EARLY DAYS - washing clothes, ironing, making soap



clipart-library.com
Doing the laundry took more than a day.
It required many tasks.

  • mend
  • haul water and wood
  • heat the water
  • sort and soak
  • scrub on washboard
  • wash in hot water
  • rinse and wring
  • hang to dry
  • sprinkle and iron
  • fold

  • iron kettle

    Laundry equipment included iron kettles or metal tubs to heat water, a washboard and wooden or metal tubs for washing and rinsing. The iron kettle was also used for making soap.





    WASHING CLOTHES

    First the clothing was checked for holes or rips and had to be mended.

    Water was hauled from the well or a nearby river. Everyone in the family helped to carry buckets (pails) of water. There had to be enough water for washing and rinsing. Water for washing was heated in an iron kettle or metal washtub. Rinsing was done in cold water.

    A cake of homemade soap was cut into pieces or chips and added to boiling water. Clothes were sorted and soaked in hot soapy water. The whites were washed first, then the colored clothes and finally the dirtiest clothes. A long stick was used to stir the clothes around in the hot water and to pull the clothes out.


    Dirty clothes were scrubbed on a washboard.

    Then the clothes were scrubbed on the washboard with homemade soap to remove the dirt. A cake of soap was rubbed over the stains. The cloth was rubbed up and down on the ridges of the washboard and dipped in water. This was very hard on the arms and fingers and a person's back would get sore from bending over.

    The wash water was reused until it was too dirty. Then more clean water had to be heated.

    To get out the soapsuds, the clothes were rinsed in cold water. If more than one rinse was needed two tubs were used. The clothes were wrung out by hand or with a wringer. A wringer had rollers and a crank that would turn the rollers and squeeze the water out of the clothes. It required a lot of effort to turn the crank. Then the clothes were hung on lines outdoors to dry. Clotheslines were tied between trees or buildings. Laundry was also spread out on the grass or on bushes to dry.

    In the winter snow was melted for washing. Lines were stretched across the room near the fireplace (or stove) and most of the clothes were dried indoors.






    IRONING

    The ironing was usually done the day after wash day.
    iron and trivet

    Irons were called sad irons or flat irons.

    Some irons were made of two parts. The bottom part was heated up on the stove. Then the handle or cover was clamped on and the iron was ready to use. When the iron cooled it was placed back on the stove. The handle unlocked the cold iron and the hot iron was picked up.

    SPRINKLING WITH WATER
    To get the wrinkles out, the clothes were dampened before ironing. Water was sprinkled on the clothes. The damp clothes were rolled up tightly.

    HEATING THE IRONS
    Irons were set on the stove to heat. Then an iron was tested to see if it was hot enough. If it sizzled when touched with a wet finger, the iron was ready to use.

    IRONING
    When the hot iron was run over the material, steam was produced. If an iron was too hot there would be burn marks on the material. As soon as the iron cooled it was exchanged for a hot one off the stove. Two irons made the job go faster. Sometimes the iron was run over a waxy surface before ironing.

    ironing from clipartfest

    Ironing was hot, tiring work which took most of the day. The house got very hot in the summer. In the winter clothing was taken off the line and ironed while still damp.





    MAKING SOAP

    fire
    animal fat, water and lye were boiled
    in a kettle to make soap

    Soap could be bought at the general store. Most of the early pioneers made their own soap using lard and lye. For lard they used animal fat or leftover cooking grease. Ashes were collected from the fireplace or from burnt tree stumps. The ashes were placed in a barrel (with an opening at the bottom) or in a hollowed-out log. Then water was added to the ashes. Lye was formed when ashes were soaked in water. The lye was drained into pails. Lye was combined with the melted lard and water, then boiled in an iron kettle outside. After a few hours the mixture thickened and was poured into a pan and left to harden. Then the soap was cut up into squares or bars.

    Children had to collect enough wood to prepare for soap-making day. The lye was very dangerous to work with. Lye could burn skin if it was touched and it was unhealthy to breathe in the fumes.


    Some women did laundry to earn extra money.


    Laundry equipment

    BACK
    (in a settler's home)

    | Early days - an introduction | Coming to Canada | Building a home |
    | Survival - food & clothing | School, general store, blacksmith |
    | Inside a settler's home | Transportation | Fun & games | Pioneer communities |
    | Links | Canada | Web Pages for Students |


    image credits:
    lady washing clothes Old West ClipArt Parlour at
    http://members.memlane.com/gromboug/P3TofC.htm#Images
    campfire - http://www.barrysclipart.com/
    girl and kettle - http://www.clipsahoy.com


    J.Giannetta
    2004; updated March 2017