LAUNDRY

I. Goal
To introduce ELP participants and the public to the task of laundering clothing and fabric items
during the 1840s in the absence of modern equipment and electricity.

II. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Washing day required strength and stamina. Of all the household chores that depended on
hauling water and building fires to heat it, laundry earned the most complaints from women.
Every item, once it became wet, had to be wrung out by hand. Lifting heavy, wet clothes was
very difficult work and made backs, muscles and wrists ache. Nearly every writer of household
advice advocated that laundry should not be a one-woman job. Catharine Beecher called it
"the American housekeeper's hardest problem." (Never Done pp. 104-5).
"Without running water, gas or electricity, even the most simplified hand-laundry process
consumed staggering amounts of time and labor. One wash, one boiling, and one rinse used
about fifty gallons of water or four hundred pounds, which had to be moved from pump or well
or faucet to stove and tub, in buckets and wash boilers that might weigh as much as forty or
fifty pounds." (Never Done p. 105). Of course, this above scenario, with its references to
faucets and stove, does not address the even further rigors of doing laundry on the trail. The
following quote, from Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey, gives a glimpse into the
reality of life and laundry in route. "When we started from Iowa I wore a dark woolen dress
which served me almost constantly during the whole trip. Never without an apron and a three
cornered kerchief, I presented a comfortable, neat appearance. The wool protected me from
the sun's rays and penetrating prairie winds. Besides it economized in laundering which was a
matter of no small importance when one considers how limited and often utterly wanting were
our 'wash day' conveniences. The chief requisite, water, being sometime brought from miles
away."
Arrival at the Fort during 1846 would have been followed by a flurry of activity for women
anxious to properly launder and care for what remained of their family's trail worn clothing.
Denied on the trail their 'wash day conveniences,' the now plentiful supply of water, fuel to heat
it and a place to hang laundry to dry were undoubtedly welcome amenities, even for this most
dreaded chore. You may be surprised at the popularity of this station. Children and adults alike
are fascinated with the whole idea of hand washing clothing. From carrying the buckets of
water with the yoke to scrubbing with the wash board and hanging the laundry on the line, they
take delight in learning the history of the 'American housekeeper's hardest problem.'

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III. WASHING AIDS

In the 1840's, the list of utensils needed for washing was long or short depending on the
washing site and the availability of items. Remember, the westward bound wife would have
given up many necessities to help lighten the load of her family's wagon. The following is a
partial list of laundry items mentioned in the 6th edition of Miss Leslie's The House Book, 1843:

Kettles
Buckets
Clothes baskets
Starch pans
Lines
Washing- bords (sic)
Stout benches
Lyebarrel
Ladle of tin or iron
Clothes horse (for drying clothes) with
broad, substantial feet
Hickory stick to stir when boiling clothes
Hickory fork to lift out hot clothes
Oval tin cups to hold soap
Indigo bag for bluing made from white
flannel
Brass or copper kettle as iron will stain
clothes
Iron wipers: old soft towels, old sheets
Beeswax to rub on sole (of iron)
3 irons to one person ironing (the
common name 'sad iron' came from
'solid iron')

Soap:
Though soap was commercially available in the east by the mid 1800s, for the woman arriving
at the Fort, it's not likely to have been available. Soap consisted of two key ingredients: lye and
animal fat. The condensed version of this type of soap making is that there is a certain
proportion of lye (sodium hydroxide) and water to fatty acids that forms a chemical reaction
called "saponification." During saponification, the oils and lye mix and become soap.
(http://www.teachsoap.com/ soapmakingmethods.html))
The lye was leeched from wood ash and the fat was rendered from the meat of a butchered
animal or accumulated as a by-product of cooking. There were a variety of methods for
obtaining lye. Bottomless barrels were layered with straw and sticks over which ashes were
strewn and then water poured. If there was space to protect a container from rain, a continuous
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method was used, collecting ashes in a hopper device which dripped the lye into a collecting
vessel located beneath the hopper.
This link provides a clear video of an ash
hopper:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqe LVp1 iUY
Unfortunately, the audio is poor, but with careful
listening can be interpreted for students. A
simple version of this process, called a lye
dropper, pictured here, may have been
employed by pioneer women short on devices.
Cleaning the fat for soap making, referred to as
rendering, was the most unpleasant aspect of
soap making because of the foul odors imparted
during the process. To render, fats and waste
cooking grease were placed in a large kettle
over an open fire, outside. The mixture of fats
and water were boiled for hours then allowed to
cool overnight. By morning the fats had
solidified and floated to the top of the water,
forming a layer of sweet, clean fat
suitable for soap making
In a clean, large kettle, the rendered fat was placed with the lye solution. The pot was place
outdoors, over a fire and boiled until soap was formed. The soap was done when the mixture rolled
up into a thick, frothy mass, and a small amount, placed on the tongue, caused no noticeable 'bite'
or sting. This boiling process could take up to six to eight hours, depending on the volume of fats
and lye and the strength of the lye solution. (cited from suncitysoap.com)
Starch:
Wheat, potato gratings, rice or another substance rich in carbohydrate was boiled in water to make
starch to stiffen clothes. (Forgotten Household Crafts, p. 93). A recipe for starch from Old
Sturbridge Village 1856 A treatise on Domestic Economy:
"To manufacture starch: Cleanse one peck of ground wheat, soak for several days. When quite
soft, remove the husk with the hand and the soft parts will settle. Pour off the water and
replace it every day with fresh stirring it well. Strain off the water and dry for several day in the
sun.
To prepare starch: 4 T starch rubber in water 'til lumps removed. Add cup cold water. Pour
this into 1 qt. boiling water and boil for 1 hour, adding lump spermaceti (Whole grease) or
lump of salt or sugar as large as a hazelnut. Strain and add a little bluing. This with hot water."
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Bleach:
Additives for whitening clothes were limited. References to the use of sodium bicarbonate included
cautions that it caused clothes to fall apart if used too liberally. Bluing, actually indigo dye in coke
form, gave a bluish cast to white clothes, causing them to have a whiter appearance. (Old
Sturbridge Village, p. 5).

IV. THE WORK

.. She dumped in the clothes and the soap and then
thrust in her washboard - a board maybe 18 inches
wide and 36 inches high with a fluted or ribbed surface
- on which she would r-r-r-r-rub the clothes up and
down to scrub out the dirt .... Hot water and improved
washboard helped speed up the process, but it still
required much back-breaking labor." (Home Sweet
Home p. 61).
Steps of hand laundry:
1. Heavily soiled clothes were "spotted" (stains
rubbed with soap) and soaked overnight in "lye"
water (a dilution of lye). Lighter clothes could be
soaked in plain water.
2. Soaking water was drained and laundry wrung.
3. Clothes were checked for dirty spots, soaped and
rubbed against another item or on a wash board,
rinsed and wrung again.
4. Clothes were boiled from 30 minutes to 11/2 hours.
5. Clothes were rinsed, lifted in and out of the water
several times and wrung.
6. Clothes were shaken to eliminate as many wrinkles
as possible, hung to dry and then, if necessary,
prepared for ironing.
Drying clothes inside near the fire was disagreeable and in many cases not an option. Lacking a
laundry line, women laid their wet washing on the grass, bushes or even a nearby tree. If clothes
were to be dried on lines, the lines were first wiped off and then strung between trees or posts.
"Sagging lines were propped up with clothes props," (long forked sticks or boards with a V-notch
cut into the top. Clothes could be draped over the line or hung upon it with clothes pins (pegs).
"The best and most durable of clotheslines are of horsehair or of twisted sea grass." (Miss Leslie,
The House Book 1843).

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Clothing was separated into that which needed

to be ironed, starched and ironed or folded and
put away. A table or a board supported by two
chairs were commonly used for ironing . If even
those were unavailable, there were other,
creative means." ... There are two irons which
we heat on the stove and I laid a long rather
wide board on the dirt floor and put an old
bedspread over it and my ironing sheet over
that and we knelt down on the spread and
ironed on the board and it worked fine. We will
have a table before next Saturday and ironing
will be easier." (So Much to Do. P. 274).
Once the surface was established, the
equipment was prepared. Very dry clothes that
were in need of ironing were first sprinkled with
water (no steam irons!). Flat irons
came in a range of sizes, some heated on a
stove or fire. Charcoal or
self-heating irons had to be fanned with bellows
or swung through the
air to keep the fire going inside them.
.... ironing traditional fabrics without the benefit of electricity was a hot arduous job. Irons had to be
kept immaculately clean, sandpapered and polished. They must be kept away from burning fuel,
and be regularly but lightly greased to avoid rusting. Beeswax prevented irons sticking to starched
cloth. Constant care was needed over temperature Experience would help decide when the iron
was hot enough, but not so hot that it would scorch the cloth. A well known test was spitting on the
hot metaL" (http://www.oldandinterestinq.com/antique-irons smoothers-manqles.aspx)

V. PRIOR TO YOUR ELP DAY

1. Collect clothing for your doing laundry at your station. Some suitable items include: small
linens such as plain dishtowels, aprons, kerchiefs, woolen socks, trousers (no zippers),
period shirts, (see your ELP costume guidelines) white flat sheets. You may also provide
wicker laundry baskets for 'sorting' laundry at the station.
2. Decide which soap you will use for the station and acquire it. It is sufficient to have a few
medium chunks of soap for the station (not every student needs their own piece). Please
do not attempt to make soap as described in this document. Undiluted lye is caustic and
will burn the skin and the fumes can be harmful.
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There are several options for soap:

a. Should you desire to purchase and use a block of more authentic lye based soap,
here are two sources (as of 8/2008). Both sites have interesting information about
lye soaps in general:
http://www.soapshed.com/store/Lye-Soap-Grand mas-Ole- Timey-LyeSoap-pr-16304. html
http://lyesoap.com/2o/0200uro/020Products''Y020-%20Pounds.html
b. Purchase a bar of Fels Naptha, available in the laundry section of grocery stores
and break into chunks.
3. Optional classroom project: The website http://www.lyesoap.com provides a simple soap
recipe that is a suitable project for school aged children. Click on the link 'Kid's Activities.'
This recipe will produce a softer soap than would be useful for washing, but will familiarize
students with the idea of making and moulding soap.
Suggestions for ELP Day Activities:
1.

Set up the laundry station with the following items

from the ELP closet:
Clothes line, clothes pins, 2 wash boards
4 tubs (3 galvanized, 1 wooden) 2 for wash
boards, one for rinse water, one to be filled with
water near water source
2 buckets
1 iron (in flannel bag with beeswax)
1 bucket carry yoke (located in the period kitchen)
1 enamel coffee pot with lid and handle (from ELP cupboard; to be used for heating
water at a nearby source of heat)

Your school provides: clothing and soap for the laundry demonstration.
2. Introduce students to the equipment, explaining the process necessary to clean the
clothes. You are enlisting their help! As you will be in 1846 character, you can't compare
to their knowledge of laundry practices, so play up the big differences:
a. It's hard work, a woman's worst chore, requires heavy lifting (reference hauling of
water) have students try on the yoke and buckets.
b. Speak of the difficulties of doing laundry while on the trail west, the condition of your
clothing when you arrived, eagerness to wash
c. Make reference to items you 'had to give up' or lost on the westward journey (perhaps
irons, or kettles or your soap making devices)
d. Talk about your acquisition of soap for this task: did you have time to make it after you
arrived? Trade for or buy it? If you didn't make it, why? If you did, how?

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e. Discuss how your clothing is fashioned in order to limit the laundry: detachable cuffs,
collars, layers of undergarments, wool dresses and trousers (see ELP clothing
handout)
3. Introduce students to the labor of laundry by assigning tasks and rotating as necessary:
a. carrying yoke with buckets of water; around the station and hauling from the water
source to refill tubs
b. scrubbing laundry on the wash boards
c. rinsing and wringing laundry
d. hanging wash on the line
e. carrying a heavy basket of wet clothing
f. ironing (reference only)
4. While students are rotating through their tasks, use the time to introduce other thoughts
about some challenges of washing laundry:
a. Drying laundry in wet weather
b. Stain removal
c. Ironing (testing the iron, keeping it hot)
d. Hauling water
e. The physical toll of the task on a woman's body/hands

"The afternoon has been devoted, by the female portion of our party, to the important duty of
"washing." I noticed that the small branch was lined with fires, kettles, tubs, and all the
paraphernalia necessary to the process of purifying linen."
from What I Saw In California, by Edwin Bryant

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Most of the information in this document was originally researched by Sutters Fort docent, Ann
Dewitt. No biography accompanied the document at the time of revision and therefore it is
uncertain which editions were used for those references cited. Authors names have been added to
most of the references cited, although a few remain obscure.

Never Done: A History of American Housework, by Susan Strasser

Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey by Lillian Schlissel
Forgotten Household Crafts by John Seymour
Miss Leslie's The House Book, 1843 by Eliza Leslie
Old Sturbridge Village 1856 A treatise on Domestic Economy
Home Sweet Home, author unknown
So Much to Do, author unknown
suncitysoap.com (site now inactive)
http://www.teachsoap.com/soapmakingmethods.htm
http://www.oldandinteresting.com/antique-irons-smoothers-mangles.aspx
http://www.soapshed.com/store/Lye-Soap-Grandmas-Ole-Timey-Lye-Soap-pr-16304
http://lyesoap.com/2%200ur%20Products%20%20Pounds.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggeLVp1iUY

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Laundry Station Inventory Checklist

Pre

Post

Clothing Bucket (itemized list inside lid):

Clothes line
Clothes pins
Wash boards
Galvanized tubs
Wooden tub
Buckets
Iron (in flannel bag with beeswax)
Bucket carry yoke
(return to the period kitchen)
Enamel coffee pot with lid and handle
(return to the ELP kitchen cupboard)

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