Things that used to be common place in people’s homes

[ainsworth74]

- Getting an electric shock whenever you touched a TV screen

Oh yes, I don't recall getting what I'd describe as an electric shock from a TV screen but I do recall when you turned on a big CRT TV (or computer monitor) you'd some times get loads of static that you could discharge waving you hand over the screen.

 

[birchesgreen]

LOL that "old fashioned" cooker is literally the make and model i have. Brilliant by the way.

 

[najaB]

Oh yes, I don't recall getting what I'd describe as an electric shock from a TV screen but I do recall when you turned on a big CRT TV (or computer monitor) you'd some times get loads of static that you could discharge waving you hand over the screen.

If the set had been off for quite a while and you held your finger a couple millimetres from the screen when you turned it on it would produce a decent spark. Never enough that you'd feel it, but you could definitely hear/see it.

 

[PeterC]

Oh yes, I don't recall getting what I'd describe as an electric shock from a TV screen but I do recall when you turned on a big CRT TV (or computer monitor) you'd some times get loads of static that you could discharge waving you hand over the screen.

You are more likely to have your hand near a computer screen.

 

[xotGD]

On the subject of German toilets, has anyone noticed toilets in the US have a very high water level (like a UK one when it’s blocked)

Yes. And they seem to flush in slow motion.

 

[swt_passenger]

It was then you made your excuses and left?

There aren’t any News of the World reporters in anybody’s homes, now you come to mention it...

 

[dgl]

I could get a shock when I had my TV on a metal wall bracket, thank god for LCD TV's.

 

[eMeS]

I could get a shock when I had my TV on a metal wall bracket, thank god for LCD TV's.

Nylon based carpet?

 

[dgl]

Nylon based carpet?

No idea, I would guess I would acquire static off the TV and it would be discharged through the metal bracket.

 

[adrock1976]

Washing machines that had both hot and cold water inlet hoses.

I had a Bendix 7129 automatic which was manufactured in 1978 that I had acquired in the summer of 1995 when I had my first flat. As my grandmother had moved into a nursing home back then and when her flat was being emptied, I volunteered to take the washing machine as I was initially hand washing my garments at the time.

This washing machine lasted until when the rewiring and the installation of a new kitchen and bathroom at my previous flat, when one of the door hinges got buckled meaning that the door would no longer close properly. I got the workmen to send it for scrap, and as it weighed a ton, it required three or four people to get it down the stairs.

 

[Gloster]

Do many people still have living-room furnishings in the mixture of brown, oatmeal and orange that was common in the 1980s? I presume that if they do it is because they don’t replace things until they wear out.

 

[takno]

Do many people still have living-room furnishings in the mixture of brown, oatmeal and orange that was common in the 1980s? I presume that if they do it is because they don’t replace things until they wear out.

The suite we had like that wore out in about 1988. We got a lovely green one to replace it. Not sure how you'd get 70s/80s furniture to last this long

 

[Gloster]

The suite we had like that wore out in about 1988. We got a lovely green one to replace it. Not sure how you'd get 70s/80s furniture to last this long

I am sitting on an armchair bought in 1982 that has even been to France; it does have a board under the cushion because the springs are a bit saggy, but for a few years I was seriously over-weight and strained them too much. Its twin ended up in Beverley Signal Box.

 

[eoff]

On the subject of German toilets, has anyone noticed toilets in the US have a very high water level (like a UK one when it’s blocked)

And the public ones are situated inside stalls designed to allow a view over, under and through gaps around doors.

As for the list:

• multicoloured plastic strip door fly curtains

 

[xotGD]

Oil cloth on the kitchen floor.

 

[MotCO]

I got the workmen to send it for scrap, and as it weighed a ton, it required three or four people to get it down the stairs.

You should have emptied it first

 

[GusB]

Washing machines that had both hot and cold water inlet hoses.

I had a Bendix 7129 automatic which was manufactured in 1978 that I had acquired in the summer of 1995 when I had my first flat. As my grandmother had moved into a nursing home back then and when her flat was being emptied, I volunteered to take the washing machine as I was initially hand washing my garments at the time.

This washing machine lasted until when the rewiring and the installation of a new kitchen and bathroom at my previous flat, when one of the door hinges got buckled meaning that the door would no longer close properly. I got the workmen to send it for scrap, and as it weighed a ton, it required three or four people to get it down the stairs.

There must still be a fair few washing machines around which have hot and cold inlets. My current washing machine only has cold, but the previous one (which died after its extended warranty elapsed - grr) had both, and it was less than ten years ago that it was purchased.

 

[AnnieslandJohn]

i got 2 GPO 746 dial phones in my living room, i am probably alone in this.

I have an ivory 746 in the living room, a BT dial "Compact" phone in the bedroom with a 746 attached for ringing (it was meant to have a separate bellset attached, which I do not have), and an older 700 series in the kitchen.

 

[takno]

There must still be a fair few washing machines around which have hot and cold inlets. My current washing machine only has cold, but the previous one (which died after its extended warranty elapsed - grr) had both, and it was less than ten years ago that it was purchased.

I think they were virtually all cold-only ten years ago. Certainly mine is 12 years old now and cold only. The you'll-get-legionnaires-and-die police even insisted on taking the hot plumbing for the washing machine out this year.

 

[Peter Sarf]

I have an ivory 746 in the living room, a BT dial "Compact" phone in the bedroom with a 746 attached for ringing (it was meant to have a separate bellset attached, which I do not have), and an older 700 series in the kitchen.

Rented telephones. Yes I remember early on (pre BT ?) you rented the handset.

 

[najaB]

Yes I remember early on (pre BT ?) you rented the handset.

Handset rental only stopped around 2010 or so. Some people had spent £1.20 a month for 30+ years.

 

[GusB]

I think they were virtually all cold-only ten years ago. Certainly mine is 12 years old now and cold only. The you'll-get-legionnaires-and-die police even insisted on taking the hot plumbing for the washing machine out this year.

Meh - I'd rather have the choice, to be honest. I object to having my washing machine heat the water up when there's already a readily available hot water supply in the tank - especially in summer when the sun does all the work. It's probably a topic for another thread, though!

Rented telephones. Yes I remember early on (pre BT ?) you rented the handset.

Handset rental only stopped around 2010 or so.

When the "In-phone" thing started in the early 80s, my gran used to like to have the Most Modern Thing Possible (possibly in competition with the neighbours) and would frequently change her rented phone. We were stuck with a hardwired 700-series for some time before the wiring was updated.

My mum rented her phone until the very end which, with hindsight, was probably money down the drain when it was possible to buy a new one relatively cheaply.

 

[PeterC]

There must still be a fair few washing machines around which have hot and cold inlets. My current washing machine only has cold, but the previous one (which died after its extended warranty elapsed - grr) had both, and it was less than ten years ago that it was purchased.

When I replaced my washing machine I had a shock when I found that there was only one inlet. The first thing that I did after the instellers left was to go out and buy a cap for the pipe.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

How about carpet sweepers?

I actually still have one - I imagine it doesn't pick up as much as the hoover, but it still removes just about all visible dust from carpets. it's lightweight, quiet, saves electricity, and sometimes more convenient. I just thought of it for this thread today because, after unpacking and assembling a new bookcase, I had lots of little bits of polystyrene packaging on the floor, which I figured were a bit too big to want to risk jamming up the hoover on, so out came the carpet sweeper. Don't think I know anyone else who has one though.

Indeed fire will spread at a alarming rate in modern living rooms in comparison to older ones as shown in the fire fighters demonstration video below where both a modern and older living room are tested side by side.

That seems worrying, but also rather puzzling: I would have thought it would've been the opposite, given that these days, just about anything with soft covers has to pass fire safety tests. Watching the video, I do notice that the issue seemed to be that the particular thing they set fire too in the 'modern' room burned really quickly, until it alone had evidently caused enough flame, sparks, and heat to set neighbouring things alight. By contrast, the sofa that they set alight in the 'legacy' living room just quietly burned a little bit for ages, in a way that I wonder if it's really typical for older sofas. I wonder therefore how reliable that test was.

 

[PG]

I do notice that the issue seemed to be that the particular thing they set fire too in the 'modern' room burned really quickly, until it alone had evidently caused enough flame, sparks, and heat to set neighbouring things alight.

According to the text at the start of the video both fires were started by a candle left burning on the sofa. I'm wondering just how old the legacy sofa was? If it didn't contain any synthetic materials it probably consisted of cloth, metal springs, horsehair and wooden frame which is why it took so long to get going. So I'm thinking by legacy they mean pre 1960?

 

[birchesgreen]

I have an ivory 746 in the living room, a BT dial "Compact" phone in the bedroom with a 746 attached for ringing (it was meant to have a separate bellset attached, which I do not have), and an older 700 series in the kitchen.

Ivory is a nice colour. Mine are red and brown, used to also have grey and black 746s too but got rid of them a while ago.

 

[trebor79]

Do many people still have living-room furnishings in the mixture of brown, oatmeal and orange that was common in the 1980s? I presume that if they do it is because they don’t replace things until they wear out.

My parents had a brown pinstripe velour suite that was a wedding gift in 1972. They replaced it with a modern cream suite in about 2000, simply because they felt like a change. Despite nearly 30 years of daily use, including 2 boys building castles out of the cushions, jumping on it and the ministrations of a cat it still looked brand new, and because the thing was filled with foam rather than the wadding that is common these days, it was still in the same shape, not sagging and didn't need plumping up.
The replacement last about 10 years before it was knackered and had to be replaced in turn.

 

[takno]

How about carpet sweepers?

I actually still have one - I imagine it doesn't pick up as much as the hoover, but it still removes just about all visible dust from carpets. it's lightweight, quiet, saves electricity, and sometimes more convenient. I just thought of it for this thread today because, after unpacking and assembling a new bookcase, I had lots of little bits of polystyrene packaging on the floor, which I figured were a bit too big to want to risk jamming up the hoover on, so out came the carpet sweeper. Don't think I know anyone else who has one though.

My mum has one, and has replaced it in the last 10 years. To be honest I should probably get one too - there's loads of jobs where you don't want to mess around with a heavy hoover that needs plugging in.

They're more common than you think though, because most of the little Roomba-type robots are carpet sweepers rather than hoovers

 

[Trackman]

My mum has one, and has replaced it in the last 10 years. To be honest I should probably get one too - there's loads of jobs where you don't want to mess around with a heavy hoover that needs plugging in.

They're more common than you think though, because most of the little Roomba-type robots are carpet sweepers rather than hoovers

We called them ‘Ewbanks’ after the manufacturers name, like Hoovers.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

We called them ‘Ewbanks’ after the manufacturers name, like Hoovers.

That's the one. Easy enough to use on a smallish area of carpet / rug, but a tad messy to empty when full.