Laundry

[ilai]

Last night I was doing laundry and discovered that our dryer isn't heating clothes up very well, so I stayed up a little late to make sure my clothes actually got dry. Eventually I gave up on getting them dry before going to bed, so I dug out a spool of polypropylene packaging tape, tied the ends to curtain rods in our living room, and started hanging clothes up. There's now a little mini-jungle of my shirts and towels in my bedroom as well. Which got me thinking--when's the last time you've seen a real washboard? Everyone I know seems to use a washing machine instead of a washboard and basin.

Comments

[narya.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that I noticed one in the basement of my grandparents' house, though I doubt it's been used in a quite a long time.

[mama-pipa.livejournal.com]

My mother collects old ones and does crafts with them... so I do see real ones, although they aren't used for anything except decorations nowadays.

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

My mom uses them -- granted, they are plastic rather than wood-and-metal. But I think she has a firm distrust of the effectiveness of washing machines, since she cycles everything through twice. So I think she actually prefers handwashing.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

wrt the dryer: check the lint trap and the lint exhaust. If those are fine tell your landlord because the dryer will require repair to make it heat properly again.

Spurred by this post I went to see if modern washboards are for sale.
I have a vague recollection that some deployed soldiers were looking for washboards because they have limited laundry facilities. Ah yes, here's a company that sends them: Columbus Washboard company. They are the only washboard company left in the US, and they make a variety of washboards, including glass rubbing surfaces!

[capsicumanuum.livejournal.com]

I'm perfectly happy to use the machine for all non-delicates,a nd I wouldn't beat delicate things against a washboard anyway, so basin alone works fine :)

Your description of the jungle of laundry reminds meof my living room . . . .sigh.

[shumashi.livejournal.com]

I just spent three weeks in Greece where I did most of my laundry by hand. Never felt like anything got really clean, but I got by. Maybe aforementioned washboards would have made the difference.