Around the world: laundry rooms, washing methods, devices from around the world

Traveling to other parts of the world is exciting because it allows you to get acquainted with different cultures, customs, and traditions. When traveling to foreign countries, you can discover not only exotic dishes, unique languages and impressive architecture, but also hygiene practices of other countries around the world.

It’s no secret to anyone why most ancient civilizations developed around at least one source of water. Water supply systems and resources, vital to a number of aspects of daily life, including drinking water, food supply through waterways, transportation, and crop irrigation, were also widely used for human hygiene and cleaning of clothing. The process of washing has been going hand in hand with humanity since time immemorial. For most of our history, washing was done by hand: clothes were rubbed and beaten on stones, cleaned with sand, beaten with wooden tools. It’s a tiring process that could take a whole day.

 

In ancient Rome, city dwellers paid great attention to their appearance. Beautiful and clean clothes were an important indicator of social status and wealth, so the fulling mills that appeared in Rome quickly became a popular type of business (the fulling mills also provided laundry services). Fullons, as clothiers were called, to wash off dirt soaked the fabric in a mixture of clay and urine, then they trampled and beat the clothes. Among the Roman nobility, it was considered great wealth to have such a facility on their property to service the household.

 

The first detergents, according to one version, appeared in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians used soda from deposit areas near the Nile River and animal or vegetable fats, which were mixed with alkaline salts and heated.

A clay tablet was found in Babylon, created around 2500 BC, which mentioned the process of making a soap solution by mixing ash and fat.

By the Middle Ages the new soap based on vegetable oils, which was famous for its softness, cleanliness and pleasant smell, became a luxury item that few Europeans could afford. Therefore, when washing, ordinary people continued to use urine and alkaline solutions in which they soaked dirty clothes. Laundries appeared in large European cities, and more and more households used various types of buckets and troughs.

The washing process underwent significant changes closer to the end of the second millennium, when the first washboards appeared, which were completely wooden. Then they started to nail a ribbed surface made of metal into the wooden frame. Later, the first manual washing machines appeared, which required a lot of physical effort, and eventually the first electric machines.

 

Despite the progress in automating the process, different countries maintained a different approach to washing. Fortunately, washing methods have improved over time. Today, in most developed countries, washing clothes is a relatively simple task thanks to the use of electric laundry equipment and detergents. However, in some parts of the world, washing methods can still be very different from what we are used to.

Africa

Many regions in Africa are remote and not industrialized. As a rule, these are rural regions where traditional methods of washing clothes are practiced: using rivers, lakes and other sources of water. Unfortunately, those who wash clothes in this way are at high risk of infection with parasites that can be found in contaminated water. People in Africa actively use plastic basins and buckets in which they carry out the washing process. Clothes are soaked in water and then washed by hand using soap or other cleaning agents. Africans also use wooden boards or stones to beat dirt out of clothes.

 

In urbanized areas of Africa, residents have access to modern household appliances and public laundries services. These laundries are equipped with washing machines and other modern amenities. In southeast Africa and other African countries that are developing the tourism business, hotels often have their own laundries that provide services to guests. However, hand washing is still widespread, especially in rural regions. In Kenya and Nigeria, less than 40% of households own a washing machine, compared to the United States and Russia, for example, where the same index is over 80% and over 90%, respectively.

Laundry in Bloemfontein, South Africa

 

 

Asia

In Asia, washing methods vary by country and region. In rural China, 40% to 71% of households own a washing machine, so hand washing is also widely used. In urban areas of China, this index is over 90%. Many families in China use top-loading washing machines due to their compact size and the ability to add more laundry during the wash cycle. The main cultural feature that can be noted is that most Chinese do not wash socks and underwear together. Chinese people prefer to wash socks by hand or separately from other clothes in the washing machine. Self-service laundries are not numerous in China, but they can still be found on the streets of large cities.

In other countries, such as Japan and South Korea, home washing machines are also common. However, hand washing is still used for delicate fabrics or clothes that cannot be machine washed.

In India, less than 20% of households have their own washing machine. Here, traditional methods of washing clothes in rivers and reservoirs are often used. Even in large cities, the vast majority of clothes are washed by the so-called "Dhobis". This caste, related to the untouchables and processing the linen of all other classes, appeared during the colonial era and has survived to this day, becoming part of the culture and traditions of the country.

In India, the process of washing is mainly considered a male responsibility. It is difficult not to mention the world's largest laundry in Mumbai - "Mahalakshmi Dhobi Ghat". Here, on an area of ​​about 10 hectares, about 300 families live. Every day for 18-20 hours, more than 8,000 people wash, beat, clean, dye and bleach clothes in concrete baths, then dry them on lines, carefully iron them with coal and electric irons and deliver them to different parts of the city.

 

Dhobis collect clothes from different parts of the city, and their main clients are clothing stores, public catering establishment, hospitals, and small hotels and clubs as well. The clothes are washed by hand in concrete tanks using soapnut (the fruit of the shikakai tree) as a natural detergent. This allows the dhobis to keep their prices low, at just 5-10 Rupees per garment, keeping the profession in demand for over a century.

 

In the past, things soaked in the river would smash hard against the rocks, and nothing has changed since then. However, instead of the river, there is now a central source of water supply.

North America

Many Americans are genuinely surprised by the lack of dryers in countries like Russia and China, where the percentage of washing machine ownership is very high, and are puzzled by the laundry hanging on balconies or internal rooms of houses. About 80% of U.S. households use their own dryer and do not hang laundry outside or in the bathroom. American homes usually have top-loading laundry equipment. Among the advantages, they highlight the compact size of the equipment and the ability to add laundry right during the wash if you suddenly forget to add something.

 

Public laundries in the United States are a big part of the country's culture. There are more than 35,000 self-service laundries scattered throughout the United States, and the first self-service laundromat appeared right here in Texas.

Self-service laundries in the United States became a phenomenon for a number of reasons. Firstly, appearing of self-service laundries offered an alternative to buying a washing machine, which cost a lot of money and consumed electricity and water. Secondly, many typical buildings simply did not have space to accommodate laundry equipment.

Later, laundries began to be located next to shopping centers, cafes, entertainment venues, which allowed people to spend their leisure time while their laundry was being processed in the laundromat. Regularly appearing in TV series and films, their image has become firmly entrenched in the country's media culture.

 

South America

In South America, washing methods vary by country and region. In some countries, such as Brazil and Argentina, public laundries are very common. In other countries, such as Peru and Bolivia, hand washing is still widely used by locals. In Mexico, 55% of households use a mixed method of washing (hand and machine). In Brazil, 38% use the same approach. Its use is largely due to water and energy savings. For example, in Kenya, even in households with a washing machine, up to 75% is done by hand, due to water shortages and consumer doubts that the machine will be able to properly wash difficult areas such as collars and cuffs.

 

Industrial laundry equipment

The development of industrial laundry equipment is inextricably linked with the growth of cities and their urbanization. With the increase in population density, the development of medicine, the construction of hospitals, hotels, and the expansion of the tourism industry, it was necessary to ensure high-quality processing of linen in large volumes.

Founded in 1899 in Germany, the Miele company initially focused its production on milk separators and butter churns, but already in 1902 it launched serial production of its first drum-type washing machines. Over the course of a century, the company at various times managed to work on vacuum cleaners, bicycles, dishwashers, gas stoves, microwave ovens, but at the same time continued to improve its laundry equipment.

In the 20th century, a large number of companies appeared, which still occupy a leading position in the laundry equipment market. In 1912, the Primus company was founded, which conducted its main activities in Europe, and later became part of the Alliance Laundry System. In 1919, after the merger of two companies, Electrolux was formed.

During the existence of the CMEA "Specima" machines from the "Textima" company were produced in GDR, which were highly valued in the USSR and the post-Soviet space.

In the USSR, the production of laundry equipment was divided between several factories that specialized in specific products. For example, the Zmievsky Machine-Building Plant mainly produced dry cleaning machines and high-capacity flatwork ironers, the Alytus ASTRA Plant was focused on the production of small-capacity washing and drying machines and presses, the Prut-80 Plant in Moldova - small chest-heated ironers and drying machines up to 10 kg, the Vyazemsky Machine-Building Plant - large-sized laundry equipment from 50 kg of loading and tunnel flow lines.

By the end of the 80s, some enterprises began restructuring, which was necessary to adapt to rapidly changing market conditions. A striking example is the merger of Elektronbytpribor and Böwe companies, which resulted in the creation of the joint venture «Blesk» in the city of Engels. The production of modern, technologically advanced dry- cleaning machines was organized under a license from a company from the FRG, which were able to qualitatively improve the process of processing linen. Unfortunately, the collapse of the USSR was followed by the bankruptcy of a huge number of enterprises, including «Blesk».

Vyazemsky Machine-Building Plant, on the contrary, did not lose its scientific and technical personnel, skilled workers in the wild 90s and was able to significantly expand the list of laundry equipment produced. The plant managed to develop and start serial production, in addition to large washing machines, washing machines with smaller loads, a full range of models, washer-spinners and dryers, ironing equipment, centrifuges, dry cleaning machines, etc. As a result, the company became the leading supplier of laundry equipment in Russia, whose customers were given the opportunity to purchase the entire range of equipment necessary for processing linen from a single source!

Conclusion

The different washing methods, devices and traditions used in different parts of the world are a reflection of the cultural and geographical differences between countries. At the same time, common elements in the history of the development of washing indicate that we have much more in common than it may seem at first glance.

The rapid development of industrial laundry equipment was a response to the urbanization of cities and the growing need for processing laundry in large volumes.

Although many countries have not yet achieved full automation of the washing process, the development of laundry equipment has significantly simplified this task, making the procedure more efficient, accessible and less labor-intensive.