{"id":4270,"date":"2026-04-04T20:57:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T20:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianregency.com\/blog\/?p=4270"},"modified":"2026-04-04T20:57:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T20:57:42","slug":"this-is-the-way-we-wash-our-clothes-or-is-it-laundry-in-regency-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/04\/this-is-the-way-we-wash-our-clothes-or-is-it-laundry-in-regency-england\/","title":{"rendered":"This is the Way We Wash Our Clothes… Or Is It? Laundry in Regency England"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kristi here. One of the worst things about taking a long trip is the amount of laundry you have to do when you return.\u00a0As annoying as I find the chore, at least I get to walk away after throwing the clothes in the washer.<\/p>

\"Fire<\/a><\/div>\n

No such luck for the Regency era laundress.<\/p>\n

\"WashingMachine\"Prior to the 19th century, laundry had pretty much been done the same way. Soak it, boil it, beat it with a rock. No wonder they wore their clothes dirty.<\/p>\n

Thank God for the beginnings of the industrial revolution and all those crafty souls that saw a chance to make money by making laundry easier. They crated the forerunners to the oh-so-convenient machine I have today.<\/p>\n

Some of the earliest advertisements for washing machines are from England in the 1790s. It was basically a barrel with a crank that would turn the paddles in the barrel, agitating the clothes in the water. Still a lot of work, but you could clean more than one or two garments at a time. The arrangement of the paddles allowed for more efficient washing as well, requiring less lye, less hot water, and less brutality.<\/p>\n

Good news for the wearers of delicate muslin dresses.<\/p>\n

Clothes were still hung or laid out to dry as an effective dryer was still a few years away.<\/p>\n

Do you still do any of your washing by hand? Do you use a clothesline?<\/p>\n

Originally posted 2014-10-02 01:00:00. <\/small><\/p>

\"Listen<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kristi here. One of the worst things about taking a long trip is the amount of laundry you have to do when you return.\u00a0As annoying as I find the chore, at least I get to walk away after throwing the clothes in the washer. No such luck for the Regency era laundress. Prior to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[475,39,474],"class_list":["post-4270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","tag-laundry","tag-regency","tag-washing-machine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t