Before indoor plumbing, it was necessary to carry all the water used for washing, boiling, and rinsing the laundry from a pump, well, or spring. Water for the laundry would be hand carried, heated on a fire for washing, then poured into a tub.
This meant the amount of warm, soapy water was limited; it would be reused, first to wash the least soiled clothing, then to wash progressively dirtier laundry.Before indoor plumbing, it was necessary to carry all the water used for washing, boiling, and rinsing the laundry from a pump, well, or spring. Water for the laundry would be hand carried, heated on a fire for washing, then poured into a tub.
This meant the amount of warm, soapy water was limited; it would be reused, first to wash the least soiled clothing, then to wash progressively dirtier laundry.
Removal of soap and water from the clothing after washing was a separate process. First, soap would be rinsed out with clear water.