Rolls 'Rapide' Automatic Twin-Tub Washing Machine
From Object Wiki
| Rolls `Rapide' automatic twin-tub washing machine | |
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| Manufacturer | (unknown) |
| Production years | c1962 |
| Production location | (unknown) |
This Rolls ‘Rapide’ automatic twin-tub washing machine sold for £60 and was made on an assembly line in the Rolls Razor factory in Cricklewood, where prospective customers could view the process. By 1962, Rolls had secured 10% of the market and was the third largest manufacturer of washing machines in Britain. Many Rolls machines were sold by door-to-door salesmen who signed customers up to hire purchase deals.
[edit] How it works
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The wash tub agitates the washing in hot soapy water. Wash times are a fraction of those for automatic washers. Typically, a wash would agitate for 5 minutes or less. However, the washing has to be rinsed separately. To do this, it must be transferred to the other (spin) tub to be spun at high speed, which pushes water out of the clothes. The first spin removes soapy water from the wash cycle. (Many users would recover this water back into the the wash tub to wash the next load in). Clean water is then added and spun through the clothes in order to rinse them. A final spin is done to get the washing as dry as possible. Chris
[edit] Memories
We became the proud owners of a Rolls washing machine, a mass-produced twin-tub machine and a limited boon to women’s washdays as they still required the ladies to stay in close proximity.
— John Watts
My parents bought this machine. They could afford either a washing machine or a fridge, and they chose the washing mahine becuase my mother had back problems. Previously she used a hand-operated mangle. The washing machine used to 'dance' across the kitchen floor, and the outlet house would get pulled out of the sink if you weren't careful.
My Father bought this same model for my Mother in the early sixties and she used it continuously until the mid seventies, when she had to replace it with a Hoovermatic twin tub. I can remember using the machine myself when I was older. I remember the spin dryer was very quiet in use and was a boon to my Mother, who before this only had a wringer type single tub washing machine. We used to carry the washing next door to my Aunt's house, where she would spin everything in her Hoovermatic. Although I have an automatic now, I still have a Hotpoint twin tub which I use occasionally.
— Brian Billingham Weston-super-Mare, Somerset
This is the finest twin-tub washing machine, built to last top quality. They dont make them like they used to.
— adam geisheimer
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Do you remember this washing machine? Add your memories. |
[edit] In the Science Museum
Source: Naomi Rosina Inv: No: 2000-272
This object is currently on display in the Dan Dare & the Birth of Hi-Tech Britain exhibition at the Science Museum, London.