I was born in 1946 and we lived in the Bronx, NY. Doing laundry was a daily chore.
This washing machine is similar to the one we had in our kitchen. Mom says that she doesn't remember it but I do.
After the wash was clean, there began the process of drying. If the weather was nice, mom hung the laundry out on the roof. There were clothes lines already set up.
Mom would then get the pieces that had to be ironed, sprinkle them with a little water and roll them up and put them in the refrigerator. This made for easier ironing, especially getting out the wrinkles.
If the weather was rainy we had an indoor drying rack that mom set up in the bathtub. I also remember something pulling out of the wall on top of the shower faucet but could not find any photos. There were always silk stockings hanging off of the shower curtain rail.
Another memory attached to laundry was the Chinese laundry that was about a city block away.
In New York, perhaps seven out of ten Chinese survived by working in Chinese Hand Laundries. At the end of almost every residential block or alley, there was always a Chinese laundry. A Chinese laundry was usually small - about the size of five dining tables, equipped only with an ironing board and a shelf to put cleaned, ironed clothes that were packaged and ready to go.
Mom would have my Dad's work shirts done here. They always did a beautiful job.
Suffice it to say the chore of laundry was daily and daunting. In today's world, it is has been made so much easier although still daunting.
