Patent Steam-Washing Comp...
The Times, 1824-11-17T00:00:00

The greater facilities which the improvemeiit of the meu chanical arts is daily giving to the practical application of science, for the ordinary business of society, become con- stantly more apparent through the speculative enterprise of individtials. The power of steam upon navigation and ma- nufactures has been carried to an extraordinary extent, and apppears inexhaustible; and we have its canabilities now tried with success in the most common of all hiandicraft oc- cupations-washing. The whole process, though very aim- le, is curious, and quite perfct for all the intended pur- poses. The works of this Company are at Mitchaam, Sur- rey, and consist of an extensive range of buildings, newly constructed for the steam apparatus, stores, &c. The linen and other articles are conveyed from town, and after the necessary process of sorting and marking is arranged, ttiey are classed into their distinctive kinds, aud taken into the great washhouse, which forms a considerable part of the ground-floor of the building. The macrinery here is very complete: at one extremity are two steam-engines, one of which is a very beautiful piece of mechanisnm, with its movements regulated upon the simplest principles. From the engine at work the steamn is conducted by pipes to circular tanks or reservoirs in which the actual washing is effected. With- in these tanks, and welt enclosed, are cylinddcal wheels of large circumference, some constructed or wood for the ordi- nary work, and one beautifutly made of copper, for carpets or heavier articles, which require the application of a greater power of steam, and necessarily a stronger metallic body to bear the pressure. Within these lanks tho articles to be washed are put, through an aperture in the side, and tlhen exposed to the operation of the steam, which is admitted in such a manner that the goods are submitted to its action in an equal degree during the revolutions of the wvheel: at the same time the alkali, or solution of soap, which is common soap-suds, is admitted through a valve, andI the process of washing goes on with the united action of the steam, the soap, and the revolving of the articles in the wheel, which comne into contact with each other by the rotatory motion. The duration of this preliminary process isabout an hour, and it is closed by dlrawing off the steam for the admission of a certain quantity of cold water into the wheel, which rinses the linen from the soap-suds, and proper ducts are applied in this stage of the business to carry off the fbul residuum. In this first and most essential part of the business, the hand-friction, always uneven in the operation of washing, is saved, and the whole surface of the linen is alike cleausetd, from being equally exposed to the steam during the revolving action of thle cylindrical tank. ape articles are taken from the cylinder in the apparent stM in which they would have been from a common washing-tub, and placed by hand (such as require it) in a blue vat, and are then, without wringing or any operation liable to thc same objectio,B passed, not pressed, through a cylindrical squeezer, which. by the simple passing extracts the im- bibcd w&ter. They are then handed over to women, who see that the washing is completely effected; if not, they supply the deficiency, and afterwards pass tbemn on to the star^ching, ironing, and calender departnents, and finally to the dryinlg-loft. In the arrangements for securing regu- larity, both in thcldassification and precision of execution, the greatest pains appear to be taken, judging from a casual glance at the establishment. All artieles of one kind, and one texture, are kept so as not to be intermixed with other, to prevent the transfusion of dyes in cotton and other goods. The laundresses will doubtless complain uf this interference with thieir manual labour, for thc same reason that the manufacturing lalourers complain of the perfection of machinery, which is pretty much after tle fashion, only less excusable by being three-quarters of a century later (an immense sDace in the ratio of human improvements), of the poor rish peasant who stoutly re- sisted the change of harnessing the plough to his horse's botly, instead of his tail. The lauiidresses will of course complain; let them be consoled, however, by knowing that already there are 150 women employed in the works at Mlitcliam, anid that there will be a:nple employmnenit for many more in the progress of the business. INTINT S2TRAMJASHING COMPANY.