Hygiene counts whether it is now or after a major disaster. This is a 66 page manual written in 1902 that tells you how our ancestors cleaned their clothes. Now some of these methods may seem a bit strange by modern standards. They used things like homemade soaps, turpentine and kerosene, ammonia, lye and various other chemicals. The book contains recipes for making some homemade cleaning products.
The book can be downloaded free at http://archive.org/details/cu31924003649559. This is a site maintained by Cornell University Library. Doing laundry, the way they suggest looks like a lot of work.
The following is what is suggested for a home laundry in 1900.
- Set tubs, three or four.
- Clothes wringer.
- Clothes stick.
- Clothes boiler (tin or copper).
- Clothes line.
- Wash board.
- Clothes pins.
- Clothes basket or pail.
- Water pail.
- Scrubbing brushes.
- Saucepan for starch.
- Spoon for starch.
- Strainer for starch.
- Agate pan for starching.
- Heavy cloth for tubs and boiler.
- Clothes horse.
- Duster for lines.
- Bosom board.
- Skirt board.
- Sleeve board.
- Small pointed irons.
- Heavy irons.
- Iron holders.
- Flannel.
- Iron rest.
- Wax.
- Polishing iron.
- Heavy paper.
- Small pieces of muslin and cheese cloth.
- Ironing table, covered with canton flannel, or coarse
- blanket and fine cotton cloth.
Reagents.
- Salt.
- Vinegar.
- Borax.
- Naphtha.
- Hydrochloric acid.
- Alum.
- Ammonia.
- Oxalic acid.
- French chalk.
- Javelle water.
- Bran in cheesecloth bags, 9×9 inches.
Other agents:
- Soda,
- Washing powders,
- Turpentine,
- Kerosene,
- Starch,
- Bluing,
- Paraffine.
As you can see, modern laundry products are definitely easier and safer to work with. If nothing else after reading this book, you will want to stock additional laundry products.
Howard
The post An old Fashioned Laundry Manual From 1900, Free Download appeared first on Preparedness Advice.
