Continental Girbau Names Winner of Washer Contest

By PlanetLaundry staff | Jun 16, 2011

Coco and Louie Lin – owners of Sunshine Laundry, a vintage “corner store” in Philadelphia – are the winners of Continental Girbau’s Oldest Washer Contest. The contest was conducted as part of the company’s 15th anniversary celebration.

At Sunshine Laundry, there are eight washer-extractors spanning three decades of Girbau history. A rare trio of 30-pound capacity Golder Girbau washers – manufactured in the mid- to late-1970s – represent the workhorse ancestors of several of today’s Continental Girbau models.

“The Golder Girbaus are more than 30 years old and still running strong,” said Russ Arbuckle of Wholesale Commercial Laundry SE. “That’s a real testament to the quality of these machines.”

In addition to the three Golder Girbaus, the unique neighborhood laundry is also outfitted with three, 40-pound Girbau washer-extractors, exported to the United States under a private label 23 years ago. These six older Girbau machines sit near their newer counterparts – two 30-pound capacity Continental Girbau washers. The laundry is truly a museum of Girbau history.

The laundry’s previous owner, Montha Thong, discovered the old Golder Girbaus for sale at a neighboring coin laundry, so she called Arbuckle, a Continental distributor, to inspect the washers before buying them.

“After I saw the condition of the machines, I was in shock,” Arbuckle said. “The Golder Girbaus ran great despite three decades of continuous use.”

Arbuckle assessed their condition and advised the upgrade of minor parts – allowing Thong to vary vend price. He also replaced a door solenoid and gasket on one of the washers.

“This didn’t surprise me,” said Arbuckle, of the upgrades. “There is always a large amount of wear on those parts.”

Despite the age of the washers, new parts were easy to find and install, as Girbau manufactures interchangeable parts, which work for old and new product lines.

“One of the neat things about the Continental line is that there’s so much interchangeability with parts,” Arbuckle explained. “It’s kind of neat when you can get parts for a 30-year-old piece of equipment.”

Since their installation, the Golder Girbaus have run smoothly alongside their other Continental companions, according to the store owners.

“Anytime you have a machine that is reliable and doesn’t break down often, you’re saving money,” Arbuckle noted. “The aggravation level is considerably less, and in a business where production is the name of the game, a quality machine quickly translates into profit.”