The Iron(ing) Age
THE HISTORY OF LAUNDRY is both ancient and relatively new. Although the Roman Empire had a sophisticated clotheswashing industry, by the Middle Ages clothes (like people) were washed only infrequently. As late as Victorian times, doing the laundry was often a week-long manual affair.
Modern washing machines and detergents didn’t develop until the 20th century—another reason to be thankful we live now and not in our ancestors’ time.
