Wash Day

I thank God for the invention of automatic washers in my life, even though the first one I ever owned was not until I had three children and twins on the way. And it wasn't until the twins were about six months old that I had a dryer. Let me tell you what wash day was like when I was a child. I remember well because I began helping my sisters do the laundry when I was about six years old. And we did it by ourselves because Mother was unable to lift the water-soaked clothes as was necessary with the old "spin-dry" or "wringer-type" washers of our day. Let me explain.

First of all, laundry was only done one day a week, usually Monday, so there were always six to eight loads to be done. One load was always sheets because one sheet from every bed changed every week. When bed linens were changed, the top sheet was put on the bottom and the bottom sheet was removed and washed. This was possible because there were no fitted sheets at this time. To make the bottom sheet fit well, we had to make square corners when making the bed. If you don't know what those are, ask your mom or a nurse who has to make hospital beds.

The first washer I remember had a tub with an agitator and an attached small compartment that would spin to take the water out of the clothes...but could only take a portion of the load at a time. Loads were sorted by color, and all were washed in the same soapy water in the large tub. The soap we used was not the powder or liquid type we use today. It was a large bar, brown in color, that had to be cut with a knife into small pieces that would dissolve in the hot water. I remember the name of the soap was Fels Naptha. One by one, each load was placed in the washing machine, washed for about ten minutes, then lifted by hand into the spin tub to whirl out the water, then lifted again into a tub of rinse water. This tub was actually two connected tubs which stood on four legs, raising them to about waist high. The clothes were then swished around by hand to rinse the soap out and then lifted back into the spinner to whirl again. Then they were ready to be hung on a line to dry...that is except the "whites". They were put into the second tub which contained bluing. "Bluing" was a dark blue colored liquid that came in a small bottle. A small amount was placed in the tub of water, the purpose of which was to make white articles look whiter. Then it was back to the spinner to whirl out the bluing water, ready for hanging...that is except for any cottons that needed to be starched. This included Dad's shirts and pants, and our dresses (we wore only dresses to school). We made starch by boiling the powdered starch that came in a box, in water until it became thick. Then this liquid was diluted in yet another tub of water in which those items needing starch were swished and then whirled...except for Dad's white shirts. The collars and cuffs of those shirts had to be dipped in the thick starch before it was diluted.

This process was continued until all loads were done. Usually the rinse water would have to be changed once or twice because it would get too soapy. When my brother was born we had to do his laundry separately in Ivory soap (it, too, came in bars that had to be cut up). There were no disposable diapers, so the cloth ones had to be pre-rinsed and then washed using the same process. After washing, the clothes had to be placed in a laundry basket and carried up the stairs and hung on lines outside to dry... except in the winter when they were hung in the basement. Of course when they were dry they all had to be taken down and folded or, in the case of clothes that needed to be ironed (which was practically everything because "wash and wear" had not yet been created) sprinkled with water, rolled up, and wrapped in a towel. This readied them to be ironed. Ironing had to be done within a day or two at the most or the clothes would begin to mildew. It usually took us at least three hours to complete this weekly task.

It was several years before we got an updated "wringer" washer which had two rollers through which the clothes were fed to squeeze out the water. That way we could feed the clothes directly from the washing machine into the rinse tub, and from the rinse tub into the bluing tub. The roller mechanism could swing around to make this possible. When I was a teen we REALLY felt that we were rich when my parents purchased a Dexter Twin Tub which had two large connected tubs, both with agitators...one for washing and the other for rinsing. We still had to use the other two tubs for bluing and starch.

As you may suppose, there wasn't much play time after school on wash day. By the time we were through, it was dinner time. And then there was that row of garden to weed. But by the end of September that chore was usually over because all the crops had been harvested. Dad would then just use his small plow to plow up all the ground before winter. You can see why I so appreciated the modern convenience of an automatic washer and dryer. As I said I was using the old method until the twins were born. And during most of that time I had to carry the laundry and three little kids down two flights of stairs from our apartment to the basement and try to watch them while going through this long process. AND there were no such thing as disposable diapers. So I had a lot of laundry to do with at least two at a time in diapers. I hope by reading this you will appreciate the luxuries we have today. I know I do!