Question

Give the list of laundry equipment used at home.

Answer 1

1. Sink: A stainless steel or enamel sink can be installed at a suitable height to avoid too much bending and straining. An attached drainboard is advantageous.
2. Boiler: Most of the household clothes, such as bed and table linen, need to be boiled to disinfect them and restore their whiteness. A pair of tongs or boiler sticks are required for taking out hot clothes from the boiler. Clothes can also be soaked in boiling water in buckets.
3. Tubs and Buckets: Steeping, washing, blueing, starching, rinsing, etc., are possible only when there is enough number of buckets and tubs. The erstwhile galvanised iron buckets are now replaced by plastic ones. It is because that these plastic buckets are light to carry, and they also save the clothes from staining by rust.
4. Enamel Bowls and Basins: These are necessary for various purposes, such as starching, blueing, and washing of small and delicate articles.
5. Scrubbing Brushes and Boards: The scrubbing board is usually made of wood with a grooved pattern. The article to be washed is placed on this and soaped, and then rubbed up and down. In case the article is heavily soiled, a soft bristled brush may be used to scrub it clean.
6. Suction Washer: This consists of two parts. The top part is a wooden handle, and the bottom part is the washer. The washer is hollow inside and has holes all over its broad base. The articles to be washed are placed in a basin full of soap solution. The washer is next worked up and down on the clothes in the soap solution till all the dirt is "sucked out" of the clothes.
7. Drying Racks, Clothes Lines and Pegs or Clothes Pins: Clothes lines are used for drying clothes in the sun, usually outside windows or in balcony areas. Plastic pins or pegs are used to hold the clothes in place. Drying racks and stands can be used for drying clothes in the shade, indoors, and for drying coloured fabrics or during the monsoon.
8. Irons, Ironing Boards or Tables: These items are used for removing wrinkles from the fabric. While the local washerman (dhobi) will prefer using a charcoal iron, a homemaker will prefer using a slightly lighter iron (about 2.5–3 Kilograms). Many varieties of electric, normal, and steam irons are available in the market. The ironing boards are well-padded tables with adjustable heights for ironing clothes. They help to reduce fatigue and backache. They have a flat surface, which is important for good ironing of clothes.