...and with Machines

Factory-made detergents appeared in stores by the early 20th century. Hand-cranked washing machines became available in the 1920s and 1930s. Electric appliances and running water became common in the mid-1950s.

The first washing machines only handled scrubbing—the laundry water still had to be heated, added, and drained manually. Such a machine was called a pulsator.

Washing machines that automatically pumped and heated water became widespread in the 1960s. In rural areas, the lack of plumbing limited their use, and pulsator machines remained common into the 1970s.

Caption: “Laundry workers and Lotta women at the wartime hospital.”
Photo: Collection of the Loimaa Society.
Donor: Loimaa Regional Hospital.