https://grainworks.tech/tags/research-lab/ Recent content in Research-Lab on grainworks Hugo en-US Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://grainworks.tech/posts/short-history-of-laundry/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://grainworks.tech/posts/short-history-of-laundry/ <p>Before 1900, doing the laundry took an entire day — typically Monday — and it was physically punishing work. Clothes were boiled in cast-iron pots over open fires, or scrubbed against washboards by hand. Drying was weather-dependent. Ironing, done with heavy flat irons heated on the stove, took hours more. The weekly wash was the most hated household chore across every socioeconomic class.</p> <p>It is impossible to overstate how much this changed when the machines arrived.</p>