Without the benefit of modern conveniences, every part of the laundresses' job was just plain hard work. She began her work day by getting water. This was often hauled from a creek. This in itself could be a treacherous part of the job. In the winter, she often had to use an ax to chop through the ice. If the ax slipped, and cut her foot or leg, three things might happen. The wound might eventually heal, it might become infected or gangrenous and the limb would have to be amputated, or she might bleed to death or die of infection. In the spring, the water would be running high and fast. If she fell in, in all likelihood she
Without the benefit of modern conveniences, every part of the laundresses' job was just plain hard work. She began her work day by getting water. This was often hauled from a creek. This in itself could be a treacherous part of the job. In the winter, she often had to use an ax to chop through the ice. If the ax slipped, and cut her foot or leg, three things might happen. The wound might eventually heal, it might become infected or gangrenous and the limb would have to be amputated, or she might bleed to death or die of infection. In the spring, the water would be running high and fast. If she fell in, in all likelihood she would drown due to the way she was dressed. (See the Fashions page.) In the summer and into fall, the water would be low, and hard to come by. She always had to make every drop count, but now it was even more important.
There was only one way to heat the water, and that was with a fire. A fire meant chopping wood. Although wood parties were responsible for bringing wood into the fort, the laundress was responsible for chopping her own firewood. Again, many of the same hazards that applied to chopping ice applied to chopping firewood.
The laundress usually supplied her own soap. There were not trips to the convenience store here. Even if soap was available at the sutlers, or post trader's store, it would likely be expensive. The laundress made her soap, out of wood ashes and fat of some sort. After boiling this down, the soap mixture was poured into some sort of mold, and cut into bars. (See the soap recipe(s) in the recipe section.)
Having gathered water and started a fire, it was time to get down to business. While the water was heating in copper washboilers, she sorted the clothes. Because she could earn extra money by washing for the officer's and their wives, she might have light whites and delicates. Then came the heavier whites, such as the Canton Flannel underwear that the men wore. The next pile included cottons like her dresses and aprons. The light wools came next, including the men's light blue-grey trousers. Then the heavy wools came last. These included the dark blue uniform blouses, great coats, and blankets.
Using a knife, the laundress would carve off flakes of soap into the wash water. The light whites and delicates would be the first items washed. She would handle these clothes gently, and might not use a washboard. The laundress would work her way through the piles of clothing, ending with the darkest, heaviest items. Because water was a precious commodity, it probably was not changed between batches of clothes.
There were tools to help the laundress get the clothing cleaner. These included dashers. These hand held mixing devices moved the clothing around, similar to a modern dasher in a modern washing machine. In addition, the laundress used a washboard. Contrary to what Hollywood depicts, the washboard was not laid across the top of the boiler. The metal or glass part of the board was submerged in the boiler. The laundress then leaned into the top of the board to keep it steady, and rubbed the clothing across the metal or glass ribs to help clean it.
After the clothes had been through the wash kettle, they were moved into the first rinse kettle, and then through a second rinse. The first rinse consisted of further boiling the clothes over the fire or on the stove. This agitated the clothes, and forced the soap through them, helping to clean them even more. (Colored clothing did not go through the first rinse. This would cause them to fade. Furthermore, this much hot water exposure would shrink clothing.) The second rinse might contain bluing, to make the white clothes appear cleaner. A handful of salt in this rinse helped prevent colors from bleeding. After this, the clothes were rung out, usually by hand. However, hand crank ringers were available at the time.
Clothes were hung out to dry, or spread out on a clean, grassy area. Because the colors might fade in bright sunshine, clothes might be dried in the shade. Drying the clothes had its hazards, too. High winds could rip clothes apart or carry them away. Dust storms would undo all the work a laundress did. In the winter, cold temperatures would freeze dry the clothes. Although outdoors was preferred for drying, clothes might have been placed on racks inside the tent, if available.
It is questionable how clean the men's wool uniforms ever were. The accepted method of cleaning woolen garments meant surface cleaning them with a mixture of ammonia and water. This was carefully sponged on. They then could be rinsed with a quick dip in warm water, with the laundress then gently squeezing out the water from the garment. Wringing it out might cause the fabric to pucker and become mishapen.
Once the clothes were dry, it was time for mending and ironing. The laundress might reattach buttons, and mend small tears. (Noticable damage was repaired before the washing process, as to not further damage clothing.)
Ironing was another part of the hard work a laundress did. Irons ranged in weight from a few ounces to 18 or more pounds. The smallest irons were designed for collars and cuffs. Because of their small size, children also used them as playthings, hence the name, "child's iron". The largest irons might have been used on greatcoats and other heavy fabric items. Irons were made of cast iron, and might have a detachable wooden handle. This way, an iron base could be heating while a second iron was in use. Some irons were cast in one piece, handle and all. This of course necessitated some type of padding to protect the laundress so she did not burn her hand. There were also specialized irons for fluting, crimping or ruffling fabrics on collars, cuffs and trimmings. The bottom of the irons were coated with beeswax to make them move smoothly over the fabric.
All of the clothing became heavier when wet. As the laundress moved wet clothing from kettle to kettle, and hung it to dry, then handled heavy irons, she must have found it to be hard, physical labor. Interestingly enough, a girl could become a laundress at age 13, as long as she was strong enough to do the job.
Obviously, the laundry was not done in a matter of hours. It took days, and once the laundress was done, she had to clean all her equipment so that it was ready to go for the next time.
Questions:
Two common questions come up when I am presenting this information, particularly with children.
Q. What do the men wear when their uniform is being washed?
A. It depended on the times. The men might have an extra uniform, or some civilian clothes. For example, many of the Civil War soldiers provided their own uniforms. Nevertheless, the men had cothes to wear.
Q. If the uniforms are wool, don't they shrink?
A. Yes...all of the fabrics in those days were natural fiber....wool, cotton, linen....all would shrink when washed in hot water. Therefore, the uniforms were issued larger than needed to allow for shrinkage. In addition, certain steps were taken to minimize shrinkage.