Granny's Washday.
By Jabo
@jaboUK (64354)
United Kingdom
January 13, 2016 4:54pm CST
One of my earliest memories is of my grandmother, sleeves rolled up, standing over a steaming iron tub wielding a 'dolly'. This was a large wooden contraption with three legs and a long handle. The legs went in with the washing in the tub, and Granny had to twist the handle vigorously to churn up the clothes.
Washday was always on a Monday and took nearly the whole day. It was hard labour as there were none of the appliances we take for granted today.
The washing took place in the scullery at the back of the house, which had a brick removed from the apex of the roof, to let the steam out. Granny would manually fill a container called a copper with water, light a solid fuel fire under it, and when it was hot enough tip the water into the washtub.
When she deemed the clothes were clean enough, she would haul them out and put them through the mangle. This was a huge thing with big rollers to squeeze excess liquid out (see picture). I tried to help her turn the handle on the mangle, and it was hard work I can tell you.
The clothes would then have to go into a tin bath full of cold water to be rinsed, then put through the mangle again, then hung outside on the line to dry.
So you see how easy we have it today, flick a switch - done.
Photo of a mangle by @maggs224 and used with her permission
58 people like this
59 responses
@BelleStarr (61101)
• United States
13 Jan 16
Wow yes even when I was a kid we had a wringer type machine but it was electric. In Canada my grandmother would have done the laundry and made candles in a building next to the house called the hanger. We used to play n the shed when we were kids and it had big cast iron kettles.
10 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@BelleStarr Things wrere so different when we were children weren't they ? Even though you are quite a bit younger than me, you will have seen so many changes too.
4 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@crazyhorseladycx @BelleStarr I was trying to recall what Granny used for soap, but couldn't remember with any certainty. I thought it may be soap flakes ( I know my mother used those) or lye soap, I'm not sure.
4 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
14 Jan 16
i recall stirrin' the pot outside to make soap, lol...life seemed so less complicated'n those days, eh?
6 people like this
@Juliaacv (51361)
• Canada
13 Jan 16
I have never seen anything like this, but my Gramma had an old ringer washer. The difference was the wash tub was actually attached to the rollers, and the rollers were automatic. She used to ask me not to distract her while she fed the clothes thru the ringers as she was always afraid of catching her fingers in it. And today we just push a button and so many complain that they have to do laundry-the machine does all of the work!
4 people like this
@maggs224 (2320)
• Alicante, Spain
14 Jan 16
@Juliaacv My mum's first washing machine had a wringer on top just like the one you describe Julia and the wringer caught her hand and it was up to the elbow before I got to her. I hit the release and freed her hand and arm but the next day her hand and arm were severely bruised. She was lucky these crush injuries can be very serious. So your mum was right to be on her guard.
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
14 Jan 16
aw, this story takes me back to when i was growin' up, 'cept granny didn't've such a contraption. she washed clothes'n a washboard 'n hand wrung 'em. i recall those days quite fondly actually, coz i'd spend the entire day with her, helpin' best i could with the washin' 'n hangin'. then, she'd sit'n the porch with her sewin' whilst i gather lightnin' bugs 'til past dark.
yepperz, folks don't realize how simple schtuff actually is these days. these modern conveniences they so take fer granted, all the while claimin' boredom. wonder how they'd adapt to such a life's the olden days?
@maggs224 's got some great pic's, aint she?? dang, i need me one'f those to go with my collection!
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@crazyhorseladycx I'm sure Maggs would send you some if you asked her, or you could just take them off here if she agreed. Here's another of her's - the washboard you are talking about:
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@crazyhorseladycx Oh lol - I misunderstood you
. I don't recall my grandmother using a washboard, but she may have done.
. I don't recall my grandmother using a washboard, but she may have done.1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
14 Jan 16
@jaboUK no ma'am, i want the actual gadget, lol. i've still several washboards 'round here. think grannies's in one'f the barns someplace?? i really need to get out'n start diggin' fer treasures!
i see these washboards 'n recall skinned knuckles, lol - love ya!
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
14 Jan 16
my gran used to use a mangle too and there was a public wash-house attached to the local swimming baths that we often took laundry to with her as well
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@arthurchappell I've heard about those public wash houses, but I don't think there was one near us.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
14 Jan 16
@jaboUK quite common near me and at least one still ran until the mid 70's
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@arthurchappell Really? That's surprising.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@GreatMartin Tee -hee, and you are OLDER!!!
2 people like this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
14 Jan 16
We had something of a similar nature @jaboUK and yes it was a tough job. I remember getting my fingers caught one time as I was putting a shirt into the mangle. Mom didn't realize it until I let out a screech.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@nanette64 There was always that danger of getting your fingers caught
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@nanette64 No doubt we'd survive, but it wouldn't be easy.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
14 Jan 16
@jaboUK If I had to do it the old-timey way today, it would be a tub and washboard; wring by hand and hang it up.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (342112)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jan 16
My mum washed clothes in the manner you describe and when I was about 10 we got our first washing machine. Mum nearly cried with happiness. It just made life so much easier. And you're right. Washing took all day. First the sheets, then whites, towels, coloureds and finally the men's working clothes. I think the order is correct. It was a long time ago 
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (342112)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jan 16
@jaboUK Ours was a top-loader. We still bucketed hot water from the copper into the machine. Once washed the clothes were put through the electric wringer into cold water in one of a double wash-troughs, rinsed by hand then wrung again into the 'blue' rinse water and finally wrung into a basket ready for hanging out. The wringer could be swung around into any one of four different positions.
1 person likes this
@VivaLaDani13 (60794)
• Perth, Australia
17 Jan 16
We sure do have it easy. Wow I didn't know how much work had to be done just to wash clothes. I would love to have a go at it to be honest lol I think it would be fun to at least try it once and see what it was like back then and see how hard you had to work to do the simple chores we do nowadays.
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16789)
• China
14 Jan 16
Interesting ! You give us an idea of how people washed clothes at least 70 years ago.I haven't seen the contraption with three legs and a long handle ,from which the modern washmachine producers might take inspiration.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16789)
• China
15 Jan 16
@jaboUK Oh,you still keep its photo.What we still use sometimes to wash clothes is washboard made of wood or plastic ,with a rough surface where we rub clothes on.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
15 Jan 16
@changjiangzhibin89 The photo is from my friend @maggs224 - she's as interested as I am in this era. I've put a photo of her's of a washboard elsewhere in the comments here.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@changjiangzhibin89 Here's a picture of the 'dolly' so you can see what it looks like:
2 people like this
@maggs224 (2320)
• Alicante, Spain
14 Jan 16
I remember winding the handle on one of those mangles for my mum out in the backyard. After going through the mangle the washing was nearly as dry as the spin dryers use to get them. It was amazing just how much water those big wooden rollers managed to squeeze out. I hated wash day in the winter. Can you remember when there was a frost on the washing would freeze stiff as a board lol...
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@maggs224 Oh yes - wasn't it a chore getting that washing in when it was frozen!
You say about the rollers being wooden, and your photo bears that out, but I seem to remember them being of some hard rubber stuff - am I imagining that, do you think?
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
I remember my grandmother doing the same and you are right Monday was washing day and it was hard labour all day!
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@garymarsh6 That just shows that the old adage is true - 'hard work never killed anyone'.
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 16
@jaboUK My grandmother had hands like shovels. She even cut through one finger when helping my grandfather in his butchers shop which left her with a crooked finger. They both worked very hard. She lived to 90 and her mother a few days short of her 100th birthday!
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
20 Jan 16
Great picture! Thanks @maggs224 for letting that be shared.
My husband's mom had a newer type roller washer. The washing part was electric, well probably the whole thing was, but you still had to put the clothes through the roller/mangle contraption. (I didn't know that it was called that). They were agitated in a tub casing similar to what we have today, but the mangle was on top. I wonder whether I can find a picture online?
I found a link of maytag washers from 1907-1955, but even then, I think his mother's was much more modern than these. He's gone now, but I can find out later. It could be that hers wasn't electrical, because I just remembered they ran their home on solar power and generator batteries, and didn't use much needing electricity. But, we married in 1988 and she still had one. I can't imagine it was that old.
Btw, I'm still around, just trying to get house more organized and bookwork completed so I can devote more of my days here (when have days off work) next month.
Evolution of the Maytag Wringer Washer All early model information is based off public knowledge and some documentation found. All early Maytag records were lost in a factory fire. This does not cover all models, but it does have the bulk of them. 1907 Pas
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
20 Jan 16
@MarshaMusselman I understand Marsha, just come here when you have a few moments.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
20 Jan 16
@jaboUK Yes, Maytag is a well-known company although there are a few others now too. My husband thinks his mom's washer was similar to the one from 1931, the first picture, but I think it was different than that, but I don't think she ever used it when we were there, so I don't have a definite remembrance of it in my mind.
I'm around just a little every day as I'm trying to stay away. I spent so much time here since 2013 on bubblews, that everything got pushed to the side. Eventually it's got to get done and if I wait until I can retire, I might be too tired by then to even bother.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
19 Jan 16
I never saw one that hard to handle. We had an electric version of what you talked about in the 1950's. The water came out of the tap,, there were rollers but the moved with electricity and we hung them on clothes lines. Thank God for electricity.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
19 Jan 16
@PainsOnSlate The women must have been really fit in those days, mustn't they? I think this grandmother I'm talking about had a tap, but my other grandmother (in a rural area) only had a well.
As you say - electricity was a great step forward.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
19 Jan 16
@PainsOnSlate Funnily enough my gran was dumpy, not fat but definitely on the plump side.
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@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
19 Jan 16
@jaboUK I'll bet they never had to worry about getting fat.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40320)
• Laguna Woods, California
15 Jan 16
When I was a little girl, my grandmother used a wringer washing machine. Doing the laundry is so much easier today!
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
17 Jan 16
@DeborahDiane We didn't have indoor plumbing in my own home till I was about 11, and my grandparents certainly didn't. At least we had a cold tap, but my grandparents on the other side from the one I'm talking about here only had a well.
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
15 Jan 16
@DeborahDiane My grandmother never had a wringer washing machine, not even later in life. As you say, it's so easy now.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40320)
• Laguna Woods, California
17 Jan 16
@jaboUK - My grandmother and grandfather lived a very simple, rural life. When I was really small, they did not even have indoor plumbing. We used to spend a week with them every summer, and I loved it.
1 person likes this
