subject: A History Of Washing Machines And Laundry [print this page] Humans have been washing clothes for thousands of years in order to maintain hygiene and thus the quality of life within the community. In ancient civilisations it was common practice to literally beat out the dirt on rocks, or scour it from the surface of the clothes using sand and other abrasive materials. Rivers played a major part in the washing process and eventually soaps were developed, with the earliest examples dating back to the Roman period. Initially it was the fat-laced ashes of sacrificially slaughtered animals that acted as soap, with this approach being subsequently refined.
The first example of man-made technology being used to assist in the washing of clothes is seen in the creation of the scrub board in 1797, although over a century earlier a patent application covering a washing and wringing machine had been filed, with various attempts throughout the eighteenth century being made to create a mechanical washing machine.
The concept of using a rotating drum to clean dirty laundry was patented by an English inventor in 1782, but it was not until 1843 that the first converged washing machine arrived, combining a washing and wringing device to aid with drying. By 1874 a washing machine intended for domestic use had been developed as a gift by US inventor William Blackstone.
The arrival of electric power meant that hand-operated washing devices could be augmented with motors. There is some debate as to who can lay claim to being the official inventor of the electric washing machine, but it is widely believed to be attributable to Louis Goldenberg. However, a washing machine called the Thor, which was invented by Alva J. Fisher and manufactured by the Hurley Machine Company in 1908, is often cited as the first drum-based electric washing machine.
By the 1920s, large numbers of washing machines were being manufactured in the developed world, but economic pressures meant that this luxury item did not continue to see the same level of adoption during the 1930s. Early machines were also fitted manually and temporarily to water supplies, often via a rubber hose attached to a standard kitchen tap, with plumbed-in machines only becoming commonplace at a later stage.
The spin speeds of washing machines have increased over the years, with early models spinning at less than 700rpm. In order to control the spin speed, manufacturers of early electric machines had to rely on relatively primitive combinations of mechanical switches and resistors to implement the required controls. However, from the 1970s, advances in electronics allowed for improved motor control and enabled the production of machines of greater precision and durability.
There are still advances being made in the washing machine industry to this day, with a recent development by researchers at Leeds University resulting in a prototype machine that can clean an entire load of laundry using a little over half a pint of water. This means that it uses only two per cent of the total water and electricity consumed in a standard wash cycle and the clothes leave the machine dry and ready to wear or iron.
