The art and practice of laundry work

Eliza_2

I have a wonderful old book by the above title. As my washing machine has died I thought I'd dig the book out and look for hints and tips on handwashing. It's a fascinating read and was awarded to Lily Snow, in 1911 for attendance at a course of instruction in laundry work in Leyton.

It's extraordinary that a whole book exists just about laundry, but it's jam packed with information and gadgets to use. Not sure I'll try any of those but wondered if anyone can give me any advice about doing the washing while I save up for a new machine.

I never buy anything that needs handwashing normally so am out of practice, it's certainly made me very careful of how I wear my clothes but I'm not doing very well. Certain things, such as mascara on pillow cases, need to be found and treated before plunging into the sink. At the moment I'm using a mixture of soda and leftover automatic washing powder but don't think it's doing very well. I just wish I still had my old washboard, that did the trick brilliantly.

Any hints anyone can offer?

Dunroamin

Taking off your makeup before you go to bed will not only benefit your pillow cases, but also your skin!

exlibris

Look round pound shops. I have a hand rubbing board- bought cheaply ages ago but I think it might be the sort of thing pund shops sell.

meritaten

Don't use the sink - use the bath!
you can put quite a lot of washing in at once and then do a little dance in it (take off Wellies, shoes or slippers first).Rinsing is a bit of a pain but not as much as using the sink is!
If you can commandeer another pair of hands then wringing the items dry is much easier. failing that, then I have slung items around taps and wrung them that way!
good luck and hope you soon get that washing machine ment or replaced.

pollypenny

I could do with a book for modern washing! The day I iron and find not a single stain remaining will be a miracle.

I actually rang Persil; the lovely lady was honest, admitting that liquid was poor, capsules better, but for cleaning use old fashioned powder.

Bought it, but still not happy.

BitterAndTwisted

You need a nail-brush and a bar of household soap. Like the stuff Morris0n's sells for about fifty-odd pence for two bars. Pre-treat anything obviously stained or marked with that and then all you need to do is rinse the things through in some detergent. If things are a bit dingy give them a quick soak first.

When hand-washing it's not the actual washing that's a PITA, it's the rinsing and wringing out. When I was without a machine for a long time undies, T-shirts and small things were a breeze but trousers, bed-linen and towels gave me blisters, so I took them to the launderette once I had a whole load of both lights and darks to justify the huge expense.

Eliza_2

Absolutely agree, it's the rinsing that's the worst. I also feel as if I'm using a lot of water, though I don't know how much the washing machine used so could be wrong. I also seem to get covered in water and my hands are wrecked - gloves are no good as the water comes over the wrists. Cold water is best for rinsing but my fingers end up like ice in this freezing weather.

I looked for cheap soap (can you still get Fairy green bars? I can smell it now, so distinctive) - all I could see in Wilkos was Vanish which was stupidly expensive, will try Morrison's thanks.

Will also look out for a rubbing board, never heard of them, but if it's half as good as my old washboard, it'll do a treat. I normally wash duvets in the bath so could try other things too, especially bedding.

I boiled the teatowels but although the water was grubby the towels still looked grey with stains, so soaked them in bleach - they're great.

I want to keep trying this for a bit and see how I go on. Thanks for the tips.

BitterAndTwisted

The household soap sold in Morris0ns smells suspiciously like Fairy so I wouldn't be surprised if it was made by the same manufacturer, and yes, you can still find bars of Fairy soap although it's much dearer. When I last spotted it, it was nearly two quid for two bars.

I'm almost certain that I saw washboards online somewhere or other, maybe the carbolicsoap site, I can't remember now.

And easy on the bleach when you're boiling your tea-towels: too much and you'll weaken and rot the fabric. Maybe use a tablespoon of some of that oxygen laundry additive stuff would be better. I've seen it, and bought it from the pound shop. Much cheaper than V@nish: I use it often on whites. Fantastic stuff

JayJay14

Here they are - though not exactly pound shop prices.

Eliza_2

JayJay14 wrote: »

Here they are - though not exactly pound shop prices.

Goodness - they're expensive. My old one was very classy, it was glass with wood surround, so seemed softer on clothes than the metal ones. It was great. I didn't have a washing machine all of the time my children were little, it did all of our clothes perfectly well.

I was three stone lighter then too!!

zippychick

there is a thread about managing without a washing machine

Zip