The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-05-17
IN A STEAM LAUNDRY.
HOW DIRTY CLOTHES ARE CLEANED
ON A LARGE SCALE.

7he First Operation-Soap Dissolved in
Hot water-Through the Wringer-In
the Drying Reconstructed and I'm
starched Clothing-Ironing.
There isn't much time lost in laundry
in any department Thirty-fve people, in
Guiding drivers and receivers and deliverers
of goods, will handle 1000 shirts, 200 dozens
of cuffs and collars and 10000 pieces of or
binary clothing in a week, and while doing
this they will take in a shirt, wash and iron
it, and wrap it up for delivery in two hours
and quarter The first operation is in the
wash room. Here are seen rows of washing
machines, circular, with an inner perforated
revolving and reversing chamber for the
clothes. The clothes are thrown into this,
l25 shirts at time, or the equal of that in
other pieces and clear filtered water run in
on them and the chamber started. Making
dozen revolutions in one direction, it auto
matically reverses and makes the same mum.
Der in the other, the clothes falling back on
the ribbed Sides Bar soap is something that
is almost unknown in a steam laundry The
soap used is received in large barrels
of clear white shavings, and is called "chipped
laundry" One of these barrels makes eight
of suds, being thrown into a large vat and
there boiled with water until it has been
fully dissolved and reduced to about the con-
sistency of buttermilk. This is always kept
in stock cool, and poured into the washers
while the inner chamber is still revolving,
the motion being between the perforated
shell of this chamber and the water tight
covering. The clothes are washed, rinsed
and blued in this tub by the aid of valves,
the first suds being warm, the second boiling,
and the rinsing cold. The clothes are rinsed
and then blued, the full operation requiring
but an hour and twenty minutes
From the washer the clothes go to the
wringer, though this machine gets its name
simply because it performs the same service
as the household wringer. 1t looks more like
boiling kettle, though investigation shows
it to be double, the inner one being perfor,
ated and revolving 800 times minute The
clothes are thrown in this, the power put on,
and being thrown against the perforated
sides, are dried in a few minutes The kettle
time, drying them in thirty minutes From
this the clothes so up stairs to the drying
and starching room. Cuffs, collars and shirts
and such articles as must be starched are
thrown into revolving and reversing ma
chine similar to the washer and are then
passed through an ordinary wringer, if
necessary, or hung up to dry. The dry room
is surrounded by steam pipes, the "horse" on
which the clothes are hung being pulled out
on rollers while the clothes are being hung,
and then pushed back. 1t matters not whether
the sun is shining and the wind blowing, or
the rain coming down a bucketful at a drop
In twenty or thirty minutes the clothes come
out dry. The unstarched goods go to the
mangler, and the starched ones to the upper
story to be ironed.
There are not many cheats about steam
laundry, but there is one in mangling which
has never been detected. The mangler is a
series of blanketed rolls, with large cen
trail steel cylinder kept very hot. The
clothes are passed through this twice, coming
out with every appearance of having been
ironed. Two out of three ladies sending
family washing to the laundry accompany it
with a note directing the laundryman to
starch their tablecloths or spreads. Does
he do it, Not often. Instead, he takes the
clothes as they come from the wringer
straightens them out and runs them through
the mangler damp, giving them frequently an
extra turn through the machine They come
out stiff and glossy, but without starch, and
the housewife never knows the difference
The mangler is one of the greatest pieces of
machinery used in a laundry. On large
clothes or sheets, two girls operate it, one on
either side, and in the course of an ordinary
day they will run through or iron 10000 to
1900 pieces. On towels and napkins four
girls can work at a machine very comfort,
ably. The mangIer has a pressure of 200
pounds to the inch, and if the girls ever get
a finger in ahead of the cloth it is gone sure
SEARCHED articles of clothing go to another
department after leaving the drying room
Cuffs and collars are ironed in machine
somewhat similar to the manger; first, how.
ever passing through a dampener, two rub
Der rolls running over steel roll, the bottom
of which is in water The linen is then
passed and repassed between the ironing
rolls, the pressure producing the gloss. 1t
then passes through a shaping machine,
very simple contrivance, similar to that used
in other branches of trade for the same DIR
pose. Turned down collars, however, are
submitted to different process. They are
run through curious little machine, with
an upper roller, to which water is conveyed
This runs along the seam, where the bend is
to be made, and passing on out the collar is
bent without cracking There is also a trick
of this same kind in buttoning stiily starched
pieces, employed altogether in a laundry,
and to limited extent outside The laun.
dry girls call it splitting on the backs;n in.
elegantly, it may be, but nevertheless ex.
pressively. The button hole is simply wet
slightly on the back side, and this done the
button may be slipped through the stiffest
button hole with the greatest ease.
The ironing of a shirt is an interesting
feature of laundry work. 1t is a curious
point that an iron is never used except in
finishing, and then only a perforated iron
which, while used in the same way as a sad
iron, icannot be called by that name. Before
its use, too, the shirt is ironed SO that it
would be acceptable to nine out of ten men.
The shirt first goes to the bosom ironer This
is a Young lady attired mora like n sobool