Washboards and mangles; laundry in the 1930s (2024)

FAQs

How was laundry done in the 1930s? ›

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.

The oldest known model is a Norwegian mangle board, found near Bergen and dated 1444. In the second half of the 19th century, commercial laundries began using steam-powered mangles or ironers.

After boiling, 'blueing', starching and rinsing, the washing had to be dried. In the winter, or in wet weather, the washing had to be dried indoors. Lines were strung across the kitchen and the kitchen fire left quite high so that the washing dried through the night.

Some writers claimed that using a washboard was superior to using older laundry machines, because they save water and heating costs, and are not so hard on the clothing.

A mangle board is a carved board that was used to remove water and press the wrinkles out of woven cloth. The cloth was wrapped around a round rolling pin. Then, the user would press the mangle into the cloth wrapped rolling pin. This early ironing contraption was used before handheld heated metal iron.

Baths were taken in a tin bath filled by hand. Some older people used a washstand in a bedroom, with a basin and ewer. Some towns and cities had public baths, where people paid to bathe. Bathing eventually increased in frequency after electrically heated water became more common in the 1930s.

One hot bath a week sufficed for most people. In the 1920s, the attitude toward cleanliness shifted significantly. Both body and clothes cleanliness became a standard requirement. As the new house appliances became more available and economical, cleanliness in the house also became a requirement.

As times became more and more desperate during the decade, women turned to the cotton sacks flour came in at the time. They began making clothing out of the emptied bags and once flour manufacturers found out, they began printing patterns onto the sacks.

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.

Before the electric washing machine, a laundry load demanded four hours of manual labor and lots of hot water. Today your laundry choices make a big difference in cost and energy savings. The typical household washes 300 loads of laundry a year.

What are the old ways of laundry? ›

In ancient times, garments were often beaten against rocks, scrubbed with abrasive sand or stone, and pounded underfoot or with wooden tools. For those with limited clothing choices, garments were treasured heirlooms, rarely subjected to washing. The Romans took laundering to a whole new level.

Before the invention of washing machines, people would wash their clothes by hand in streams or rivers. They would rub the clothes against rocks to remove dirt and stains. Sometimes, they would also use a washboard to make the process easier.

1930 Fashion Overview

1930s clothing brings to mind bias cut evening gowns in liquid satins and silks, tweed suits, flounces and frills and topped off by a cute beret or tilt hat. 30s Fashion certainly seemed fussier than the 1920s with its relentless ornaments of bows, trims and frills.