Washing clothes was hard work. Doing the laundry took most of the day because everything was done by hand.

First water was hauled from the well or a nearby river. Everyone in the family helped to carry buckets (pails) of water. There had to be enough water for washing and rinsing. Water for washing was heated in an iron kettle or metal washtub. Rinsing was done in cold water.

Clothes were sorted and soaked in hot soapy water. First the whites were washed, then the colored clothes and finally the dirtiest clothes. A long stick was used to stir the clothes around in the hot water and to pull the clothes out.

Dirty clothes were scrubbed on a washboard.

Then the clothes were scrubbed on the washboard with homemade soap to remove the dirt. A cake of soap was rubbed over the stains. The cloth was rubbed up and down on the ridges of the washboard and dipped in water. This was very hard on the arms and fingers and a person's back would get sore from bending over.

The wash water was reused until it got too dirty. Then more water had to be heated.

To get out the soapsuds, the clothes were rinsed in cold water. More than one rinse was usually needed so two or more tubs were used for rinsing. The clothes were wrung out by hand or with a wringer. A wringer had rollers and a crank that would turn the rollers and squeeze the water out of the clothes. Then the clothes were hung on lines outdoors to dry. Clothes lines were tied between trees or buildings.

In the winter snow was melted for washing. Lines were stretched across the room near the fireplace (or stove) and most of the clothes were dried indoors.