From Scrub Boards to Electronic Marvels!
It is easy to take for granted the technology used on a daily basis that has become a natural way of life. A commonly overlooked item is home appliances as they are also modern inventions. It is when faced with having to seek washer repair in College Station Texas that the origination of such a creative concept as an automated washing machine is even considered. Yet appliances such as washing machines actually have very interesting histories.
Washing Clothes – Back to The Stone Age
Just as shaped rocks were used as the first rudimentary wheels, stones were paramount in the development of other technology as well, including archaic clothes washing methods. It was discovered that beating wet fabric along with frequent rinsing made a garment cleaner – and the first way to wash clothes was established. Clothing was beat with or against rocks at the side of a stream or river until the fabric released the dirt it held. At least it meant not having to worry about washer repair at all!
This method was sufficient for a long time afterward, as the people of that time did not have to deal with the types of soiled and stained clothing that is now more common. Additional methods of scrubbing with sand and soap made from animal fat and ash were eventually discovered and remained in use for centuries. There is even evidence that up to the 19th century, the beating method was used until scrub boards came into use.
Washing Clothes – Invention of the Washboard
Based on the common knowledge that scrubbing and beating could get fabric clean, the first scrubbing board was invented in 1797 . Made of wood and metal, it took those basic ideas and made washing clothes easier and more convenient. It was still necessary to use the scrubbing board either near water or have water carried to the home so it could be used there. The physical labor involved was considerable, something that would not change until mechanized models came into existence. A continuing positive feature was that the scrubbing board eliminated most of the concern about washer repair when one broke.
Washing Clothes – First Mechanical Devices
A design based on using hand-cranked rollers along with a barrel or drum was patented in 1851; a rotary, hand-cranked design that turned a closed drum of water with clothing inside was patented in 1858. Actual production of these devices did not begin until 1874. Produced as a gift to the inventor’s wife, this model was similar to others and agitated, spun, and squeezed fabric to get dirt out; this machine is considered the first actual laundry cleaning machine to be produced.
Washing Clothes – Electric Clothes Washing Machines
The early part of the 20th century was a boom time for the modern washing machine, with a number of notable companies beginning to produce a washer. The Maytag Company built its first wooden-drummed machine in 1907; this was followed in 1908 with the Thor, the first electric model that was invented and sold by the Hurley Machine Company. Whirlpool Company introduced in 1911 an electric wringer washing machine and Maytag continued developing electric models – and laundry was being cleaned more easily than ever before.
The electric washing machine revolutionized the clothes washing industry and appliance production in general – and also saw the introduction of a necessity for washer repair in College Station Texas and the entire country. These electric machines were such a hit and in no time at all, almost a million households in America alone had one. By 1940, the number of American homes with washers had risen to nearly 15 million.
The rest of the story is an easy one; thanks to technology and more inventive ideas, the clothes washing machine has been transformed into a modern necessity that is used almost daily. Run by either electricity or gas, there are different models to suit the need to make our lives more convenient and efficient, especially in the area of clean clothing. The only drawback noted with today’s modern appliances is the occasional need for washer repair in College Station Texas, a small price to pay for the electronic marvels these machines have become in getting our dirty laundry clean!
