History Of Laundry
The History Of The Washing Machine
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American, James King patented the first washing machine to use a drum in 1851. In 1858, Hamilton Smith patented the rotary washing machine. In 1858, Hamilton Smith patented the rotary washing machine. In 1874, William Blackstone of Indiana built a birthday present for his wife. It was a machine which removed and washed away dirt from clothes. The first washing machines designed for use in the home. The first electric-powered washing machine (the Thor) was introduced in 1908, by the Hurley Machine Company of Chicago, Illinois. Alva J. Fisher was the inventor. The machine was a drum type with a galvanized tub and an electric motor, for which a patent was issued on Aug. 9, 1910 (US patent #966677). Here is an example of a 1910 model. Antique Washing Machine Museum Now, a little history on a few famous washing machine companies…. The Maytag Corporation began in 1893 when F.L. Maytag began manufacturing farm implements in Newton, Iowa. Business was slow in winter, so to add to his line of products he introduced a wooden-tub washing machine in 1907. Maytag soon devoted himself full-time to the washing machine business. The Whirlpool Corporation started in 1911 as the Upton Machine Co., founded in St. Joseph, Michigan, to produce electric motor-driven wringer washers. The origins of the Schulthess Group goes back over 150 years. Here are some highlights that involve washing machine history: 1978 - Launch of first microchip-controlled automatic washing machines History of The Washing Machine Clothes Dryers
Clothes dryers were first invented in England and France in the early 1800s. One kind of early clothes dryer was the ventilator. The ventilator was a barrel-shaped metal drum with holes in it. It was turned by hand over a fire. One of the earliest patent for a clothes dryer(U.S. patent #476,416) was received by George T. Sampson on June 7, 1892. Samson also patented a sled propeller (U.S. patent #312,388) on February 17th, 1885. Electrical clothes dryers appeared around 1915. It All Comes Out in the Wash
“Before long my dirty clothes are sloshing away, and I stroll across the floor to the Brain Wash Cafe, where I can buy a latte and settle down with a copy of the free neighborhood weekly”, she writes. “A few minutes later, a musician wedges himself into the strip of space between the roomful of washers and the coffee bar, plugs in his microphone and launches into loud, earnest lyrics accompanied by the bass thrum of dryer cylinders and the soprano whir of gyrating washers. By the time I stuff my clothes into one of the big dryers, I’m dancing across the concrete floor and wishing I had more dirty clothes.”
Santiago traces the history of doing the wash from ancient Egyptian wall paintings showing men doing the scrubbing, twisting and folding, to the modern era automatic washer. She explains the nitty-gritty of soaps and detergents and how they fight dirt at the microscopic level, and visits two research laboratories to learn about products still in the pipeline. Says one researcher, “Those of us who do the laundry don’t get enough credit for the technical decisions we make every day. Some very serious science goes into doing the laundry.”
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