• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

HOUSEHOLD GADGETS FROM THE PAST

We hardly ever use our kettle. Once a day, to boil a small amount of water to go into the dogs food. Neither of us drink tea., only coffee, and that from a machine..



Steve.
 
Copper kitchen products, kettles, saucepans. skillets/frying pans and a multitude of moulds and other accessories were fine when you had the staff to clean them. ;)
I have one kettle. Plus three frying pans - all with tinned interiors - but they are not used that often. They are French and heavy.
 
Change of gadget. Well more of a tool. Does anyone else use a "cobweb" brush round the ceilings and corners?
I use my Gran's brush and as she died in 1969 it must be over 60 years old. I suspect it was a Betterwear buy (remember them?).
Just in case anyone can't remember.
 

Attachments

  • 20230809_180415.jpg
    20230809_180415.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 15
Last edited:
pjmburns said:
Change of gadget. Well more of a tool. Does anyone else use a "cobweb" brush round the ceilings and corners?
I use my Gran's brush and as she died in 1969 it must be over 60 years old. I suspect it was a Betterwear buy (remember them?).
Just in case anyone can't remember.
Click to expand...
Janice, we still have them here. They come with a couple of style brushes(fluffers) and extensions for the pole.
 
I still use my little spin-dryer as well as the washing machine, it gets far more water out than the machine.
Mom had a "Flatley" heated airer/dryer, it wasn't very successful. I have a food processor but it takes so much cleaning out afterwards that it lives in the shed, I've just realised it's over 30 years old!
rosie.
 
rosie said:
I still use my little spin-dryer as well as the washing machine, it gets far more water out than the machine.
Mom had a "Flatley" heated airer/dryer, it wasn't very successful. I have a food processor but it takes so much cleaning out afterwards that it lives in the shed, I've just realised it's over 30 years old!
rosie.
Click to expand...
We have two food processors, a large one over 30 years old when our children were with us. My wife purchased a smaller one about size that she uses when its just the two of us.
 
I wore out my 30+ year old one. Bought a new one but only tend to use it for pastry. (As Rosie said fiddly to clean and dry). I make lots of cakes but all by hand.
I also have a mini blender which I use to make burgers (yes, I make my own lol) or meatballs.
 
I think this gadget will be from the past. My wife has an electric hard boiled egg maker by Bosch, which she uses say once per week. Not sure how much the original one was, the current one we purchased about 8 years ago for about $29.95. In anticipation that we might need to replace it, the best price for exactly the same thing, $89.99, talk about inflation! We!ll use a saucepan :) . The other device we have but not from the too far past, an immersion blender! Wow! That thing is scary.
My wife unfortunately likes to bake cakes and fresh fruit pies/tarts, much to my chagrin.
Now I am really hungry, I think I detect a fresh pound cake lurking in the kitchen.
 
Astoness said:
did anyone have one of these....our mom thought it was the best thing since sliced bread...the one we had was slightly different...ours had a rubber ended attachment that you just pushed onto the tap..turned the tap on and away it went...of course we can still buy them but they are now electric...great idea for those suffering with arthritic hands

View attachment 177624
Click to expand...
As a matter of interest, what was the best thing before sliced bread?
 
To me this very well known phrase is really dated and peculiar, and probably invented by a marketing person, rather than any one who might actually eat sliced bread
 
Vivienne14 said:
We had the potato peeler like Lyn’s. From memory we only ever used it for small or salad potatoes. Not for really big potatoes. Viv.
Click to expand...

yes viv they were not for peeling potatoes more for scraping new potatoes...the inside of the scraper was very rough and i always found it fascinating the way it scraped and washed

i wish there had been a gadget for shelling peas because that was a job us kids were given

lyn
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top