Imagine: Two centuries ago, doing laundry was a real epic. Carrying water, heating it, beating the clothes, then rinsing and spinning them… An endless task that could take an entire day. Today, thanks to the magic of washing machines, this work is reduced to a one-hour cycle. But before the arrival of our modern appliances, one object in particular transformed this chore for millions of households. Do you know this tool?
The art of river washing from the first innovations
The art of laundry: from rivers to the first innovations
For millennia, washing clothes meant scrubbing them by hand, often in a river or washhouse. Washerwomen, armed with beaters, spent hours beating the laundry on stones or slanted boards, a grueling process. Yet as the Industrial Revolution took hold, inventors sought ways to ease the burden.
This is how a simple mechanical device, often made of wood or metal, came into being. It was a primitive version of modern wringers. Thanks to two rollers operated by a crank, it allowed excess water to be removed from clothes without having to wring them by hand. It was not yet the automatic washing machine, but it represented a huge advance at the time.
A simple but ingenious innovation
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