The house we bought in 2023 was in a terrible state. Most people would describe it as a ruin. In what used to be the living room, the roof had collapsed, which in turn created a big hole in the floor. There were many other leaks. Therefore we didn’t have much expectations for the few appliances that came with the house.

One of the appliances was a washing machine. Standing at the end of a long corridor (why Spanish folks like these I don’t know), it happened to be right underneath another hole in the roof. The top plate made of particle board had turned into mush, and the outer housing was partially rusted through. Since we didn’t have working water until a year after, there was no way of testing the device.

When we finally did hook it up, it came to life as if after a very long slumber. Not only that, but it has functioned as the only working washing machine in Penadexo for two years straight. During summer months it has been working almost continuously serving our many visitors. It even has a built in dryer!

So what is this indestructible machine?
It goes by the strange English name New Pol, which is actually a Spanish brand launched in the 1950’s by a company called Domar. It was never a major player in the Spanish home appliance market, which was mostly served by other Spanish manufacturers such as Balay, Fagor and Edesa. But like these bigger players, it fell victim to controlled demolition policies of the European Union and its lackeys in Madrid. Domar closed its doors in 2007. The New Pol brand still exists, but is nowadays manufactured in Turkey from Chinese components. Our machine was “made in the EEC” which means it was made sometime between 1986, when Spain joined the EEC, and 1993, when the EEC became the EU.

A few days ago it looked like our New Pol finally took its last spin. The engine stayed silent and there was smell of burning copper. Did we at last have to buy a new washing machine? It never hurts to look, which in our case is very easy because it is only loosely covered with an old table. The capacitor was visibly damaged. Since it isn’t mounted inside the engine, but at a very accessible location, this couldn’t be a more easy fix. So I took the capacitor down to our local hardware store in the main village, and he ordered a new one which arrived a day or two later.

Lo and behold, the New Pol came back to live for a second time. Try that with your Chinese junk!