How People Used to Wash: The Fascinating History of Laundry (2024)

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How people used to wash the fascinating history of laundry? ›

Laundry meant hard twisting and slapping the clothing against rocks on the river, stomping on the clothes, and using paddles and washboards to, quite literally, beat the dirt out of the fibers. Before the invention of modern detergent, civilizations of the past used animal fat or lye to wash clothes.

Washing in the ancient world.

Garments were typically beaten over rocks, scrubbed with abrasive sand or stone, and pounded underfoot or with wooden implements.

The first reference to washing had come from the Sumerians from the period of 2,800 years BC. In the beginning, laundry was done by literally slapping the clothing against rocks in the river. The soap was made from ash, wood, grains, and the herb called mock gillyflower.

Washing clothes in the late 1800s was a laborious process. Most household manuals recommended soaking the clothes overnight first. The next day, clothes would be soaped, boiled or scalded, rinsed, wrung out, mangled, dried, starched, and ironed, often with steps repeating throughout.

Washing had to be sorted into white items and coloured ones. Many had been left soaking in cold water overnight to help loosen the dirt. The items had to be separated in this way as many of the dyes used to colour fabrics were not always 'fast' and could stain other materials when wet.

The consumer technologies of the late 1800s and early 1900s did not ease wash-day much. In 1895 the Montgomery Ward catalog listed 5 washing machines. They all had to be hand-cranked, however, and housewives often still had to boil water, soap the clothes, and rinse the clothes.

A public laundry area called the washhouse was an important part of every city or village. Many areas also continued the use of human waste – called night soil or chamber lye -- on clothes because of the ammonia. Clothing and linens were often boiled in big pots, walked on, and then stretched and laid flat to dry out.

People would soak clothes for several days or longer in a “bucking tub” and then use water – perhaps with the help of cakes of soap, which evolved from lye – to finish the cleaning process. A list of possessions from a Massachusetts Bay Colony household in 1633 lists a “bucking tub” that had come over on the Mayflower.

Until the idea of a once-a-week wash developed, people tended to have a big laundry session at intervals of several weeks or even months. Many women had agricultural and food preparation duties that would make it impossible for them to "waste" time on hours of laundry work every week.

In ancient Rome laundry was a man's job. The clothes were first washed, which was done in tubs or vats, where they were trodden upon and stamped by the feet of the fullones. After the clothes had been washed, they were hung out to dry, and were allowed to be placed in the street before the doors of the fullonica.

How did pioneers wash their clothes? ›

Water was hauled from nearby streams to wash all clothes by hand with homemade soap. Filling a large pot with water, the women would heat it over a fire. When the water was boiling, lye soap would be added along with the dirty clothing. This was then stirred, by hand, like the motion of a washing machine.

This wondrous machine did not come out of nowhere. James King in 1851 created the first washing machine to use a drum, Hamilton Smith in 1858 patented a rotary version, and in 1868 Thomas Bradford, a British inventor, created a commercially successful machine that resembles the modern device.

For thousands of years, Southwestern Indian tribes used yucca to wash clothing, hair, and as a ceremonial bath. Yucca soap produces an interesting lather. Spaniards and other settlers from Europe used soap made of lye and animal fat. Soap was used for bathing and washing clothes.

There was no medieval laundry room, instead you had to take your clothes to a stream, river, fountain, or communal city wash-house and do them there.

The washing process itself involved lifting the items from the cold soak and wringing or mangling each item before transferring them, with more soap flakes, into the copper for boiling. Items that remained soiled, even after an overnight soak, were rubbed on a scrubbing board before being transferred to the copper.

Washing Clothes and Bodies.

When the fabric was thought to be washable, it appears that peasants washed their clothing every week at most. Linen was one fabric that was washed in water using lye; then it was laid in the sun on a rock or the grass to dry. (Clothespins are another modern invention.)

Laborers, who made up most of the population, probably used ewers and shallow washbasins. Castle dwellers might have access to a wooden tub, with water heated by a fire. And yes, they used soap—in fact, soap was often made at home and widely available as a trade good as early as the 9th century in Europe.

It was the custom for most people to wash themselves in the morning, usually a sponge bath with a large washbasin and a pitcher of water on their bedroom washstands. Women might have added perfume to the water.

Clothes were stirred in the laundry tub to remove dirt, then scrubbed on a wash board, rinsed and hung on a line to dry in the breeze. Stains were attacked with soap and a brush. Vinegar made on the farm was also used to remove stains, or remove odours.

Just like a modern washing machine, the laundry was cleaned by being churned forcefully in water. However, in the Victorian era this was done by hand using a dolly or a posser. A woman would normally have to dolly or posser vigorously for half an hour to get the dirt out before wringing the washing out using a mangle.

How did people wash clothes in 1960s? ›

Using the wringer washer required lots of space, as you had the wringer unit, a large shallow metal bucket to hold the soapy clothes while you ran the rinsing water in the unit, and a large weaved basket to take the clothes out to the clothesline after you ran the clothes through the spinning rubber wringers on the top ...

Most folks on the frontier bathed in rivers or ponds when they were available or took sponge baths from a metal or porcelain basin. But there were plenty of people who seldom did that! Early homesteaders had to carry water from a stream, river or pond.

There were huge changes in domestic life between 1800 and 1900. Soap, starch, and other aids to washing at home became more abundant and more varied. Washing once a week on Monday or "washday" became the established norm.

According to an article from JStor, it wasn't until the early 20th century when Americans began to take daily baths due to concerns about germs. More Americans were moving into cities, which tended to be dirtier, so folks felt as if they needed to wash more often.

As most people ate meals without knives, forks or spoons, it was also a common convention to wash hands before and after eating. Soap was sometimes used and hair was washed using an alkaline solution such as the one obtained from mixing lime and salt.

Before soap, many people around the world used plain ol' water, with sand and mud as occasional exfoliants. Depending on where you lived and your financial status, you may have had access to different scented waters or oils that would be applied to your body and then wiped off to remove dirt and cover smell.

Richardson says it's important to leave your clothes in the soapy water for around 20 minutes, manipulating them with your hands every 3 to 4 minutes without getting too hard or aggressive. When you're done, pull the stopper, let the water run out, then fill the sink as full as you can with cool (not ice cold) water.

The current evidence indicates that anatomically modern humans were naked in prehistory for at least 90,000 years before the invention of clothing. Today, isolated Indigenous peoples in tropical climates continue to be without clothing in many everyday activities.

In the late 1940's or so, western culture was still highly in favor of the bath as the optimum mode of cleaning. But two things happened that would change American views permanently. The first was a shift in how people felt about hygiene. For most of Europe and America, a weekly bath had been good enough.

Ancient Romans valued urine for its ammonia content. They found the natural enemy of dirt and grease valuable for laundering clothes and even whitening teeth. And like all valuable products, there was a scheme to tax it.

How did Romans clean after toilet? ›

The Romans cleaned their behinds with sea sponges attached to a stick, and the gutter supplied clean flowing water to dip the sponges in. This soft, gentle tool was called a tersorium, which literally meant “a wiping thing.” The Romans liked to move their bowels in comfort.

In ancient Egypt the hieroglyphic symbol for washing clothes was two legs in water, which meant that at the time laundry was mainly done by stamping on the clothes in the water. Washing facilities in ancient Rome were famous: fullers washed laundry in large vats filled with whitewash, lye, urine, and water.

People in the Middle Ages would wash their clothes regularly and hang them outside to dry. They used soap made from ashes and animal fat to wash their clothes and would beat the dirt out of them with sticks.

Clothes however were washed using water only. Nevertheless, this shows that ancient Greeks too had the knowledge of soap and were aware of the cleaning properties of natural oils, salts and ashes. Historical myth has it that, the word 'soap' came from ancient Rome, much like many other things we enjoy today.

Boiling laundry was the common method used for washing items that needed heavy disinfection, were hard to clean or had tough stains. Many people still boil their laundry for these reasons.

It was backbreaking labor, mostly performed by women, and made only slightly easier by wooden tub washing machines invented in the 19th century. A single laundry load could take four hours. After the invention of the electric washing machine, it took only 41 minutes.

The first United States Patent, titled "Clothes Washing", was granted to Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire in 1797.

A washing machine invented in France in the early 1800s was called the ventilator. The device consisted of a barrel-shaped metal drum with holes that was turned by hand over a fire.

American Indian men and women wore loin- or breechcloths, which might be considered undergarments or outer garments, depending on climate and tribal lifestyle. But what we deem “going commando” today was more the norm until the 18th century—among native peoples and Europeans.

American Indians generally did their “business” in the most convenient place not far from their tipis. Indians dug latrines away from the tipis and fresh water. During the most brutal weather, these latrines would be placed close by. Human waste froze in the winter and didn't smell nearly as much as in the summer.

How did Native Americans wash hair? ›

The roots of young yucca plants were used for shampoo. The crushed roots were soaked in water to make a hair wash. Other methods involved peeling the bark of the root, which was rubbed in a pan of shallow water to make suds to rub into the hair and scalp.

Perhaps most importantly, bathing disrupts our skin's microbiome: the delicate ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, mites and viruses that live on (and in) our body's largest organ. Most of these microbes are thought to be benign freeloaders; they feast on our sweat and oils without impacting our health.

Prior to that people used water only and the oils from flowers. In chambers, people had basins of water for washing the face and hands, and maybe a more intimate part of themselves… Rivers, lakes, ponds, etc… were used to taking dips and rinsing the filth from one's body.

People didn't bathe often. Mostly, they just washed their hands and face and combed their hair (and beards). They relied on their underclothes to soak up dirt and smell and changed these as often as they could afford to have them washed. They also used perfumes and sweet waters to cover up bad smells.

In the 1700s, most people in the upper class seldom, if ever, bathed. They occasionally washed their faces and hands, and kept themselves “clean” by changing the white linens under their clothing. “The idea about cleanliness focused on their clothing, especially the clothes worn next to the skin,” Ward said.

The washing process itself involved lifting the items from the cold soak and wringing or mangling each item before transferring them, with more soap flakes, into the copper for boiling. Items that remained soiled, even after an overnight soak, were rubbed on a scrubbing board before being transferred to the copper.

In the 1700s, most people in the upper class seldom, if ever, bathed. They occasionally washed their faces and hands, and kept themselves “clean” by changing the white linens under their clothing. “The idea about cleanliness focused on their clothing, especially the clothes worn next to the skin,” Ward said.

A public laundry area called the washhouse was an important part of every city or village. Many areas also continued the use of human waste – called night soil or chamber lye -- on clothes because of the ammonia. Clothing and linens were often boiled in big pots, walked on, and then stretched and laid flat to dry out.

Though even wealthy families did not take a full bath daily, they were not unclean. It was the custom for most people to wash themselves in the morning, usually a sponge bath with a large washbasin and a pitcher of water on their bedroom washstands. Women might have added perfume to the water.

Humans have probably been bathing since the Stone Age, not least because the vast majority of European caves that contain Palaeolithic art are short distances from natural springs. By the Bronze Age, beginning around 5,000 years ago, washing had become very important.

How often did people wash clothes in 1800? ›

There were huge changes in domestic life between 1800 and 1900. Soap, starch, and other aids to washing at home became more abundant and more varied. Washing once a week on Monday or "washday" became the established norm.