like a hoarder lived there. Refrigerators, dishwashers, freezers , washers and dryers. There was the same washer I had purchased new three years before for a fraction of the price. The lone operator was on the phone. When he finished his call I asked about the Whirlpool. He asked me what I was washing. I told him, dog beds and mud rugs. Oh, he said, then you want a Maytag. I know, I told him, but I can’t find them anymore. He led me to the back where the old metal appliances were. Like the island of misfit toys. Not much to look at, but built to last.

There we found my “new to me” washer – Two speeds – push buttons. Extra large capacity. I am pretty sure my grandmother had this same model. A match made in dog heaven. It has been running like a champ for a dozen years with no signs of slowing down. It washes every hairy, muddy thing I throw at it.

Thanks to a website called electrical-forensics.com (who knew that existed?) I was able to determine that my dreamboat was manufactured in January 1983 in Newton, Iowa.

Maytag started building washing machines there in 1893. The company grew into a global brand, and Newton, a city of 15,000, prospered along with it. When Maytag closed its doors in 2007, 2,000 people were building washers and dryers at the Maytag manufacturing facility. How sad.

Here is a shout out to all those employees- for making the world’s greatest washing machine. My dogs and I salute you every morning. I am sorry Whirlpool didn’t learn more from you. Thank you, Thank you – wherever you are.

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