Historical Laundry Part 3: The Evolution Of The Washing Machine

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[PLuMUK]

When I was a teenager, in the late 1960s, my neighbour was in her 80s. She used a galvanised dolly tub, as they were called in England, and a dolly peg to do her washing, and then put it through the mangle to remove the water. I can still remember that she had biceps that any gym bod would be proud of, from her twice weekly dolly peg and mangling sessions.

[Nighthawkinlight]

This is a great series. I once tried washing a shirt by hand in a very poor village and within minutes a crowd of local women gathered for the entertainment of viewing my pitiful attempt. They ended up rescuing me and had the shirt salvaged in no time.

[oggyreidmore]

If you told me five years ago that I would be tuning in for the third part in a historical series on 18th century laundry techniques - I would have laughed and called you crazy. Yet here I am...riveted.

[elkhunter]

Maggie is a delight. She makes the drudgery of washing fascinating. Another great video.

[humblesoldier]

I wish I was taught all of what Maggie talked about. I had to learn everything I know on my own with no one to teach me. For a few years I had to wash everything I had by hand in my tub. I was to poor to use any of the machines back then. All that hard work you put into it makes you think daily how you can wash your clothes more effectively and more easily. I tore the skin off my hands washing due to how rough the work is, and how soft the hands get being in the water for so long. I do have a machine now, and I cherish the little thing. I'm not able to do the large loads like I use to by hand, but it saves me in more ways than I can think having the machine. Made think of all the women who did do this and made me respect them all the more. I found myself wishing I had one of them that knew what to do to teach me.

[Arbeedubya]

Who needed treadmills and weights and kettlebells back then? Just living kept a person in shape.

[stevenholden]

Thanks for another great video. This one brought back memories for me. My Grandmother still had a dolly and tub in her back yard in Manchester UK in the 1950s. There was also a giant cast iron framed mangle with big wooden rollers, we kids were warned against playing near it for fear of ending up with flat fingers.

[sunset]

Carol is BEAUTIFUL.
Fascinating how she went into character at the start of the video.
She is a joy to watch !

[jeannet]

This laundry series has been great, and so informative. We really take for granted all the conveniences we have today. But for these early laundresses, it was hard work! Thank you, Maggie!

[BeagleLove]

My mom was taught to do laundry with five wash tubs. A prewash, wash and three rinse tubs. Every piece of laundry went through all five tubs before being hung on the line. It was 1950 before my grandparents spent money on the luxury of a washing machine.

My paternal grandmother still used a washtub and a fancy metal clothes plunger most of the time even after getting a machine. She said the machine was too much trouble for the little bit of laundry she had to do.

[carpii]

I love how knowledgable and passionate about the subject this woman is. Really enjoyed this series, especially seeing how the plungers and dollies evolved over time.
Its easy to forget just how much everyday life has changed after the advent of electricity

[Marialla-ub]

I want to hear more about the damage clothes would sustain, and how they were patched, and what kinds of patching were considered acceptable vs when was something considered too worn/unrepairable for an average person to keep. After being worn out what happened to clothes then? Surely not just thrown away, but used either as rags or made into quilts? Possibly donated to the poor? And what about stains? If a stain wouldn't come out, would the garment be ruined, or kept as good enough for grubby work?
How big was an average person's wardrobe? How often might they get a new garment? Was it generally all sewn by hand by the lady of the house, or were tailors/seamstresses used by average folks?

[brierobb]

As a child in the 60's .. my mother taught us to wash clothes in the bath tub by stomping them.
We did it anytime money was tight and the electric bill was not paid

[BradRoss]

For somebody like me who restores old wringer washer, I found this history fascinating and informative for my demos at our local farm museum! Thanks a bunch!

[tinasabat]

I have always have been fascinated by the 17 and 18 hundreds. I love all these videos of Jas. So interesting to see all the innovations they had to come up with to just get through everyday life.

[lochness]

Another great video, Thank you Maggie .... most ppl only concentrate on the War aspect of History ... but to be honest, I find the task of everyday living much more fascinating

[brittanyagm]

absolutely fascinating! Please, more great historical videos like this! Domestic history is so often overlooked.

[dianee]

First off, thank you Townsend’s! It has been a rare treat to watch and learn from your videos that I apply to my everyday life. Next up, Maggie... *such* an engaging trip into the past she weaves for us. Not only with the straight facts that she shares with us, but with the ancestor she fully inhabits in order to pass on the finer thoughts and details that were not often considered of note, or were not recorded because, we’ll- who cares about what historical washer women (and children) did!!??? I guess as a descendant, *I* do! Would be nice to see the percentage of folks watching here, that are trying to gain insights into their ancestral past, as I am...thank you again, Townsend’s. You continue to change my life for the better!... Now, to order those cook books....

[Janeliker]

My maternal grandmother (living on the slopes of the Downs in Sussex, England) still did all her washing using a washing dolly in a tub, then running the clothes and sheets through a mangle - this was in the 1960s, 70s and up to her death in the mid 80s. As a young girl she helped her mother and sisters wash the large family's laundry every week in a big community laundry where she grew up in Battersea (they tended to exist only in the more populated areas, not the country), a place of happy socialising as well as hard work. And both my grannies had much-loved walk-in larders, never freezers and only small fridges later in life. Both also had coal fires, as I did here in Cornwall (for cooking and heat though - a solid fuel aga) until only very recently severe wrist arthritis has prevented me running it. Many still have wood/multi-fuel stoves in fireplaces (mine is still an open fireplace).

Although I haven't had a television for many years, I used to enjoy watching the BBC Farm set of series - covering various eras throughout history starting I think with Mediaeval times up to Wartime Farm - so do look out for old episodes on YouTube, as were very similar to this.

[karenallen]

I have a laundry "dolly" bought at an estate sale for $15 as a conversation piece. Went with calling it an "udder agitator" because nobody could tell me what it was. I had seen it used on 'Victorian or Edwardian Farm". Thank you for the information.