In the next phase of clothes washing technology, hand-powered mechanization was added to the process. Most early washing machines tried to imitate the motion of washing with a washboard (Cohen, 1982, p. 93). Hand-powered washers used rotating cylinders or poles with wooden pegs or suction cups attached for pulling or dragging clothes through water (Rubin, 1998, p. 58). During the nineteenth century, manufacturers marketed hand-cranked washing machines (Cowan, 1983, p. 151). The Cataract washer, created in 1831, used a hand crank to rotate clothes inside a drum. Maytag’s first washer was the Pastime—a wooden washtub on legs. Wringers were added on the top of the wash tub, and the operator inserted clothes between two rollers and turned a crank to squeeze out excess water. By 1875, roughly 2,000 patents had been taken out in the U.S. for mechanical washers (Rubin, 1998, pp. 57-59).
The photo above shows a ca. 1910 postcard of the Happy Day washing machine, which has a hand lever for agitating the clothes in the machine (National Sewing Machine Co., ca. 1910. Postcard for the "Happy Day" washing machine. Belvedere, Illinois). The first photo below shows a washing machine with a lever or handle somewhat similar to that in the postcard, while the second photo below shows a different type of hand cranked washing machine.
In the 1850s, steam-powered machines were used in commercial laundries, but were too large and dangerous for household use. Huge rollers, or mangles, were powered by steam and used to remove water and take wrinkles out of flat items like sheets (Cohen, 1982, p. 93). Hand-cranked mangles could be purchased for use in the home--an example is shown in the third photo below.
In the early 1910s, most washing in homes was still done without any washing machine (Cohen, 1982, p. 94). Economist John B. Leeds conducted surveys from 1912 to 1914 of 60 families who were “earning enough for decency.” The families included farm families and professionals. Of the 60, 42 had gas service primarily used for ranges and hot-water boilers, and 53 had electric service, but the families did not yet have refrigerators or washing machines. Instead, they were using a wringer and washboard. All 60 employed domestic servants to do heavy cleaning, and only one did their own wash (Cowan, 1983, pp. 154-156).
As late as 1927, the Montgomery Ward catalog was still selling a hand-powered machine known as the “Old Faithful.” Many didn’t bother purchasing such a machine because it was not much of an improvement over a washboard (Cohen, 1982, p. 94).