Historical Laundry Part 1: Who Did The Laundry In The 18th Century?
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- Опубликовано: 28 май 2019
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If I did my laundry in that fashion I would appreciate a drink or two.
Thats how I clean my place, especially the bathroom 🍷🍷🍾🍾🥃🥃
@Andro mache definitely in mine 😁
@Andro mache all that may be well and true (side eye), but I definitely wouldn't appreciate a meal in prepared in one, how about you?
@@playingonthephone1469 I second your side eye. 😂😂😂
Lol, comment from Jameson himself! 🤣
"I have to get my laundry done," I say. "How annoying," I say, as I toss it into a machine, turn the machine on, then walk away for an hour.
Right? The hardest part of doing laundry for me is carrying the clothes up and down the stairs. I'm so spoiled, lol.
I worked at a dry cleaners for years. It would get so hot in the summer while pressing the clothes I thought I'd melt. Wow, I feel guilty now for thinking it was tough work. I had it so easy compared to those women.
Worse part is ironing and starting on the laundry, it's really satisfying once it's done.
😂
I didn't have a dryer for almost 8 months laundry was frustrating, but at least I had a washing machine...
Now I understand my enraged alcohol fueled laundry sessions.
HaHa! Good Excuse! Try again...
🤣😂🤣😂🤣
😂
Lol! 😂
Or laundry fueled alcohol session?🤔
Now this is a perfect example of why I like the Townsends style of teaching. They let the expert speak. John mostly sits there, speaking only to ask interesting questions. So often, with modern TV and whatnot, you get presenters and other non-experts blabbing on forever, adding nothing to the matter at hand.
Agreed!
so true!
John is a very humble presenter, that is 100% the opposit what most of the TV hosts are today with their big egos
whatnot always adds nothing. How about using a word that does?
You are so right!
Well said!
Thanks to Carol for bringing this part of history to life.
She did a ok job at it, she did a nice job at the laundry but didn't even get a little drunk. She could have at least down a pint of applejack
When I was a young mother I would take in ironing from the wealthy women in the area. Man, they were stingy, too! I charged $25 a basket load and they would bring in huge baskets, with clothes stuffed so tight in them they must have sat on them! I quickly learned to charge by the piece so I wouldn't get ripped off. In some ways, the world never changes. Wonderful interview!
My mother was the youngest of 11 and was born in the late 1920s. She said just doing laundry was such a major part of her, her mother and sister's lives. Many girls would miss school to keep up with laundry. They finally got a machine in the late 30s with a wringer, and it was a life saver.
I believe that! Even today with a washing machine and dryer, doing laundry can be an all day affair
So many mundane tasks that seem so simple and routine to us nowadays were really labour intensive in the past. Watching these always makes me feel grateful!
Agreed, I was doing laundry the other night after work complaining how long it took me to have to wait for the washer to stop, so I could hang my shirts in the laundry room to dry( yellow pine pollen count is really bad in the south, so can't hang stuff outside very often), and for the dryer to stop so I could fold stuff. I won't complain any longer that's for sure.
Most rural population in african countries do their laundry by hand, and have to fetch water from a river that is a kilometre or two away. Or even farther...
@@CommodoreFan64 yup! We forget how horrible life used to be before modern day luxuries. Imagine the days before we even wore clothes!
@@giebbieserah4440
My family in Mexico still used to do it this way up until 2002.
Echoing a lot of people here, I'm not surprised they were always drunk. Remember: no ibuprofen, opium is expensive, you gotta have something to take care of that chronic shoulder and joint pain, or at least the mental stress of it. Crushing poverty and grief don't help either, and if alcohol is your only recourse, you may as well use it.
I hadn't thought of all those reasons. You're right, you would need a good drunk after all that painful work.
Grace Law
It was also usually cleaner than water
@@bfbvouabeorbvoaervure963 Most beer and cider consumed for hydration in the period (being cleaner than water) was 'small beer', very low-alcohol--probably 1.5-4% ABV if that, and wouldn't get you super drunk. The alcohol would just be enough to preserve it and kill bacteria. Townsends did a video on it if you're interested.
Edit: Townsends says 4% or less, so I'm changing the figure above to reflect that.
Grace Law
That’s what I meant. But there would’ve always been people who added more
Don't forget dealing with menstrual cramps!!!
My immigrant great-grandmother took in laundry from rich families in the very early 20th century and yes her husband was an incorrigible alcoholic. So things really didn't change that much from the 18th century to the early 20th century until the advent of electric washing machines in the 1920s and 1930s.
John Smith The things that you describe are still the same for India actually. It is far more cheaper for Indian middle class and rich families to send their clothes to be washed by laundry ladies than using an washing machine. Some parts of the world still live in early 20th century. The technology might process rapidly but equal distribution of wealth doesn’t follow the same pace unfortunately for many developing countries.
My grandmother took in laundry during the great depression to support her family of 3litttle children. My grand father had TB and was bedfast.. she said most nights her fingers bled from the washboard she had to use. Strong people alot of dignity.
You slowly started to see technology helping; first you have the mangles appearing, which let you press the water out (what the spin cycle does now) and which can be adjusted to smooth flat things like sheets under pressure. Then you began to see, about 1880, "washing machines" which churned the clothing in hot water so you didn't have to dollymop them. Now, you still had to fill and empty the machine by hand for each load, and you had to do a little scrubbing where the wear came, but it helped. It really wasn't until the 1950's that we began to have a machine that let you put in the clothes, shut it, turn it on, and walk away.
Laundry used to take three and a half days to do: sort, stain removal, and soak the clothes Sunday night, wash on Monday morning, dry Monday afternoon. Tuesday, sprinkle the clothes to get them evenly damp, then iron on Tuesday afternoon.
John Smith your poor great grandma what a horrible life she had. She gave everything she had for her family though. She had no choice.
@@annomaly751 I disagree people always have choices.
I was an infant in the early 1950's but I recall vividly my grandmother washing clothes in a galvanized washing tub, using a corrugated washboard, outside in the front yard.
She was born in the 1890's in Utah.
My grandfather was born in 1880.
They had nine children.
It was a tremendous work load.
God bless her!
By the glory of Satan
@@allmigthygoddess939 -_-
I love how John finds people who are just as passionate about what they do as him. You are being so entertained on this channel, you forget you are being educated as well.
Wonderful to see Carol getting this recognition. So blessed to call her my friend.
Thank you for this. It's rare to get a glimpse of the life of women (especially poor women) through history.
BelaayyasMusic ! I’d totally sub to a channel based entirely on that! Everything from high ladies maids doing hair and such and to these ladies doing the hardest of work.
it was rare for people to record the more mundane parts of life, especially if it mainly concerned the lower classes. We know very little about even everyday parts of life through history, a personal favorite story of mine being garum from ancient Rome. It was a condiment that was eaten daily by every member of society across Western Asia, Europe, and North Africa but we know very little of it even though there were factories producing it in large quantities from Tunisia, to Rome, to Damascus. Until fairly recently people didnt think it worth it to bother talking about something that to them was an obvious part of life that anyone would understand.
@@arthas640 - that's basically what I was saying. I'm an anthropologist married to a historian. Women's history is a rare bit of info. Black history is a rare bit of info. Our historical culture is that of straight, white, Protestant males.
@@belaayya5094 well thats not true, Catholics, Jews, and Muslims all have perfectly well documented histories.
@@belaayya5094 It's not that people are just choosing to discriminate them though. The most significant moments of history were made by those white men.
i love her smile at the end. Laundry is one of those necessary everyday kind of things Ive been very interested in I cant wait for more!
She's an exemplary actor and writer. I think that I might be Carol's biggest fan.
@@RustyShock i definitely picked up that she had stage acting experience !
Right from the start.
I bet you she is ACES !
@@sunset6010 You should see her in "Maggie Delaney". ruclips.net/video/jqOgWngL5aY/видео.html
Dang, that's a nice hat Jon. That bad boy is crisp
He sells those hats on his website, and it’s one of the most affordable ones in his shop.
Hell yeah
His clothes are always on point. Clearly he pays for a skilled laundress.
What's the practicality of a hat like that? Seems rather a waste of fabric to me. Would love to hear someone's knowledge or comments.
@@SusanLynn656 I think it's for rain
CAROL is a GEM !
So well spoken, intriguing !
she's got a bit of an accent too, and for me it makes it easier to picture her as a colonial laundry woman.
Her acting is great.. i almost thought that she is really a laundress in the past era
Given the nature of the work i have zero judgement for them being drunkards and loud. Monotonous, tireing, cold hands, cracking skin... Year after year. Good company and alcohol is what keeps you sane.
and the complaints when the laundry isn't clean enough.
@Penultimate Hortator Not entirely, alcohol helps the body relax, of course it can be abused like anything else.
@@optimisticallyskeptical1842 exactly. Alcohol is a terrible coping strategy, but it's also a muscle relaxant. It's quite possible with how hard the work was on their bodies that they needed something to relax those muscles at the end of the day or maybe even while they were on the job. Their lives were hard. It's difficult to pass judgment on them for it.
Penultimate Hortator Yes, it is a drug after all but If used as such with discipline to let go it is fine. Though the chemistry behind getting used to pleasure from alcohol is the same as getting used to marriage happiness. Dopamine levels rise => dopamine receptors die. When physical pain gets too bad to bear you take painkillers panadol or such. When emotional pain gets too heavy you want to kill that too. Social drinking often is very bad for your liver. You may not get any buzz but your liver will scream nonetheless. 20 years of that and one can get liver cirrhosis. However for people who die at the age of 50 it does not really matter how hard you drink. No chances for early life dementia either.
@@ReasonAboveEverything In the 18th century there was no Panadol or even commercial aspirin. People had to make do with what they had available back then, which wasn't much.
Watching videos like this make me appreciate today's conveniences, along with the seemingly small things in life we take for granted. Thank you.
we weren't
I value washing machine more then internet.
@Andro mache I got my Whirlpool washer 2nd hand 25 yrs ago and it is still going strong. It is starting to get a damp smell in it, like wet lint is stuck in it. Not sure how to get to the source of the smell. For now, if I haven't used it in a couple of days, I run it empty with hot water and bleach prior to use.
To @@765respect - You may have mold growing in the drum. Look online for ways to clean it. It is a common problem especially when the door is kept closed most of the time.
I was so disappointed when it got to the end without a demonstration, but then you said there were more parts coming! Yay!
Same, can't wait! 😍
Sam Marwick me tooo! Looking forward to it!
Thank you, past inventors, for the washing machine. And thank you, laundresses of the past, for all your hard work.
Back in the 1960's, when my kids were very young, I used to take in ironing and charge by the basket. Permanent press was still in its infancy back then.
When we were left without electricity for 7 months, people started selling those old wooden planks that you scrub the clothes on. They were selling like hot cakes. There were people who didn't have running water either because the pump worked with electricity so they washed in the river. The whole country went back to the 18th and 19th century in terms of washing clothes.
A guy made something similar to the thing Carol is using at 9:05 with a big trash bin and a pair of bicycle handlebars.
This video was over very quickly because I was so captivated by her talking. She is very well spoken and I really enjoy the information she shared with us!
Is that "The Irish Washerwoman" playing in the background? My husband calls me that because I'm constantly doing laundry and I swear like a sailor! So thankful for modern conveniences!
I love these more mundane aspects of 18th century life you cover. Please keep it up.
its shocking how little we know about the mundane parts of life through history. We still know very little about Garum and bread from Roman times even though they were both something you'd eat with nearly every meal, regardless of class, all across Western Asia, North Africa, and Europe.
In 18th century England many laundresses drowned in the mash rivers because the heavy wet garments they were wearing would pull them down
macpduff so sad.
I also saw in one documentary that women in general drowned quite often, because they were so tired. One could even drop into a well while getting water.
A woman would be the last one to go to bed, and the first one to get up, because of their household chores. Working all day, and only getting to eat after the men in the family. Which is probably part of why poor people had less children, as the women could be too malnourished to be able to conceive.
This video was a revelation -- an aspect of life that is never discussed elsewhere.
My father's grandmother was widowed. She had to support herself and her children by becoming a laundress. So this video has special relevance to me -- it's not just abstract history.
Love,love,love these personal type videos. I love them all with their information but these that shine a light on the people making them seem more real
My back and hands hurt just to think about it! What a back breaking job!
That's better than any gym :P
This reminds me that I have a load in the washer.... I forgot because I've been watching Townsends cooking videos.
😂😂😂 I can definitely relate. How time has changed!
Fascinating! Our pipes froze and busted a few winters ago and there was no way to fix it right then. We did have water in the upstairs bathtub. So I hauled all the laundry (and dirty dishes) up to wash them out in the tub. What a workout!
@@teamfoco995 I LOVE Townsends! My favorite so far is the canoe
@Kuchi Kopi Indiana. It happens.
When I was first married, we were desperately poor. Too poor to buy even a leaky second hand washer. Too poor to go to the laundromat. So I did our laundry in the bathtub. I filled it with water, poured in the detergent, then climbed in and kicked, said her and stomped a tub full of dirty clothes clean with my feet. Dragged by the bucket to hang dripping on the line, summer and winter until we could afford a second hand washer.
My husband worked as a laborer, so his laundry was always filthy with dirt and salt from his sweat.
Hard work for both of us, and don't want to do it again, but I can if I need to.
@@pamwaldron2566 Yes! I did the feet thing! Felt like I Love Lucy stomping the grapes. I've seen the things you can make out of a plunger and 5 gallon bucket to do the scrubbing and I have that on my list of things to make, just in case!
Imagine doing that always...
My biggest challenge is to install a shelf above the washer and dryer (underneath the already-installed wood cabinets).😬 I remember in college the 'drudgery' of going to the laundromat! We are so spoiled with being able to choose water temp, type of cycle by fabric, etc. God bless the hardworking laundresses and washer women!❤️️
You would definitely own less clothing if you had to wash it by hand and you would be wearing them a lot longer.
I just can't get enough of this channel. So happy you guys are successful!
This explains alot for me, thanks so much for the video! Theres a man name Reverend Walter Colton who came to California in 1846 with the u.s. navy. He was stationed in Monterey Ca, and kept a dairy. Im sure I wont be perfect with his quote, but essentially it said " Of all the wild beasts of California none are as fearsome as the Washerwoman."
SnorinSnorlax yo , Carol loves the quote!!! Thanks!
Fascinating! I am not even a history buff; I don't particularly like cooking, or laundry... but this channel is great!
I love your cooking videos but I'd love more of these types of videos. I'd love to learn all I can about this time period. It's cool to watch her do it the way they did back then.
They worked like troopers- anyone living in poverty did what they could to provide for their family -god bless them 💖
I saw Carol live at our local library doing "Maggie,Indentured servant" several years ago,good to see she's well and still telling stories of this country's past.
I tried washing clothes by hand for several months. I learned that it's easier to clean if you soak the clothes in water overnight.
Yes. Let the water take apart the sediment and oils naturally.
Mona-Britt Folds yeah I’ve heard that they soaked there clothes in urine and other things to get certain stains out ect.
@@thetillerwiller4696 Urine breaks down into ammonia, a degreaser.
Yep my fam has been doing that ever since i could remember! Cheers ✨🧡
@@elenavaccaro339 if that were true, urine filled babies clothes and cloth diapers would not need something else to break down the ammonia that causes rashes on baby's skin.
Poor scientific thought on that ammonia.
This is great. Makes you remember these were just people trying to get by like us.
I appreciate the level of production of this channel.
For instance the background music is perfect in its volume. Absolutely well done!
Carol is fantastic, can't wait for the upcoming demonstrations!
Very nice episode! This lady sounds knowledgeable, makes sense, and is not smart-alec.
Anxious to see the episode on laundry chemistry.
Even though I have a ringer washer machine it makes me very appreciative. It goes to show not even doing laundry was easy work.
We washed clothes by hand as a kid. It's somewhat time consuming, but it's not that hard.
@@CIorox_BIeach I use to wash my bf white naval uniform by hand. They always came out brilliant. I didn't have a washer so I did everything in a small bathtub. This was back in 77. When my boys were little, I continued washing the brights and whites by hand. Now I use a washer that I bought used 25 yrs ago and hang out my clothes to dry, even in the dead of winter. I have a dryer but I'm too cheap to pay for the electricity. Something about hanging out the clothes and spending that time in nature is soothing to me. Plus my little granddaughter loves running through the laundry. Her laughter is delightful!
@@765respect My grandmother use to hang laundry in the late summer, and fall months when I was growing up in the 80's and 90's, but in recent years here in the south the pine pollen as been so bad, it's pointless to even try, so I have a long pole from wall to wall in my laundry room, and hang all my shirts, and other things that really should not be put in the dryer, and for me I find that a good compromise, along with having a HE top loading washer, and a HE dryer to cut down some on the water, and electricity usage.
@@CommodoreFan64 My mom would dry her clothes inside her house by putting a fan on them. Depends on what it was they could be dry in an hour. Love your idea of using a long pole in your laundry room.
@@765respect Thanks, and yeah I sometimes point a box fan at the clothes I have hanging in the laundry room if they are taking a while to dry, and I need them by the morning for say work, or whatever.
Thank you for preserving our history and making it available to us! Not just the upper classes, but every class and occupation.
Now the hardest part of doing laundry is remembering to put the wets in the dryer before the lot smells. Makes me count my blessings.
I love information about women's lives the best! What they wore, everything about their work, their rights, their routines, their food and their money, their freedoms and restrictions, their habits and entertainments, EVERYTHING! So looking forward to more about the laundresses!
So glad you decided to delve into this subject, and do so in depth.
I'll be sure to look for the upcoming episodes !!
I have done laundry on the rocks and with a wringer washer. I still hang out to dry. I appreciate my washing machine.
I'm sure I'd said it before but I'll say it again, I love these types of individual videos. It feels like you're getting a real sense of history and a peek into the personal lives of folks who were... Just like us. And the Townsends style of teaching is top notch, as always. Plus, these are just so much fun to watch in general!
My great grandmother was a laundress, in Wyoming in the 19th century. I don't know a lot of details, she and my great grandfather lived in a sod house, he was a jack of all trades. My grandfather never talked about it a lot. He left home at 15 and did many jobs, saving all he could, eventually was able to get some land on the Missouri River to farm and ended up a very successful man. My grandmother was his second wife, so he was quite old when I grew up, but he had some interesting stories.
So helpful! I love when guests are brought in like this. History comes alive!
To help pay my mother’s college tuition in 1930 to 1934 my grandmother did lady’s delicate laundry.
So interesting in so many ways - I've always been a huge history buff in general, but I love how this channel always manages to answer questions I hadn't thought to ask yet!
Ok, i can no longer complain about my laundry. Lol
I agree ✋☺️
Thank men for inventing washing machines, hot water heaters, automatic dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, looms, etc, etc _ad nauseum._
@@RonJohn63 Where did these men come from?
@@RonJohn63 I don't know about the others, but the automatic dishwasher was invented by a woman. It was hand crank.
When Carol smiles at the end...gosh, lights up her features, beautiful lady. :)
I've always loved the effort and love put into this channel. Another 10/10 informative video
Thank you, Carol. Looking forward to seeing you in other videos. Thank you, John & all at Towsend's.
My wife & I shared this chore doing it the same way as in video 2 for over 20 years. As a kid I helped my Mother do the clothes washing by hand.
Good video, thank you for sharing.
Regards, Keith.
Very interesting history of women who worked very hard for very little.
I've done laundry by hand and struggled to wring out jeans. It is a job to dread!
Very interesting interview with Carol. Thanks, John and Carol.
Being from Plymouth MA, whenever I watch your videos, I feel like I get pulled back into that Old New England feel and It makes me want to tour Plimouth Plantation again. I absolutely love your videos.
I could just listen to this woman for hours. She has such a way of taking you back through time!
Been lurking and learning from your videos for a couple of years now. I have subscribed to you a few times, (youtube bugs), and honestly thanks to youtube I do not have to wait for great material to watch like this. I grew up enjoying great shows on PBS for the last 40 years. Having to wait all week sometimes and scheduling around my day for a documentary or show like yours was worth it. You are top notch in quality and content my friend and would easily rank in the best broadcasting they have to offer. I truly hope you are well compensated even though I know your passion would keep you doing this regardless. I should have commented earlier and maybe I have and don't remember. Thank you for your time, effort and charm! Thank you for the interviews from fascinating people and locations! Thank you for what you share with my family! To all of your crew, thank you and keep up the great work!
Oh how I love this channel! This interview was so interesting and I can’t wait for the next one!!
Really high quality videos on this channel. The two camera angles on the speaker and host, the cutaways to still pictures and action shots and interesting subject matter provide for a multifaceted entertainment experience.
Yay! So excited for this whole series! What a great idea! Carol is simply a treasure. And a perfect fit for Townsends.
Imagine how stinky life would be without these women.
if you constantly are exposed to the same stench, you end up no longer noticing it anymore though.
it would be intense, people back then would use perfume to cover up BO and at parties I've heard of people getting sick from all the various smells. it didnt help that during large parties even the rich people would, uh... "relieve themselves" in hallways and stairways and servants halls during parties if the weather was bad or if it was cold rather then go outside.
on the bright side, soap could be made by mixing wood ash with water
edit: nevermind, that makes lye which is then used to make soap (still close, though)
Love Carol. In the 1990s in Estonia people were still doing family laundry by hand in their big bathtubs. Me too. I did not have to beat and beat the clothing as modernish harsh laundry soap was available.
Such an amazing guest! She did a fabulous job of sharing information. Can’t wait to see more with her!
This video has truly made me understand that I have no reason to complain about *any* housekeeping tasks I have in 2019.
Looking forward to the rest of the series.
I love this channel. You provide sooooo much history. If I weren't nearly destitute in my own right, I would be a Patreon. Thanks for all you do.
Excellent episode! Extremely informative, clearly and engagingly expressed! I applaud your attention to the history of those usually neglected and maligned. Thank you so much! - Oh, and I eagerly look forward to more laundry vids!
I love this program. All the seemingly mundane necessities are truly interesting. The pressing a few beeping buttons to do my laundry seems so simple compared to this. Plus you can fold laundry while watching Townsend.
The food videos I absolutely love. But these types of videos I look forward to for so many reasons. Thank you for this video
Love this channel. The content keeps getting better and better keep up the great work.
Like so many other things in the 21st century, laundry has simply become an annoyance with the washing machine and dryer. In the not so distant future I'm betting the machines will be folding the clothes as well. Thank you Carol for doing what you are doing, preserving history before it's lost to the ages, and you as well Mr. Townsend for what you do.
I really enjoyed both her explanation and your interview questions and style. This series is excellent. Thanks for your channel!
This gives an interesting perspective on the many hardships. Look forward to your future content. Cheers from the Appalachians.
Thank you so much ...This really brings history alive educational and relatable
One of my favourite videos! Really took me back in time!
And I love when you share the paintings, They look so pretty~
I really enjoy Carol's videos and the way she explains things and the depth of research she seems to do, so very interesting. Thanks for the knowledge and keep up the good works. Really hope to catch you in when I come visit the store in July.
Bravo, i love Townsends videos. I'm looking forward to sequel.
Go to Dhobighat, Mumbai, India. They still have hundreds of men who do it by hand, using old school technology. Time hasn't moved forward much in the third world in certain industries.
I love watching your videos and learning about the people from our past! Thank you!
Great stuff Thank you for your channel and all those who help .
And now we have machines that are foul-tempered to do the washing.
We have it so easy these days...
dahveed284 and often loud too lol, especially on spin cycle.
They drank to numb the pain
I bet they did
Sadly yes they did, and I'm sure that's part of why their life spans where so short.
This was amazingly informative! Thank you to Carol for sharing her knowledge with us. These are the types of professions and peoples we don't learn about in our US history courses. Thank you for giving voice to them.
The only channel that got me interested in laundry of all things. You guys are great
That was awesome! I look forward to seeing more.
Okay, I will never complain about having to walk only a feet away from my indoor electric washer and dryer. This video really helped me appreciate our modern conveniences.
Thank you for keeping history alive.
This was really interesting! Your videos are helping polish and perfect my impression.
Love these videos, it’s great to learn about the real people behind the history 👍
It's great to see Carol as her Maggie character. I thought I recognized her.
Wonderful video! Thanks for all the hard work that you guys do!
I love this video series. It's amazing how easy he have it now. This video sure makes me appreciate all of our modern conveniences.