Effective Yet Gentle

A specialized scrub machine equipped with coarse brushes rather than corrugated steel. Savin Machine Co., Cleveland, Ohio, c. 1930 (740357). Photo courtesy of Imager.

Motorized versions of the manually-powered rocker scrub board washer appeared as early as 1911. These devices, however, did not offer the option of varying the vigorousness of the scrubbing action the way they had ben with its manual predecessors. The brisk motion of the motorized rocker was appropriate for cleaning work clothes, but less so for finer textiles. Indeed, scrubbing machines like this one tended to tear textiles and pop buttons. By 1918, another type of technological breakthrough occurred. Rinso invented powdered detergents for domestic use. Detergents helped disperse dirt and grime without scrubbing. This development contributed to the obsolescence of the rough electric scrub board.

A reversible Sultan wringer mounted on Maxwell's Washer and Wringer, St. Mary's, Ontario, c. 1920 (920132).

Wringers, too, were powered electrically. The operator, however, lost a degree of control with this technological advance. Open wringer gears that could no longer be manually controlled were hazardous. Gears, therefore, were sheathed in a sheet-metal housing. Still, powered rollers damaged buttons, tore textiles and mangled fingers. In time, manufacturers introduced reversible wringers (920132). Overload safety mechanisms also protected hands, garments and the electric motor (920131). For example, when garments were too thick to pass through the two rollers, a hook connection on the wooden bar above the top roller released. This prevented the wringer from jamming and overloading the electric motor.