Factory-made washboards with metal or glass scrubbing surfaces certainly spread round the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and bars of soap were cheap and plentiful by the late 1800s, but there were other ways of tackling the laundry too.

Jun 1, 2022 · Washing laundry usually relied heavily on soap made of lye – also called caustic soda or potassium hydroxide – or even just lye itself. Lye is an alkaline solution made through a process of filtering water through hardwood ashes, and is helpful with removing grease and loosening dirt from linens.

Apr 7, 2020 · Carbolic soap was advertised as a ‘disinfecting soap’ for the hospital, infirmary and home, the soap used to deodorise and wash clothes and surfaces. Plymouth was a centre for soap making: in 1848 producing 4,117,170 lbs of hard soap.

Sep 26, 2012 · Victorians added removable cuffs and collars to their garments for the same reasons. Looking at my guys’ dress shirts, I can see the wisdom of removable–and replaceable–elements to increase the garment’s lifespan. Washerwomen in a Grotto,between 1825 and 1830, by Wolfgang-Adam Toepffer (1766-1847)

Jun 9, 2011 · Piqued by the innovation, resourcefulness, and ingenuity required in an era before washing machines did all the scrubbing for us, we decided to make our own soap. The museum is finalizing preparations for an upcoming summer program, Wash, Rinse, Wring, Repeat!: 19th Century Laundry at Home.

Here’s our routine for doing laundry in Victorian times: Gather up and sort clothing and linens on Saturday, mending any that need it. On Sunday soak items in warm water with a little soap and and soda or lye. Each item must be pressed in one at a time.

Jun 7, 2004 · They had laundry soap in the stores by 1892. If you go to "bonanzle.com", you can buy recipes for making your own. The laundresses in the Civil War had to make their own soap, using recipes from household hint books.

Lace and broderie anglaise were pretty simple, often hand washed in a gentle soap in lukewarm water. Lace was washed around ribbon blocks or bottles, and tacked to keep them smooth, whilst being cleaned by sweet oil, and Castile soap.

Soap: Soap was crucial for cleaning clothes during laundry. In the 19th century, soap was typically made from animal fats or vegetable oils. It was available in solid bars or in powdered form. Boiling Pot: Large metal pots were used for boiling water during the laundry process. Boiling water helped to loosen dirt and kill bacteria on the clothes.

Victorian laundresses didn’t have detergents, but laundry soap was shaved and dissolved in boiling water to form a jelly that could be rubbed through the wash. Amongst the more enterprising manufacturers was Harper Twelvetrees who promoted his penny packets of soap powder in the 1860s with characters Mrs Scrubwell and Mrs Thrifty.