A big part of laundry problems is that we don’t always know how to wash certain items, which means they stay in the clothes basket far longer than they should. We inevitably tempt fate by tossing the clothing into the washing machine. We could take them to the cleaners, but who has time and money for that?
Instead, we end up with shrunken sweaters, and faded clothing. When you think of the history of laundry, the inability to get dirty clothes sparkling clean may come to mind. Below is fascinating information about the long-lived process of dealing with laundry. It dates back to when our ancestors used to hit their clothing against river rocks just to get them clean.
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An old school washing machine used to use close to
50 gallons of water per wash.
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Astronauts have long incinerated their dirty drawers
in the Earth’s atmosphere. NASA hopes to use soiled laundry to feed
plants in the future.
·
Clothing lines were used as a signaling device during the
Revolutionary War.
·
Detergent was first
manufactured in 1916 as a result of soap shortage during WWI in Germany.
It wasn’t sold in homes
until the 1930s.
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During 1800s, people wore the same things for a week and soaked
their clothes in an ashes and urine mixture.
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Early sea voyagers used to wash their clothing by
throwing it in a tethered bag and tossing it overboard to drag behind a
ship.
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In 19th Century Britain, Mondays were typically reserved for the big weekly wash.
·
In Ancient Rome, there used to be an entire job
description devoted to men collecting urine, heating it up with water, and
stomp on soaked clothes.
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Ironing with metal was a technique first introduced
by the Chinese a thousand years ago.
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Soap making dates all the way back to 2800 B.C.
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The cost of an electric washer in the 1920s was $81.50. That equals about $1010.94 in 2016
money.
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The dryer wasn’t a household item until the 1960s because they were too cost prohibitive. In the 1950s they cost about $1,600
and only about 10% of households had one. Compare that to the 78% of households
that have one nowadays, at the comparatively bargain average price of around
$370.
·
The
early English used glass smoothers to fight wrinkles.
·
The first ironing board was patented in 1858.
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The first mass-marketed washing machine in the U.S. was called the Thor. It was produced by The Hurley Machine Company in
1908 and was made of wood and chains.
·
The first washing machine was invented in 1782 by H.
Sidgier of Great Britain. He
designed a rod cage that could crank and is largely credited with coining the first-ever laundry
machine. It would later be followed up by a string of inventions to get us
where we are now -- including James King’s 1851 invention of a hand-powered
drum machine, then William Blackstone’s creation of the first at-home machine
as a birthday gift for his wife.
·
Walt Disney World employees used to have to wear
company-issued underwear that was shared within the laundry system. In 2001, a deal was signed to give workers
their own individual undergarments to take home and was after a major outbreak
of lice and scabies from all the skivvies sharing.
·
World War II submariners had to be strategic about
sleep arrangements because laundry machines weren’t an option. Uniforms were stowed under
mattresses, which were also zipped up in plastic and turned over and inside
outwards to make quadruple, pseudo-sanitary use of the items.
“Now they show you
how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if
you've got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn't your
biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash.” (Jerry Seinfeld)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“17 Mindblowing Historical Facts about Laundry” by
Shop Dropps
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“Fun Facts about Laundry to Help Lighten Your Load” by Jennifer Borget
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