We Hired a Washer Woman
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- čas přidán 30. 03. 2021
- I was too shy to venture to the Wiggin's Hotel in person to inquire about the washer woman so I sent a letter. A week later she showed up asking for ammonia for the task. As we have hired such women before we knew what to expect and prepared the organic ammonia solution for her a week in advance.
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Thank you everyone for your kindness & patience.
That's right. In order to remove urine stains simply add more urine! Why didn't I think of that...
There is a similar trick about red wine stains, I hear- I didn't have to try that yet. I prefer white anyway... ;-)
I sometimes get pissy when doing laundry, but this is ridiculous! :-P
I guess it kinda makes sense(? in the nail community it is kinda known that to remove your nail polish without acetone you just add more fresh nail polish and wipe it with a cotton ball
Then put on the green grass to add grass stains lol
@@heidipetals462 grass releases a chemical that makes white clothes whiter as long as you don't rub it in. Yes definitely do not rub it in...
I am soo glad we have washing machines,laundry detergent,and blech now!
And running water! How awful it was to carry them in buckets for daily needs.
Thank God for automatic washers and dryer and materials that don't wrinkle
I will never complain about doing laundry again! 😉
😂
It’s the one chore I really enjoy doing!
Me neither! From watching the series, “Outlander”, l learned the Scottish women used their “fresh warm urine” to set the dye in the wool they were weaving.
@@janedoe805 Hello 👋 friend, I do not recall that being in the Outlander book.
Thank you for the reminder 😊
If you really want to feel guilty about that, you can watch modern-day people in places in Africa and Asia who live a much simpler lifestyle than us Western people. They are seriously scrubbing and ringing out clothes by the side of waterways. And I know from experience that natural waterways are not always the best smelling water 🤢
My grandmother had a "washer woman" until she died in 1997. She came on Mondays to wash and on Tuesdays to iron. When my mother was a child, my grandmother would take the laundry to town to a different washer woman who did it at her own home. I like your nostalgic videos!
@Courtney, Thank you for sharing about your grandmother; she must have been a wonderful lady ❤, but my grandmother but my grandmother could not afford a washer woman, what with surviving the great depression; although they had a large garden, chickens, and cows for the milk. The washer woman perhaps had parents, siblings or children to feed, so God bless her for doing such an odious job to lend a helping hand. America survived through that time period because the government was not taxing fishing or hurting wild game, which was abundant in rural areas at that time. The wooded areas were not controlled by the Bureau of Land Management; the citizens have lost many freedoms 😢😭💔
There are modern-day "washer women", but you typically drop off your clothes and then pick them up later that day or the next day. I knew a bachelor who got his laundry done that way (even though he had plenty of room to install a washer and dryer).
@@suzieaguilar397 My mother did laundry for others in the 1940s and 50s. She had a gasoline powered wringer washer and then an electric wringer washer. In the 40s she had to draw the water from our well. There was one woman that momma washed for that was a hateful person. Mother had 4 children to feed and our father had died in an auto accident.
@@BJH862 You had a wonderful, loving mother to continue on her difficult, arduous journey of raising and caring for her children. That is love ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ I sure you are just like her. May God be with you. 😊❣️
In Turkey it still goes on just the same way of your granny, but inside home, not outside or in washers place.. sure today its a previlige of the ones doing well, most cannot afford..
I wonder if anyone today would think to wash clothes in boiling urine??? I will never complain of doing the laundry ever again!!! This video is very very interesting!! ~Janet in Canada
this makes me feel so lazy for my giant pile of dirty laundry sitting next to my electric washing machine and dryer. 🤦♀️
At least u got a washer and dryer I don't I have to use quarters and take my clothes to a laundry mat and I already feel like that's a lot of work. 😂😂 Compared to this backing breaking work we are both lucky we don't have to do any of this crap.
Yep -- stale urine (it must be STALE, not fresh because what you want is the ammonia) has been used since ancient times for laundry. Nothing until recently was better for breaking down greasy stains.
And here I was, about to take a leak in my laundry hamper! (Joking, but interesting knowledge nonetheless. Very thankful for liquid detergent lol)
@@sentienttapioca5409 LOL... you never know. Idiocy is abounding amazingly right now. Yes, and Shout gets out grease stains wonderfully.
Thank God no more using urine.
@@marionbartley214 Homesteaders use it to get their compost piles off to a good start.
@@sentienttapioca5409 It has to be stale. Can't just whip it out and whiz all over the laundry.
my grandma in Italy always did it herself for the whole family (7 children + 2 adults). even after everyone had washing machines, she refused to use one and continued to do it traditionally
My grandmother was the same. Even my uncle does hand washing at present. Old kitchen with not enough room.
And that, my dear friends, is what is known as stubbornness and timewasting!
An other name for urine used in washing was "chamber lye," and it was your first urine in the morning as it was more concentrated than the urine produced during the day which was not used for washing. Also, lavender was used to give laundry a pleasant scent.
Is that what the blue liquid was? Lavender? I love the smell of lavender, it makes the home smell so fresh and clean
@@beckygriggs7827 The blue liquid is actually called bluing. Lye soap, which is what was used for laundry, has a tendency of making white fabric turn yellow. Human eyes see the color blue as the opposite to yellow so adding bluing makes your whites appear more white instead of the yellow.
It would HAVE to be.
And here I am complaining about having to drive down the block to the laundromat XD
Very hard work.I think of my momma washing clothes back in the day for 8 children.This was great to watch.
urine contains ammonia: great! but in Italy they used wood ash. dissolved in water and the clothes boiled inside for a long time. From Italy, thank you !
Wood ash was used here, too, to make lye soap which was then used for laundry and other things.
@@Growmap Si è vero si usava la cenere del fuoco , setacciata bene Ma non per gli abiti , bensì per la biancheria da letto o da tavola tutto vigorosamente di colo bianco ( avveniva la sbiancatura) Il tutto veniva sistema in grossi catini in legno ,uno strato di biancheria e uno strato di cenere mescolata con acqua bollente.Lavaggio ecologico ,che più ecologico non si può. Italy .
@@filomenaantonelli4892 Thank you. English translation (machine, but close enough to know what you wrote):
"It is true that the ashes of the fire were used, sifted well.But not for the clothes, but for the bed or table linen, all vigorously white (bleaching took place) Everything was arranged in large wooden basins, a layer of laundry and a layer of ash mixed with boiling water. Ecological washing, which cannot be more ecological. Italy."
Great, Italians. But the Romans used urine.
I am so glad for the washingmachine and laundry detergent
Very physical work. The cooking too. Just trying to stay clean was a task . The beauty of this time is ; we have the comforts AND we can live simply if we choose.
I know that urine was used in laundry since at least Roman times. Makes you wonder how it was first discovered 😖
They thought the ammonia smell would ward off pests. During medieval/renaissance times the nobility kept their clothing in the toilet area, also known as the "closet".
@@baylorsailor Back in medieval times they didn't bathe either. I'm surprised anything went near them.
Thank you. I was looking that up unable to remember why she gave her urine. Whew. I’ll keep my unscented detergent.
They used it to set the dye for their clothes also.
@@rosemarydavis9347 It's still used for that purpose when a home dyer is using natural dyes, it's called a mordant.
lol - in the Lyndsey Davis Falco series set in ancient rome, the laundry woman who I think owned the apartment block required patrons to 'relieve' themselves in the vat as they came and went :-D .... Talk about public laundry facilities!
My grandmother used to take in people's laundry to iron. and I remember learning to iron that way as a child. and fold clothes. My mother had an old crank ringer. and old washing machine. when I was a child, my sister and I would put the clothes. through the ringers, as our mother would turn the handle. to squeeze out the water. then my sister and I would grab a handle of the laundry basket. one of us on each side. and hang up the clothes on the clothesline no dryer at that time.
Such interesting stuff. In the late 70's I used to iron shirts for my hubby's boss to make a little money. In the early 80's I had a friend who used an old washer & ringer to wash clothes. She didn't have much money & couldn't afford a washer. She loved it actually. Great memories we have.
My mom used to take in ironing in the sixties. She used to have to iron these mens starched white shirts. She hated them so much!
My mother and aunt washed and starched and ironed all the sheets, also everything was ironed from kitchen towels to the underwear!
My mother also utilized a crank roller. One time as a child I put a piece of clothing in the roller and my fingers rolled along too. I still remember the pain it caused. Thank God no broken bones.😀
I am an old women now but i stil remember my mother used to put the white washing spread out on the lawn "to white them out!" She also make me use the egg york for my hair and the egg white on my skin. And when dry to wash it out. It works very wel
As a child in the 50’s my next door neighbor did men’s white shirts. Two big pots one very hot She washed them in the house The coal stove was always on even in the hot summer. She used bluing and starch
Hung the shirts on the clothesline to dry. Used the old fashioned iron heated 1on the coal stove. The shirts were a perfect white without one wrinkle. This article brought back memories of days gone by. I am now 81
I will never complain about the price of bleach again!
God bless Clorox.
Her poor hands! I bet they all suffered from arthritis after doing this for a living.
Cracked and bleeding was common. All that work then you get blood on things.
@@dees3179 I hand wash the dishes, my bras and delicate clothes. If I don’t apply location multiple times a day, my hands crack and bleed. I usually don’t look forward to these chores, however it clears my head and makes me feel good although tired.
That was my first thought too. How lucky we are today!
Can you imagine chasing that laundry all over the place after a big gust of 💨 wind comes and blows them away from the grass
This is actually very useful information. Peoples sensibilities are so delicate now. Wait till the lights go out!! So many won't have a clue. Pitiful.
Woah there Karen. People at this time said the same thing, "just wait till there's no more coal, people won't know how to perform", and before that "just wait untill there's no clay to make bricks, no one will have a home", and before that "just wait till there is no more rosemary, the world will die of the plauge". Everything is relative. People back then said the same things of modernity that you do now. My favorate is from a newspaper article writen by a teacher: "I went into a hall {lecture hall} the other day with my slates {chalk boards, hand held}, to find that not one child in the hall knew of how to use them. Not a single child could write upon a slate without getting dust {from chalk} all over themselves. What ever will we do when there is no more paper?". Everything you say now has been said over and over about new innovations. So instead of bashing modernity, let's embrace it, and be greatful we live in the time that we do.
It's not sensible to shame people for not being aware of how to use obsolete techniques to do things. It's interesting to see, but it would be silly to use this method in day to day life while we have washing machines.
Do you really think people from this time period would choose these methods if they had access to methods that are better in every way?
Still no one will/should use urine.
When the lights go out, we’ll have a clue 🙂
I grew up with my Oma(grandma) and when our very old washer broke(the old school one), we would wash by hand. My Oma taught me to wash by hand because she said it was a good thing to learn. We didn't use fermented urine tho lol.🤣 We did use detergent and borax(always tide powder she didn't like liquid).
Love this channel so Much !
I love all your videos! You all are doing a fantastic job!
I’m loving this channel I stumbled across it and now I just binge watch after a long day at work thankyou
The things I learn from this channel ..... awesome !!
Fascinating!
It's amazing how much easier it is to do laundry in 2022 with a washing machine and dryer, yet we complain how much of a drudgery it is. Everyone should watch this.
I love your videos! I do wish you'd make the captions properly on screen instead of closed captions (which often don't work properly when you adjust the speed of the video, in my experience). But appreciate your interpretations and videos so much, thank you!
YOU DID IT on the newest video! Thank you!
Que lindo canal! Muy bonito! Felicitaciones!
Outstanding...................... 👍👍
So this "ammonia" helped in taking care of women's monthly issues as well? I'm new to this and wondered how the women of eras ago delt with this.
They would use several things for menses blood depending upon what was available. It could be soaked in sour milk, vinegar, cold water, scrubbing with lye soap, spitting on it, etc. Typically the woman would rinse the blood out of the garment as soon as possible before putting it into the laundry.
Looks like a decent find! I've subscribed and look forward to watching your videos.
God when she bent down near the fire to get the soap I had a slight panic attack. I was afraid her dress was going to catch. Yikes.
Naw. Natural fibers don't catch fire easily. Only polyester and other petrol based fabrics go 'fwooosh'
Many ladies had terrible accidents with open fires. Open fires were all around really, from cooking to laundry to heating. Also, it wasn't clothes one could get out of easily, so if a dress or apron caught fire the outcome was very nasty.
The Earlier Americans use "organic ammonia" to whiten doeskin. And I remember my grandmother washing the bed linens, towels, and underwear on a raised tub in the backyard in Oklahoma territory. Her wringer washer was to too small for linens and towels. She also didn't want to sully it with pappy's drawers.
I've been binge watching these videos.
These laundry methods had been used for centuries. The key was only applying the chemicals to the dirty spots, not to the entire garment. Then boiling and beating the laundry, using blueing in the final rinse, and laying it out in the sun to dry and bleach.
In the medieval era, people used stale urine for its ammonia content. They also extracted lye from fireplace ashes, by very slowly pouring water over the collected ashes, and filtering it through layers of straw in a bucket with a small hole in the bottom. The resulting greenish-yellow liquid lye was collected in a jug below the hole.
Using lye on its own was easier and cheaper than using it to make soap.
Thanks for sharing 🌻
Such hard work, omg
Me:: to save water as we’re in severe drought, I was my clothes as I shower 🤦♀️😂
After all her work I was looking forward to seeing her get paid. What a tough, demeaning job
I’m watching in between loads of laundry. Well don’t mind doing my laundry now!
I find modern laundry relaxing but my roommate likes doing laundry too so we’re usually fighting over it lol
We still have washer women in my country. They use soap bar, detergent and the blue thingy. Not pee though 😅
My grandmother had a scrub board and big tub. 8 children. OMGGGG.
To this day 12/11/2021 I still use something called blue ‘o’ it brings your white up perfectly lol
Urine was collected for a myriad of uses, from laundry (as seen here) to making of gun powder. People would go around to community buying old urine from the townsfolk. Thus where the term "Piss Poor", when all you had of value was the urine you produced. Also, gave rise to the phrase "Being too poor to have a Pot to Piss in", for someone even more less fortunate.
Awesome
Hi, i'm from indonesia,i really like this concept, very interesting.
Urine's pretty concentrated. Need to drink more water. LOL
Amo codesta era,per tutte le comodità che abbiamo: ma soprattutto per quanto riguarda l'igiene.Il progresso è stato meraviglioso è soddisfacente! Greetings Italy.
Not very pleasant, but very interesting) And how can freshly washed white linen dry right on the grass? After all, the grass leaves stains even on dry laundry. I thought they were dried only on the branches, so as not to stain the linen.
My mom used to love hanging white sheets in the sun.
I remember using bluing liquid to whiten white clothes:)
You can still buy Mrs. Stewart's Bluing. I have a bottle of it in the cupboard.
So did it come out smelling springtime fresh?
Lavender
Aii what they used what for for detergent
Dry it on the grass? No risk for green stains?
My great grandmother worked as a washer woman after my great grandfather died in a coal mine accident.
I really feel for her now.
Geez what would you do when winter comes in how would laundry be done
Can’t imagine holding the clothes in the air and not being able to smell Tides Febreze Detergent. Kidding, but I’m a new viewer of your channel, and love the dedication here!
Omg such long hard days for these women
sundrying directly on the grass doesn't give grass stains?
In those days clean clothing was a number one priority.
Yikes, that ad! The harsh reality of American history.
I had the great opportunity to experience washing clothes this way while visiting a third world country during the summer when I was younger. There was no TV and I would help the maid wash mine and my family's clothes. I really enjoyed it actually. Made me worship the technology at home lol 😅
I'm surprised the washer woman didn't add the bluing to the water before adding the garments. Generally it's mixed into the water first, then the garments are added since bluing has been known to spot white garments blue if it isn't mixed first. Powdered bluing is more prone to doing this than liquid bluing is though.
We caught my son on more than one occasion, "watering" the flowers but we never used it for the laundry..lol.
A White woman to wash clothes? How interesting: "Kirsten & Mary Laundry, may I help you?" Urine actually DOES remove stains, particularly grease from food. The trick is you have to concentrate it by leaving it out in the sun until it reaches the proper strength. Don't ask me how I know this...
I'm thinking that you have done this before!
Whew, glad we don’t still have to do that!😳😝
Wow IHOP it works
Bless that woman, clothes are wonderful
How much did it cost ?
Thank you God for vinegar instead of urine!!!
What is the blueing liquid?
Hmmm wonder why the color of the person was emphasized n the description, did it matter bk then the race of person who did the laundry or applied to do it?
Hello 👋,
Thank the Lord for Washers and Dryers. 😊
Imagine! How dreadfully tired must have the women been, doing such a physically demanding task!! And here, I complain and whine about having to do anything with the silly washing machine.
What did they do when the weather was bad?
We are sooooo spoiled 😂🤦♀️
Maybe that's where the term 'lawn linen' comes from..
Poor old soul!
Oh my God,urine😳Thank you to the woman bored the man who invented bleach
Would anyone happen to know the music that is playing?
:24 - "A WHITE WOMAN will perform WASHING".....4:07 - So I wonder if she has no work on a rainy or cold day? I guess I have all kinds of questions, but I understand how in 1819, washing clothes would be a different challenge than in 2021.
Now I know what a washer woman is. Stephen King mentioned "washer women" in his 1970s short story "Gray Matter." I never knew what he was talking about until now.
... 😲😲😲😲 ...
What was that that the lady took from Justine and put in the pail, lipton tea? If it was urine you can tell it was a woman's urine because men's urine is lime or yellow in color and a women's urine is kind of redish.
Okay, I’m baffled... Why would the Washer Woman lay the clean “White” clothing on the grass to dry? I know they own a clothesline because, I saw one. Wouldn’t the freshly washed (WET) items get Grass Stains? Or at least dirt (soil) on them?
Fermented WHAT??
I think if I had lived then I would have been thinking how to better the whole way of doing laundry to try to make it as easy as possible.
In more modern times, they began to add hartshorn for bleaching.
WHY DIDN'T THE STEPHENSON'S BOUGHT A ELECTRIC WHIRPOOL DUET WASHING MACHINE AND DRYER?
Fermented pee???? Blech! Er, bleach?
I don't think they had the Clorox kind of bleach back then.
My jaw dropped watching this. I thought 'why not use baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice?'
I think lemon juice might be hard to get and very expensive back then. Urine was free and worked better then anything else back then evidently!
How did she pick up that boiling hot shirt without burning her hands?
After many years of such work her hands are callused through and through. I saw it with my own eyes. Like wood the poor woman.
does it cause your clothing to smell of urine, or does the soap remove the odor?
Not urine in it's straight form. The point is actually to use urine as a base material from which to distill ammonia. If you've ever smelled it, ammonia has a very distinct odor of it's own, but nothing like raw urine. Likely, that smell would linger for some time
The soap, the boiling, the rinsing, and the drying in the sun would all remove the odor.
Please the music my god
Wow! Urine, wow!
Oh sweet Jesus no.
Washing with urine , how do these clothes r clean ( Paak ) . 🙂