Laundry

Washers and dryers were filed by how they load and by what heats the dryer. Front-load washers, top-load washers, portable washers, and a combination washer-dryer each had a row. Dryers split into electric and gas, then again by the shape of the cabinet.

How the washer loads

A front-loader tumbles the clothes and pumps out through a low hose, usually into a standpipe. The door needs a clear arc in front of the machine. A top-loader fills from above. The lid wants headroom, not floor space in front. Extra-large and super-capacity top-loaders were filed apart from the regular tubs. A portable washer is a third machine: it rolls to a sink and clamps to a faucet, and it was not listed as a small front-loader.

Electric heat and gas heat

An electric dryer wants a 240-volt circuit. A gas dryer wants a gas line plus a 120-volt outlet for the motor and the controls. The cabinets can match and still be the wrong machine for the closet. Both need a smooth metal duct to the outside. Vinyl or foil slink pipe catches lint. A combination washer-dryer does both jobs in one cabinet, usually on 240 volts, and it had its own row instead of being counted as a pair.

Commercial rows

Commercial washers and commercial dryers sat apart from the home front-loaders. A commercial tub is built for more cycles in a day. It is a different bearing and a different control, not a home machine with a coin slot.