When Sally Wilson bought a new washing machine from Newson’s Fine Home Furnishings in downtown Prince George in 1985 she had no idea she was about to contribute to making the Maytag repairman lonely.
Now, nearly 39 years later, that washing machine is still working fine, like it was the day she had it installed in her home.
“It’s been around all that time and, touch wood, I’m still using it, it’s just an amazing little beast,” said Wilson.
“Machines don’t last that long.”
Wilson (nee Demyon) was living on Douglas Street when her Maytag 512 machine cleaned its first load of laundry on June 29, 1985. With tax included, it cost her $940.40.
She still has the receipt. She kept it in case the washer needed to go in for repairs.
She and her husband Stuart went on to have two kids and the family gave that washer a steady workout. Amazingly, it’s kept working without the need for any kind of repair.
The Wilsons have gone through three clothes dryers but there’s been no need for a new washer. In the modern throwaway society, it’s rare for a major appliance to last 10 or 20 years, let alone 40.
“I’d like to contact somebody from Maytag, how often does that happen?” said Wilson, who worked as the front office receptionist at the Prince George Citizen for several years in the 1990s.
“I want them to know what a great machine that is. If it broke down I doubt you could even get parts for it now.
“You hear about people with cars, like some Toyotas run up to 500,000 kilometres. This is unheard of as far as I’m concerned.”
For years, Maytag plugged its major household appliances in TV ads that showed a serviceman with a forlorn expression looking as if he had nothing to do.
“You can see why,” said Wilson.
