Wash n' Wear...

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Elliott and his classmates were fortunate to see how people had to wash their clothes 100 years ago at Uchida Farm in South Kona. They also learned that many people still wash their clothes like this today...

Ms. Yolanda gave the kids a lesson in the basics...

Your corrugated washboard was the heart and soul of the operation. And muscle and persistence the energy...


You take your little scrub brush and rub it on a bar of soap sitting on a little ledge on the top of the washboard...

Then you start scrubbing away...

Put more soap when you need it. No such thing as Spray and Wash stain remover...

Scrub up and down against the cloth using the valleys and ridges below for added friction...

Techniques varied with some preferring the straight down approach...

And some like Elliott preferring the sideways approach...

Dip the cloth in the soapy water and squeeze out the excess water. Then repeat. You are on repeat cycle whether you like it or not...

If you scrub too much, you end up with a new light airy fabric...

Your water will get dirty and soapy so you will have to change the water from time to time...

No dryers with anti-wrinkle fluff cycle. You have to hang it all up to dry in the Sun...

Nice and clean. Ready to dry and wear to your favorite social function. That is if you aren't too tired from washing clothes all day to attend...

And the next lesson, of course, is patching and sewing your own clothes...

Comments

Anonymous said…
GREAT! A wonderful series, like the coffee posting. Helps us see the sequence on how everyday things were done, long ago!
June 22, 2009 at 3:01 AM
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