Old equipment your grandparents used

[letsgomaths]

Inspired by the "silly things your mother did" thread, what gadgets or items do you remember your grandparents using, that would seem old-fashioned now?

Mine had a twin tub washing machine, and used it for thirty-five years: appliances were made to last in those days!

They never had a cassette player: all music was played on the Bush radiogram, which had auto-change.

My grandmother was a keen photographer, but never had photos printed: she always used slides, to be looked at with a projector and screen, or more informally, a tabletop slide viewer.

Black bakelite telephone with a dial, and cone round the mouthpiece, rented from BT.

My nan was 100 in Nov for context (still alive!) and born in 1920.

-She had a device for spraying flying insects with a push-pull plunger thing at the back to pump the spray out. I assume a pre-cursor to a spray can with aerosols.

-Hand crochet doilies on sofa hand rests, backs of seats and any surface with things on (not really equipment I know!)

-A collection of oil lamps from when they 'lived in the country side'

-A set of Christmas festoon lights that still work 50+yrs after purchase

-A kitchen mixer my nan got as a wedding present (I use it now 80yrs on!)

• A toaster that toasted one side of bread at a time

My Nan and grandad had one of those wax lamps where a Grecian statue would be in the middle of some artificial greenery and liquid wax would run down strings into the base. As a child I thought it was the most sophisticated thing I had ever seen and if they weren’t going for several thousand pounds for one in good working condition, I’d still love one now.

Mangle and washboard.
Mincer that clamped on tabletop.

We had a twin tub washing machine when I was a child.

An electric spinner to take water out of the clothes that was used after clothes came out of the washing machine
A pladtic loose tea dispenser that looked a bit like an upside down rocket ship attached to the wall

My mum had a twin tub too. It had to be trailed out into the middle of our tiny galley kitchen when used and nobody could get to the toilet, which was very conveniently placed at the arse end of the kitchen.

My grandparents had a black and white Bush TV on four splayed, spindly legs. They refused to buy a colour TV licence.

Mum had a really ancient pink hairdryer. It had a bendy tube for attaching to a nylon hood which you placed over your rollers for that authentic 'afternoon at the hairdresser' experience! We used to play with it when we were kids. It was like having your head set on fire.

My grandad had one of those drying racks that are attached to the ceiling with pulleys and whatnot. I sold it to a hipster for £200 after he died!

My grandmother had this type of mangle. My other grandmother/grandfather had a wall mounted manual pencil sharpener. I used to be fascinated with it as a child

My grandfather had one of the very old type of lawn mowers that had blades circling when you pushed it

Not quite the same thing but I remember by great grandmother making very strong tea to use on her hair to use to tone down her grey hair.

I'm 43. Today I used a Eubank equivalent (a bissell carpet sweeper which I bought in effort to use my hoover less and instead of a hand held vac) and last week we were looking at slides on the screen via our projector.

Am I retro?

My grandfather had one of the very old type of lawn mowers that had blades circling when you pushed it

Isn’t that just a standard manual (not electric or petrol) lawnmower? I’ve got one.

A push me pull you type lawn mower it was back breaking, photographs on slides, a twin tub washing machine, a car with a choke (what did that even do?!)

A hot water heater which was a drum shaped container with a tap that was suspended over the Belfast sink in the kitchen. No bathroom. Toilet at bottom of the garden. Pee pots under the beds.
No fridge just a pantry with a cold slab to put milk on.
A Hoover wash tub with a mangle attached.

Sanitary belt, if that's what they're called? Possible they are still in common use but I haven't heard anybody mention them EVER other than my mother when I was a teen

I still have a gas poker in my house, it's next to the open fire and it's great. I had a twin tub when my son was a baby, 42 years ago My granny had a clamp on mincer the minced beef made the best cottage pie.

Love this thread! Yes to twin tubs, carpet sweepers and teasmades. I can still see my grandad bumbling around 'quietly making tea while my gran resolutely tried to stay asleep.

Also, how about the bread slicer where you turned the handle with a very sharp wheel? And a boiled egg slicer with metal strings that I used to play like a mini harp.

My grandad had an enormous stereogram with a turntable, a tuner and a reel to reel tape player. It was the size of a sideboard! I used to be fascinated by all the strange (to my 8yo self) cities listed on the tuner.

My grandparents were born in 1920 too. I miss them ❤️

@Spottysausagedogs- YES a sanitary belt!!! My mum and both nans mentioned them. As a very young teen in the 1990's I worked in a pharmacy and had no clue what elderly customers at the time were referring too! I've since read up and very aware of what it was!

I rented my phone from BT in my first flat in the early 90s. Also rented the tv and video player.

My gran had a hostess trolley for keeping things warm that I think used tea lights somehow.

I remember the first "automatic" washing machine my mum got
Felt v fancy! Also getting a freezer for the first time and suddenly everything was from the freezer shop in bulk.

I’ve got a Ewbank - a friend was going to chuck it.
Brilliant for getting a few bits off the carpet. And eco-friendly! No electricity.

My Mum had a twin tub and various other things mentioned above when we were kids.
My grandmother and several other relatives still had outside toilets, and a tin bath that I got washed in in front of the fire when I stayed with her. There were stoves integrated in the fire place that they used for cooking/boiling the kettle

My grandad had an understair cupboard of bits. It was like an Aladdin's cave.

In there was a collection of Victorian pennies, some sellotape on the world's heaviest dispenser, a gyroscope that he'd spin for me, his stamp collection with Saddam Hussein stamps etc, a bottle of mystery liquid with a picture of a girl polishing - I think called bluebell- that we used to polish pennies with. Some slides, a card board village that came with tokens etc, etc. It was a marvelous place.
Grandma had a hand held hoover for crumbs, and an ironing board and iron from the 60s (talking 80s/90s).
There was one of those lawn roller things in the back garden, but the lawn was never pristine because we played on it.

I look back on my time being looked after by my grandparents very fondly. Mum went back to work when I was 1. All the random things they'd need 'help' with were just to keep me entertained as a 1 to 4 year old 😂. Shining pennies, playing marbles, refelting the lean to roof, feeding the pigeons, cooking chapattis etc, digging holes in the garden etc. My poor grandparents must have been exhausted!

@letsgomaths

Inspired by the "silly things your mother did" thread, what gadgets or items do you remember your grandparents using, that would seem old-fashioned now?

Mine had a twin tub washing machine, and used it for thirty-five years: appliances were made to last in those days!

They never had a cassette player: all music was played on the Bush radiogram, which had auto-change.

My grandmother was a keen photographer, but never had photos printed: she always used slides, to be looked at with a projector and screen, or more informally, a tabletop slide viewer.

Black bakelite telephone with a dial, and cone round the mouthpiece, rented from BT.

Everyone of those things cine from my childhood home, not my grandparents! Although we didn't have a telephone at all until I was 7. Black and white TV until I was 11.

My mum still uses the hand crank mincer rather than a food processor.

My neighbour still uses a push lawnmower.

@Nopreservatives

Me too! This is almost entirely a list of things my parents had, and many that my DMum still uses.

Long generations in my family, DMum is in her 90s.

My grandparents were all born in the 1800s

Mine had a teas maid - they'd got it when my grandfather retired. You can still buy them but I've never seen much benefit over having a travel kettle and a cup next to your bed if you want a cup of tea without getting up.

@NaughtipussMaximus

A Eubank! It was like a manual vacuum cleaner. She has a twin tub and a mangle too.

I too still have a Ewbank which my mum bought for me when I moved out in 1990. It's still going strong and is very useful. Buy one !

Yes, you can still buy Eubanks. They have them in the caravans where we holiday - handy for sweeping up crumbs quickly.

My mum had a kitchen cabinet with a glass cupboard at the top and a sort of mini worktop. I saw one in the Castle Museum in York and realised how old I am! My son used to love to play with his nana’s Ewbank carpet cleaner. I think he liked the noise. We had a leatherette radio from Radio Rentals which had a huge battery which we took to the shop for a replacement when it ran out .