September 13, 1987
By Susan J. Dehler
Vigo County Historical Society
Relief from ‘Blue Monday’
For the 19th-century housewife, laundry day was the most dreaded day of the week.
Aptly called “Blue Monday” (people changed their clothes on Sunday, so washing was traditionally set for the day after), women had to face the week’s dirty clothes and soiled linens without the convenience of running water and electricity. This often meant hauling gallons of water from a stream or pump, sorting clothes by “color, fabric, and degree of soil,” and soaking them in separate tubs overnight.
Wash day consisted of a series of suds baths, rubbing clothes by hand against a washboard, and then several rinses, with clothes often placed in a boiler on the stove. It was a hot and tedious process.
One household guide of 1859 declared that washing “is the most difficult and laborious of household duties; and help that shall render its performance shorter and easier will be a public benefactor.”
Without the benefits of permanent press fabrics, 19-the century women had little choice but to iron the clothes and linens they had just laundered. This arduous task usually was reserved for the day after wash day.
Clothes had to be dampened, rolled in a cloth and left for one to 12 hours, depending on the material. Several irons were heated on a stove and each iron was rubbed with beeswax and wiped before it was used. As one iron cooled, a hot one, taken from the stove, replaced it. Each new iron had to be tried on a piece of paper first to avoid scorching.
Household manuals of the day gave advice on starching, sprinkling, ironing and folding clothes. The 1897 Sears and Roebuck Catalogue offered a set of three irons of varied weights (5-9 pounds) and a combination ironing board-step ladder for $1.59.
In the latter part of the 19th century, women could afford it found relief from “Blue Monday” by hiring domestic servants or by sending the wash to a commercial laundry. However, what brought relief to the ordinary housewife was the development of labor-saving devices and, eventually, the accessibility of electricity to the masses.
The kerosene iron on display in the museum is an example of an early iron designed to save labor. Rather than heating several irons and relying on a hot stove, this device housed its own fuel.
A similar iron was advertised in the 1908 Sears and Roebuck Catalogue. This “Self Heating Family Charcoal Iron” was described as follows: “Removable top and hardwood handle with shield. Is self heating and requires little attention. Uses ordinary charcoal as fuel, is easily regulated to any desired heat, and does away with the hot fire on ironing day.”
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.