a first motor 20 is provided which is drivingly connected to the agitator 18 to drive it in an oscillatory or rotary manner and is also selectively connectable to the basket 16 to rotatingly drive it the assembly of tubs agitator and motor is mounted by a suspension system 22 including springs and rods to a frame 24 a plurality of controls 26 are provided on a control console 28 for automatically operating the washer through a series of washing rinsing and drying steps the drive mechanism is shown in greater detail in fig2 where it is seen that the motor 20 is connected by means of a drive belt 30 and a gear arrangement such as a planetary gear assembly 32 to a vertical shaft 34 connected to the agitator 18 the wash basket 16 is connected via a spin tube 36 to the gear arrangement 32 such as to an outer ring gear having an external hub surface 44 to provide the selective rotating drive to the basket the wash tub 14 has a discharge sump 38 which is connected to an input of a discharge pump 40 driven by means of a separate second motor 42 this second motor 42 is energized at selected portions of the wash cycle when it is desired to empty wash liquid from the wash.