The idea of washing clothes has been around for centuries. Since the beginning of fabric and cloth, there’s been a need to remove dirt and stains from laundry. The most innovative yet obvious way to get the dirt out was to force water through clothing or linens. This brought on the age of “washing laundry” in American history. Whether women of the home did the laundry themselves or hired washerwomen to help out, someone has always needed to do some sort of washing.
An advocate of organizing and dignifying housework, Catherine Beecher called laundry "the American housekeeper’s hardest problem.” Unfortunately, to this day, no matter how far technology has come, many people feel the very same way about it!
During this time, there were no Speed Queen dealers SC companies, or mechanical machines to help with washing. The process was accomplished with a washboard and human hands. The act of rubbing the fabric between two ribbed surfaces was the only way to get clothing and other fabrics cleaned during this time. Before that, rocks from the river were used to clean clothing.
Thankfully, in the mid-1800s, a washing machine-like contraption was invented and patented that took the place of a washboard and human hand. The mechanism consisted of a wringer attached to the top of a basin. The piece of equipment was usually raised up from the floor on a pedestal or other type of podium.
In the beginning they were mostly crafted from wood, eventually they were made from iron. Why? Water was heated much more easily in iron, by the stove or fire. Throughout time, people realized that hot water cleaned more efficiently than cold did.
While they were an improvement, these washers were still hand operated. Electric washers weren’t available until the early 1900s. In 1893, a company called Maytag started manufacturing farm tools in lowa. Because business had slowed during the winter months, F.L. Maytag had a lot of time on his hands. He decided that a new product should be added to his list. This is when he created a wooden-tub that acted as a washing machine. There was an electric motor on the bottom of the basin that helped move fabric through the water, acting as an agitator. These became available in 1907. Soon, F.L. found that he no longer needed to sell farm equipment. He was in the business of producing washing machines full time.
As you can imagine, things only progressed from here. Soon, Maytag was advancing their technology. As we move into the 1900s during our next blog post, you'll learn more about the history of the washing machine. Be sure to visit back with our next blog post. We will talk about the first electric washers and more! Stay tuned.
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