Doing the Wash

One of the most arduous tasks for the tenement housewife during the 20s was doing the wash.  This was especially true for those homemakers living in a cold-water flat where every drop of wash-water had to be heated on a wood or coal-burning stove and physically carried to a slate sink or galvanized tub.  Finishing the wash was not the end of it; all that wash and rinse water had to be bailed if the tub were used.  Back then, washing machines were primitive, at best, even if you could afford one, which was not likely.  Most families could afford a wringer, however, which was a great help in squeezing the water from the wash.  The wringer was a simple device having two rubber-covered rollers turned by a hand crank.  Many are still used today.  In operation, the wash was squeezed between the rollers, which could be adjusted for different thicknesses of wash.  It took a strong back and equally strong arms to do the weekly wash, carry it to one of the tenement windows and hang it on a variety of clotheslines. 

The tenements of lower Manhattan were sometimes constructed with narrow streets that permitted clotheslines to be strung between flats on opposite sides of the street.  Families would agree on which days each would use the single line.  Others would hang two lines, one for each family, but this arrangement was more expensive and used less frequently.  The end of each line was anchored in the window frame with a large hook on which was hung a wheel on each end between which the line was strung.  The wash could be hung on the line and moved out over the street for drying.  Not all flats could use this arrangement.  Many used the fire escapes.by attaching a section of pipe or wood to each end of the fire escape so that the attachments extended out over the street.  Wash lines were then strung from between the attachments.  Because this method provided very limited drying space and was less efficient, it was used mostly to supplement another line.             

Another method of drying the wash was to use the airshafts.  Most tenants used this method only as a last resort.  The shafts received very little sunlight, if any.  They were commonly used for garbage disposal – tenants would toss bags of garbage out the windows of the airshaft instead of carrying the garbage to the cans in the basement or the street.  Rats abounded in the shafts.  Wash hung on airshaft lines risked being fouled or torn from the line by the thrown garbage, which meant rewashing.  Few used this option.

The most common use of the clothesline was lines hung from the rear windows to a pole similar to the poles used for telephone lines.  Most tenements were 4-5 stories.  In a rear yard, each tenement would have a wooden pole with steel spikes spaced the length of the pole sufficient for a worker to climb the pole.  These poles varied in diameter so when climbed, the thinner poles tended to sway with the wind or the climber’s effort.

When a family moved into a flat, local individuals, who hung clotheslines, would take note and approach the family to hang a line for a fee.  These individuals walked the streets carrying coils of wash line and canvas bags holding the hooks and wheels.  Since every family needed a line, and the existing line to their flat could not be trusted, there was competition to get there first.  This was especially true after the arrival of the Great Depression.  Having been chosen for the task, the workman would install or replace the hook at the apartment window.  He would thread the clothesline over the two wheels, attach one wheel to the window hook and lower the line with the second wheel attached to the ground.  He would leave the flat and enter the yard, pick up the loose end of the line, loop it over his shoulder and waist (somewhat as if one would wear a sash), and climb the pole using the spike steps.  If the pole was new or had few existing lines attached, the climb would be simple.  But, most poles had been in use for years and were covered with attached clotheslines, some abandoned.  His climb would have to be on the side of the pole away from the tenement in order to avoid the existing lines.  The line that he was about to install was attached to the window frame, and in a huge loop, draped on his frame.  As he climbed the pole, he had to avoid all of the existing lines and keep his line trailing beneath him to prevent entanglements.  When he arrived at the proper height on the pole opposite the flat window, he had to hang on to avoid falling while attaching the second wheel.  He was unable to use a hook on the pole and was limited to tying the wheel with several loops of line.  This line had to be around the pole above a climbing spike to prevent the wheel from sliding down the pole.  With everything on the pole secure, he re-

turned to the flat to adjust the slack in the line and to show the housewife how to ease the line tension when not used.

These lines worked fine until a worn line, loaded with wash, parted and dumped line and wash into the street or yard.  No housewife cared to see that happen, so line replacements were made more often than necessary.

December 2006

LFC