Scott County Memories: Wash Day

These recollections were dictated by Frances Brandl of Belle Plaine in 1980 and originally shared in the collection “As I Remember Scott County”

Monday was wash day. Anyone who didn’t wash on Monday was not considered a good housekeeper. Sunday evening the old copper wash boiler was brought in from back porch and filled with water from the cistern. We were very fortunate to have a large cistern with plenty of water and a pump in the kitchen. Then two large tubs and the wash bench were brought in, one tub for washing clothes and one tub for rinsing clothes. The rinsing water was put in the tub to which was added Mrs. Edwards Liquid Bluing. One had to be very careful not to add too much or one had blue clothes.

In the morning, the first boiler of water was poured into the washing tub and then filled again for boiling the white clothes. Clothes were scrubbed on a washboard- a board with corrugated metal on which one rubbed the clothes up and down and lathered them with good homemade lye soap. All white clothes were boiled in the boiler - again with lots of homemade soap added to the boiling water. Usually the two front lids were removed so the boiler set right on the flame for a good fast boil, especially in the summertime when one didn’t want any more heat in the house then necessary.

Ann and Clara Albrecht on a train platform, 1913. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

After a few minutes of boiling, the clothes were removed with a wooden stick and put in rinse water. Now it was time to hang them out to dry. Clothes were hung out winter or summer, especially all white clothes. The outdoors helped to bleach and keep them white. One big problem in wintertime was to make sure the wind was not from the north, because of the trains going by. In those days there were many trains and loots of coal soot. This stuff would fall down on the clothes and that was really bad. Also, one would have to remember to shut down the rain spout going into the cistern in the fall of the year and leave it turned off until after a good rain in the spring had washed all the soot from the roof. Way back then we had a pollution problem, but of course it was not thought of as such. One just had to be alert and keep and eye on the wash line when trains were going by.

All aprons, dresses, men’s shirt collars, cuffs and petticoats were starched. This starch wa made with flour and water mixed to a milky consistency, then boiling water was added until it became pudding-like. Sometimes if articles needed a heavier starch, sugar was added. This often was used on petticoats and lace doilies. Some folks even put a bit if butter in the starch- they claimed it ironed smoother.

Housekeeping Then & Now

When we think of housekeeping today we usually think of dusting, vacuuming, throwing clothes in the washer/dryer, grabbing ingredients from the fridge and whipping up dinner – or nukeing a frozen dinner in the microwave.  Things were much different over a century ago.

Because tasks were so more time consuming, they were sometimes assigned specific days of the week…

• Monday – wash clothes

• Tuesday – iron

• Wednesday – mending

• Thursday – churn butter

• Friday – clean the house

• Saturday – bake

• Sunday – rest

Washing clothes was a huge chore.  If you weren’t lucky enough to have a cistern in your house where you could pump water into the kitchen – then you had to fetch water from a well.  Then the water needed to be heated on the stove.  Laundry detergent wasn’t available.  You would have had to make your own soap from lard (or fat), water, and lye.  To wash clothes you would shave some slivers of soap into the boiling water, fill a washtub and hand scrub the clothes on a washboard.  Another tub of clean water was needed to rinse the clothes, then they were hung outside to dry (yes, even in the winter).  All this work gave you back pain, cracked hands, and scraped knuckles.

Eventually washing machines were created to help with the work.  This is a hand-operated wooden washer and wringer – made doing laundry easier and saved water.

After clothes dried – you ironed them on Tuesdays.  No plugging in a steam iron; you placed a heavy “sadiron” (so called because of its weight 5-9 pounds), on the cook-top to heat.  These irons had wooden handles to protect your hands.  However, they didn’t  hold heat very long, so you always had a second iron on the stove ready to switch out.  Ironing gave a person some awesome arm muscles.

While ironing you would notice whether a piece of clothing had any tears or holes.  That was set aside for mending on Wednesdays.  Clothes were NOT thrown out – they were repaired, socks were darned, and those too worn beyond repair were saved for quilts or rags.  If the item needed major repair work, the treadle sewing machine was put to use.  This made mending and creating clothes so much easier.  Although a person could purchase clothes from a store – most women made clothes for themselves and their families at home.

Thursdays were spent churning, making butter for Saturday’s baking.  Milk was put into a wooden container and a dasher was plunged up & down for 30-40 minutes to make butter.  The leftover milk – buttermilk – was saved for baking too.  This was usually a child’s chore.

Friday – cleaning day!  The same bar of soap was used not only for washing clothes, but also for washing dishes, cleaning floors, wiping down walls and furniture, taking baths – everything.  Floors and ceilings were swept, rugs were hung out and beaten, beds were striped and remade, furniture was dusted – the full house was wiped down.

Saturday was set aside as baking day, partially because families usually age a big meal on Sunday.  Women would bake bread for the full week on Saturday – maybe 10 – 12 loaves – from scratch.  Not only did you need ingredients, you needed fuel for the stove – whether wood, corn cobs or coal.  No turning a knob, or pushing a button to set a temperature – temperature was tested by running your hand in the oven to feel the heat.  Ovens cooked much slower, which is why cooking started in the morning for the evening meal to be on time.  It’s also why a specific day was set aside for cooking the weekly bread supply.

After a week’s worth of work, Sunday was set aside as a break from chores to relax, visit with friends and family, and have fun activities, such as singing around the piano, or listening to records on the Victrola.

Housework 100 years ago took lots of time and elbow grease. Today we take for granted the machines that allow us to complete in minutes what used to take days.  So next time you sprinkle some detergent into an automatic washing machine, be a bit grateful you didn’t have to make the soap, heat the water, hand scrub the clothes, or wring them out.  Today’s housekeeping is so much easier thanks to advances in technology.