WASHDAYS IN THE 1930s
By Ray Whitehurst

How different life is nowadays when it comes to the chore of doing the weekly washing. You can either take it to the launderette where an operator can do it for you, or you can do it in the comfort of your own home. Either way is simple, for all that happens is that you place the segregated articles in a washing machine, add the washing powder, set the programme and switch it on. While this task is being performed, you can then relax, read or watch TV. On completion of the wash, the machine switches itself off and you remove the articles.

Some machines actually dry the articles as well. If they don't, you then have a choice of hanging the washing on a clothesline or putting it in a dryer. Once the items have been dried and aired, an electric iron soon smoothes them into shape. How times have changed! Some 60 or 70 years ago, things were so different. Washing machines were still in their infancy and were large, cumbersome and slow. Only the rich could afford them, so the majority of people used the old-fashioned method involving a copper, dolly tub, dolly peg, scrubbing board, mangle and flat iron.

This method was always used on Mondays when I was growing up, one of 13 children in the 1930s, and it was a regular experience you never forgot, particularly as it seemed to go on forever. Dependant upon the weather, the drying of the clothes could take days. Some weeks, the final ironing would just about be completed by Friday. In my house all the family helped my mother, Emily, who was in charge of operations. The whole exercise would start over the weekend when all of the family would have a bath and a change of clothes. This, most likely, would be done on a Saturday to ensure everyone was spruced up for church and Sunday school the next day.

Dad's job on Sunday evening was to fill up the copper and dolly tub with cold water. Me and my brothers helped. Mother's task was to sort out the washing into woollens and cottons and then segregate them into coloured and whites to ensure dyes didn't run. Sometimes, really dirty clothing, like overalls and soiled trousers, would be put in a cold soak overnight with soap flakes added, and likewise white shirts and blouses would stand overnight in cold water containing a "blue" whitener. These were the days before modern biological detergents were available.

At the crack of dawn on Monday morning it was dad's job to switch on the electric copper or light a coal fire under the brick copper. This was to ensure that the water was hot enough to be used once the children had gone to work or school. But before we did, we had to assist in dolly pegging the items that had been left in soak overnight. A dolly peg was used to agitate the washing when it was in soak. It resembled a four or six-legged wooden stool out of which a wooden "T" piece protruded. You held the dolly peg by the T-section and the base was placed into the water and clothes. It was then rotated by twisting the T-piece. This always needed some effort so this was usually a job for the boys. No-one was allowed to escape this task.

The washing process was then carried out by mother. This meant lifting the items from the cold soak and wringing or mangling each item before transferring them, with more soap flakes, into the copper for boiling. More items were then placed into the cold soak and agitated to be ready to replace the boiled items already in the copper. Really dirty or badly soiled clothes, which had not come clean overnight, would then be scrubbed and rubbed on the scrubbing board before being transferred to the copper. The boiled items were then transferred into the sink for a cold rinse. Finally, the items were passed through the rollers of the mangle in order to drain out all the water.

Once through the mang-ling process, the clothes could be taken outside to be hung out to dry. If it was wet, the clothes would be laid over a clothes-horse next to the kitchen or living room fire. In those days synthetic materials were not readily available and there were no such things as quick-drying shirts. When dry, the clothes would be placed into baskets awaiting the ironing, which would begin on Monday night or Tuesday. This continuous washing process went on all morning amid the steam, damp and smell of laundry. In the meantime, the mother of the house was expected to answer the house callers and, of course, prepare lunch for the family.

When everyone arrived home at lunchtime, they entered a house that was dull, steamy, damp and smelly. Every room was the same and everything that you touched was cold and damp. There was no central heating and only a coal fire to help the drying out. Still, you didn't have time to worry about such things. While you were waiting for mother to finish your meal, you had to assist in the dolly pegging, scrubbing, mang-ling and hanging out or taking in of washing from the clothesline. As I have said, dolly pegging was hard work but mangling was a health and safety hazard. A mangle consisted of two large wooden rollers on an iron frame about five feet high. At the ends of the rollers were cogs or gear wheels which were rotated by a large fly wheel which contained a handle.

The fly wheel was rotated by manually turning its handle. The object was to pass the wet clothing through the rollers while they were rotating. This would squeeze water from the clothes, which was collected in a pail or bowl directly under the rollers. The rollers were kept taut to each other by the use of springs. These springs could be adjusted to suit the thickness of the clothes. However, sometimes the adjustments were not suitable, which resulted in fingers being trapped in the rollers or other accidents happening to the fly-wheel operator when the rollers jammed causing the fly-wheel to stop abruptly.

Also, the clothes would get caught in the greasy roller cogs or fall on the floor and become soiled, which often meant a clip around the ear for not paying attention. The midday meal on wash day was always the same. Because of her workload on Mondays, mother always cooked more potatoes and vegetables than was necessary for Sunday dinner. The next day, this surplus was then cooked in a large frying pan and served hot with what was left of the Sunday joint. It was devoured at the tableamid the steam and damp. Funnily enough, I used to enjoy this meal which was served with bread and, possibly, a pickled onion.

After dinner, the children had to assist in clearing the table and washing up the crockery before they returned to school. Mother was left to attend to her washing. On returning home from school later in the afternoon, it was nice to see the household returning to normal. There would probably still be some clothes drying on the outside clothesline or on the clothes-horse in front of the fire, but the steam had disappeared in the house and the laundry smell was almost gone. The rooms were starting to dry out again and looking brighter. The kitchen was also returning back to normal as all the washing utensils had been put away for another week. The mangle had been cleaned and dried and the fire under the brick copper had died out, waiting for its ashes to be removed.

There would be piles of neatly folded, clean clothes in baskets scattered round the room waiting to be aired or ironed as necessary. The next part of the process was the ironing. This task was carried out by mothers, usually assisted by daughters. In those days, it was a luxury to be able to have an electric iron, let alone a steam iron. The irons then were made of cast iron and consisted of a flat base with a handle. To heat them it was necessary to either place them on the hob at the side of the fire or put them over a lighted gas-ring. The only way to tell if the iron had the required heat was to pick it up by the handle and spit onto the flat base surface.

If the spit rolled off too quickly, it was too hot; if it rolled off too slowly, it was not hot enough. Only constant usage made you an expert of this type of testing. When picking up the iron it was necessary to use a cloth wrapped around the handle to prevent your hand and fingers burning. Before ironing could begin, you had to wipe the base on an old towel or cloth to remove any smuts or debris which might mark clothes. You also had to check if the iron was too hot as it might leave scorch marks. Once the iron was being used it would soon cool down, so the task had to be completed quickly. Most households would have several flat irons in use to ensure continuity.

Other tasks which the ironers became proficient at were steam ironing and starching. Both tasks meant that the ironer had to sprinkle the correct amount of water or starch solution onto the garment before applying the iron. For example, too much starch made clothes too stiff while the reverse happened with too little solution. Another alternative for steam ironing was to place a damp cloth over the garment before applying the hot iron. Once the ironing was completed, clothes were then left to air before being put away.

Most households had no central heating or airing cupboards so items were aired either on a clothes-horse in a spare room or outside on a dry day. This process took most of the week. By the time it was completed a new process was about to commence. These episodes were a part of the "good old days" that people would rather forget.