Omaha daily bee., 1916-01-03
Monday Mechanics
Prom Popular science Monthly.

In the good old days when the only way to wash
clothing carry II to the riverside and sop II
up and down and rub Il upon stones there was good
reason for calling the first work day Of the week
blue or drab or even black Today, however. for
tunste home laundresses have their disposal excel
lent mechanical helpers The pity OF II IT, that these
helpers fall far short Of the mark because OF lack OF
knowledge upon the part OF women OF how to operate
them efficiently because OF really blame-worthy
stupidity the part Of the men who design and
install the equipment
For Instance take the convenient laundry OF an
ordinary home II IL not an isolated instance. There
hundreds like It in other houses and apartment
buildings The bottoms Of the set tubs but four
teen inches above the floor. The average height
women is five feet four inches Can she the wash
board? No; II has sunk out of sight because the
tubs are too deep
third fault is that the tubs poorly lighted
Number four is that the tubs are against the
wall and also in corner. accessible from few
points. The only artificial light s single electric
bulb sixteen candle-power carbon, hung the
ceiling in the center Of very large basement room.
Then the water nlets flush from the back Of the
tub, 1t is not feasible to attach for filling
either the wash boiler a washing machine This
means the arduous carrying Of water in buckets
The remedy is a complete change. The tubs should
he out in the instead Of in a corner There
should be window lighting and a stronger lamp
located above the tubs The laundry trays them
selves should be shslower in form and their bases
six eight inches higher. There should be faucets
suitable for hose attachment and set high above the
rim OF the tubs to be out Of the way OF washing
The laundry stove should adjoin the tubs at their
left, that the boiled clothes lifted directly
into the rinse tub for the washing processes are
usually reunited from left to right. II washing
machine is used. however. Il may be desirable to
give this location TO IT, the location for washer
depends upon the type of the machine and upon tbs
style of the wringer II 1t be stationary sliding CT
swinging.
II portable tubs the bench should be
slightly higher than is usual the exact height being
determined by individual experiment Twenty-four
inches is right II the tubs for rinsing only II
one uses wash-board, twenty to twenty-five inches
10 preferable. Galvanized iron Is better than wood
because II is much lighter to handle and because
wooden tubs shrink AMI leak II used for a period
II one can possibly afford II a washer is to be
substituted for the back-breaking washboard. hand
power washer entails much wearisome work as
hand rubbing Test It by attaching a spring balance
to the lever of hand power washer filled with water
and clothes. Pull on the balance instead OF direct
the lever The handle moves through an arc OF
twenty-elght inches and the pull is twenty pounds
the balance will show. Multiplying two and one
third feet the of by twenty (he pounds
of pull get fortysix and two-thirds foot-pouns
Of work for stroke OF the handle The average
Is thirty strokes per minute This fourteen
hundred foot-pounds every minute An ordinary
washing is seldom less than three Filings of the
machine at ten minutes per filling.
The woman Of the farm village attach
her hand power washer adding the proper wheel to
carry belt to the farm gasoline oil engine. This.
too means wringng with a wringer turned by hand
For twenty dollars thirty-five dollars splendid
power washer is available with attached motor
driven wringer. The higher priced ones have also a
wash bench. The power wringers stationary,
swinging sliding.
The city woman have the best of all servants.
electricity one-sixth horse power motor can be
attached by belt TO hand-power washer. Machine,
motor and accessories without wringer. twenty
eight dollars.
For forty-fve dollars to hundred dollars one
get excellent electric washers with
included and the saving OF woman-po for higher
will justify the investment The OF current
is very small, usually two to four cents an hour.
A fifty dollar washer should last at least ten years.
which is five dollars year for depreciation Count
ing interest the investment Of fifty dollars this
three dollars yearly. Current cost varies but Ten
cents a week. generous allowance.