Louis Rodier patented the washing machine in 1857. In 1937, the Bendix Company introduced the automatic machine. In the 50s appeared the first machines which used centrifugal force.
This magic “box” revolutionized the household chores for women. Before, they needed to go to the wash-house and scrub with soap!
This box has saved time for women and thus contributed to their emancipation.
Laundrettes are still a feature of big cities; people who often cannot afford their own machine go to these fabulous places. They are warm, too busy or too empty, lined with monstrous-sized humming, clanking, spinning, portholed boxes. I love the smell of soap powder and stale clothes and detergent and cheap fabric softner... Laundrettes can be friendly places to philosophise or slumber in (cf. link above to the 1985 film "My Beautiful Laundrette")...
Article by Melissa Ben Allal
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