A pure and interesting knowledge about washing machine
The washing machine meets a basic need: to wash clothes and household linen. And it is this daily necessity, with the associated desire to render the washing process less laborious and more hygienic, which has brought about the impressive array of inventions with which we are familiar nowadays.
THE FIRST WASH-HOUSES
Washing linen by hand is one of the most laborious household chores that exists. Washerwomen used to wash linen with soap by the edge of a stream or river, or else in a fountain or a wash-house. They rubbed the cloth on stones or wooden planks, adding sand if necessary, so as to remove stains and encrusted dirt. Then they would twist it, before hitting it with a wooden beater, to remove as much water as possible.
BEFORE WASH-HOUSES
Over the years, washerwomen improved their techniques by using a variety of natural detergents. The Gauls used birch cinders for better cleaning of material, a process which dates back to 2800 years B.C. The cinders used in the earliest washing powders were replaced much later on by soda crystals.
The Romans, on the other hand, built public laundries (fullonicae in Latin, i.e. fulling mills). Fuller’s grass, imported from Syria, being too expensive, the Romans used fermented human urine to bleach linen, with its high concentration of ammonia. The urine was poured into a tank and the fuller (or fuller woman) took care of fulling the cloth: treading on the sheets and clothes to clean them. The emperor Vespasian is still famous today for having imposed a tax on urine collection. When his son, Titus, complained to him about this, Vespasian shoved the first receipts from this tax under Titus’ nose and asked him whether they smelt bad. Titus replied that they did not and from this conversation was born the proverb Pecunia non olet : “money has no smell”. Centuries later, the earliest public toilets were named Vespasians.
And as late as 1909, at Elbeuf (76), human urine was still being collected for spinning the wool for army bedsheets.
Amongst the working professions which arose during the nineteenth century, you could also find washers, laundrywomen, pressers and even bleachers. These women were employed in laundries or else worked on their own account.
THE ROLE OF WASH-HOUSES
Before the arrival of wash-houses and other areas set aside for washing, villagers had to draw dirty water which was a source of infection. The proliferation of wash-houses played a major role in terms of public health and hygiene, at a time when cholera, smallpox and typhoid fever used to ravage populations.
State subsidies partly financed the construction of public wash-houses and governments pronouncements were made, even then, regarding the basic principles of hygiene.
Wash-houses were covered areas laid out to facilitate the work of laundrywomen. Such establishments were even a sign of wealth and it was possible to judge the level of prosperity of a village by the number of public wash-houses.
Wash-houses also played an important social role: women from all over the village met there at least once a week (except for very senior ones) and would exchange local news. The wash-house became a “talking house” and it was not unusual to hear the women singing, as a means of lightening their daily chores and passing the time.
Wash-houses gradually disappeared as running water was introduced into homes. As for the washerwomen’s techniques, these inspired the earliest prototype washing machines.
THE INVENTION OF WASHING MACHINE
We owe the invention of the washing machine to Jacob Christian Schäffer (1767). 30 years later, an American, Nathaniel Briggs, obtained the first patent for a washing machine. It involved pouring hot water into a tank, turning a lever to wash the clothes and then wringing them between two rollers. The tank was then drained using a tap.
210 years further on, the electric washing machine was invented.In 1905, the first drum washing machines appeared. They were still hand-operated but the steel tank allowed for a coal burner to be included.
Towards 1920, the first electric machines were born: only the turning mechanism was electric. The remaining controls were still manual.
THE ARRIVAL OF AUTOMATIC MACHINES
It was only in 1930 that the machines became automatic. Pressure switches, thermostats and timers were included in the new models. From the 1980s onwards, advances in the field of electronics meant washing machines became reactive and ecological:
Adjustment of parameters thanks to sensors: water level, rate, spinning …
Weight sensing
Different cycles: colors, whites, wool, synthetics …
Energy and water saving
In 1990, a British inventor, James Dyson, produced a washing machine with two cylinders which turned in opposite directions, thus reducing washing times and giving better results.
TODAY’S WASHING MACHINES
Nowadays, washing machines are connected to the internet and may have integrated Wi-Fi for deferred startup of washing programs, for instance during off-peak times when electricity costs are at their lowest. Some models work without detergent, thanks to electrolysis, which separates the positive and negative ions. Some machines will soon be equipped with touch screens, following the example of the models presented by American leader in the field, Speed Queen.Until the 18th century, washing was done at the municipal washhouse with the help of a beater and a brush, a little soap and some ashes. In many cases, you had to go to the next village to wash laundry occasionally. Washing was a challenging task and a luxury. But this would change thanks to the initiative of a few outstanding inventors and entrepreneurs. A look back at the incredible journey of an appliance which is now part of our daily lives.
MECHANICAL WASHING MACHINES 1767
The history of washing machines
Jacob Christian Schäffer
A German, Jacob Christian Schäffer, invented the washing machine. This scientist was a Jack-of-all-trades
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