Put the Washboard Down and Plug the Washing Machine In
The bulk of women’s work in the 1920s was incorporated in the process of washing clothing and other textiles. Previously, soap was made from lye and a variety of animal fats. Turn of the century companies such as Ivory soap mass produced bars of soap that could do the same thing, saving the labor of the consumer and skipping the soap making step. Mass produced soap created autonomy “through liberating women from soap-making chores but also increased their dependence, linking them to an ever-increasing national market.”
Fels Naptha Laundry Soap, 1920s
By 1893 by the Fels and Company created the first soap to include naphtha. The inclusion of naphtha made the soap very effective for cleaning laundry but was ultimately removed as a cancer risk. Soap in bar form, could grated much like one would cheese or alternatively it could be applied directly to clothing to adhere to stains.
Acme Hardwood Pins, 1920s
Though 38 percent of American households contained washing machines by 1929, drying clothes on a line with hardwood pins was still a common method of drying clothing and textiles.
In 1922 Maytag Corporation had invented a washing machine complete with an agitator. Primitive methods of washing received an upgrade when electricity was used to devise the automatic washing machine. In the 1920s electric washing machines are on the fast track to finding their way to American homes as more than two thirds of all U.S. homes become equipped with electricity. In the early 1920s, more than 80% of U.S. households had electricity and many equipped with a washing machine. In 1924, Savage Arms Corporation of New York created the first spin dryer. Different from the tumble dryer, these machines would spin clothes in order to reduce excess water. Prior to their invention, many would use their washing machines then wring out the clothing before placing it out to dry
Early marketing of electric washing machines met with some resistance from homemakers who believed mechanical devices could not be trusted to do the wash as well as their own hands could do it.
