an investigation of domestic laundry in europe - habits ... - SIFO

1 Introduction1.1 Laundry: historical and cross-culturalHow laundry should be done and why is a question that has evoked differentanswers throughout history and, as we shall see in the study, there are alsodifferences between nations. In the 19 th century and the first part of the 20 thcentury, laundry was done using other methods and other remedies than todaySundt 1975[11], Løfgren 1979[12], Rasmussen 1977[14]. Farmers washedand changed before big events of life. Washing themselves and changing tofreshly laundered clothes was like a purification process. The upper and middleclasses, however, considered dirt dangerous and disgusting Frykman &Løfgren 1979[12]. In 1882 the bacillus that carries tuberculosis was discovered,and after this period one important aspect of laundering was the fightagainst bacteria. Dirt was bacteria and bacteria were dirt. From the scientificpoint of view, lower class people were not regarded as clean, and laundry wasone way to rectify this. To a great extent cleanliness became a culture and anarena of discord among the classes, and the use of soap and water was seen asan indication of a civilized society Frykman & Løfgren 1979 [12]. During thefirst part of the 20 th century, major changes took place in the realm of laundry.As the hygienic aspect gained more support Maartmann 1998 [13], theamount of laundry increased considerably Klepp 2003 [15]. Knowledge of theramifications and the technical aspects of laundry were to a much greater extentthan previously institutionalised and formalised. This became evident inthe emergence of courses and schools for housewives, as well as in the growthof the detergents industry. Advertising and information campaigns increasinglybecame the new arenas for knowledge on how to do laundry, comparedto previously when this kind of information was learned in a personal anddomestic context.