Yesterday I did a washing machine clean and service. Cleaned the drawer and pulled it out to see what was beneath. Apart from usual filth there was the added bonus of two pound coins and a trolley token I had lost somewhere. While I was doing this I was thinking of days gone by. No filth under my mother’s twin tub years ago as it was pulled out every week to do the weekly laundry. Nowadays we have liquids, tablets, stain removers and powders to baffle us. My mum had a scrubbing board with fairy soap bar for any stains and then in the tub it went. There was a box of Tide or Surf powder. I don’t remember any measures. No fabric conditioner. It just got poured in. I loved the deep sloshing sound and it tossed back and forth. Emptying was always tense. My job if I was there, was to hold the rubber pipe steady as it emptied down the kitchen sink. This hooked over the sink but occasionally slipped out causing a mop situation in the kitchen. Then some huge tongs were used to slop the wet soapy laundry into the spinning section. This was when you really had to watch over the pipe in the sink. As the motor revved up, the whole machine used to vibrate and move around.
It was a significant weekly effort to get the laundry done, dried and ironed. How fortunate are we? I have a washing machine. I put capful of liquid in, shut the door and press a button. Zero effort is required. I always try to line dry my washing but I do have an intelligent tumble dryer that senses when the washing is dry so I don’t waste precious energy. This gets used very rarely. I remember walking through damp sheets in our back porch when I was young.
I remember having one of these cabinets and my mum rolling out pastry on the pull down shelf? It dawned on me that technology moves along without stopping, and soon we are desensitised to change. It is good to reminisce from time to time.
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