Laundry Day

Imagine spending an entire day bent over a washboard, scrubbing dirt and grime from every garment you owned, using harsh soaps, boiling water, and no protection for your hands or back. Wash day was exhausting, punishing work.
Enter the portable steam powered wash copper.
Patented in 1878, examples like this one, produced by the Howell Company, used heat and steam to dramatically reduce the physical labor of laundry. Water and clothing were placed inside the copper tub, which sat over a fire or stove. As the water heated, steam and boiling action helped loosen dirt and oils, reducing the need for constant scrubbing.
Rather than endless washboard work, agitation was often limited to pounding garments with a “prosser” or dolly, imagine a large metal plunger, while the heat did much of the cleaning. After boiling, clothes were fed through a hand cranked ringer or mangler to remove water, then hung to dry.
While still far from easy by modern standards, these steam wash coppers were considered a major convenience in their day, saving time, strength, and strain. By the early 20th century, they were gradually replaced by electric washing machines, some of which were still made of copper before steel became standard.
Suddenly your washing machine doesn’t seem so loud or annoying, does it?