Washing By Hand



In an interview, via e-mail, Ann Neville, a former Greenbelt citizen, described the hand washing process, "'rubbing, 'ringing and rinsing," in her home. This exact process or a similar one was probably used by many of the women in Greenbelt.


"Hand washing was done in our house with a washboard. You set the washboard with its feet in the sink and its top resting against your chest, and rubbed the clothing, one piece at a time, up and down the corrugated surface of the washboard. When you'd done a sinkfull, you'd rinse them in a sinkfull of clear water, wring them out by hand, and then you hand carried the laundry basket full of wet clothes to the line."1
Courtesy of the National Archives, College Park

The above picture shoes two women in the process of wringing out clothes after hand washing them. It is highly unlikely that the women of Greenbelt did their laundry, collectively, in this manner. The houses had kitchen sinks with one side larger than the other, and laundry poles in the backyard to hang clothes. The apartments had washers in the basements. However, the picture is an excellent representation of the process.
Courtesy of the Washington Herald

In May of 1937, Ladies Home Journal printed the following recommendations on how to hand wash items properly and effectively.

1. Remove Stains First- so they will not become permanent
2. Water temperature is important- lukewarm at first, continue in hot water
3. If your water is hard-soften it- put soda or water-softening agent into the water before it is heated.
4. Blue with caution- a little goes a long way
5. Starch-making simplified
6. For snow-white clothes- bleach occasionally
7. When washing is done- clean each part of the machinery2


Laundry Services


The Washing Machine


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