LAUNDRY LAYOUT

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 76, Issue 6, 15 June 1948, Page 621

LAUNDRY LAYOUT

By.

NORMA K. METSON,

Sociologist, Wellington.

Rural

ANYONE fortunate enough to have an automatic washer, a heated drying cabinet, unlimited hot water, and a small household can keep the “laundry” in a corner of the kitchen and forget about it for six days out of seven. But that is not the usual situation, especially on a farm.

WASHING clothes is one .of the heaviest domestic tasks, and many women find it unpleasant as well as tiring. A well-equipped ; laundry will do much to lighten the work, but ■in many homes, even though much care and thought are lavished on the kitchen and its equipment, the . laundry remains a place of gloom and despair. More often than not it is a detached building. It may be joined to the house by a reasonably-dry path of gravel or concrete, or separated by a wilderness of mud and long grass. No hot water except what is heated in the copper, copper and tubs widely separated so that heavy and dangerous carrying of hot clothes is required, and a clutter of all the odds and ends of the farm from fowl feed to lawnmower— that not an all-too -familiar picture? One Use or Many? ' - As with other rooms, it is first necessary to, decide, as far as possible, what this room is to be used for clothes washing, of course, but clothes washing alone, or washing and other things? 7 Copper and tubs can, if necessary, be fitted into a minimum space, but on a farm it is usually convenient to have

a larger room. This may be treated .as an adjunct to the kitchen with cupboards planned for preserved foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, and bulk supplies of staples. Churn and separator for family use can be kept there, and a room of this type can be similar to the kitchen in colour scheme and appearance. . : • - Sewing and ironing are another set of related uses. It is often desirable to keep all the laundry processes in one

room, while the handiness of the iron and a convenient table or bench make easy the arranging of an efficient sewing centre where making and mending can be done. In this : case cupboards are needed for linen, sewing supplies and materials, and the ironing equipment. Many houses are planned so that the laundry serves as the back entrance. In that case it is wise to make provision for coats, boots, and cleaning up.

The simplest arrangement is a wash basin and a row of hooks, but the room could be big enough to allow a shower and lavatory to be installed later, together with a drying cupboard for wet outdoor clothes and racks for boots and shoes. ■ ' x < ~ ' Finally, - there is no reason why the fowl feed', lawnmower, tools, bicycles, or gardening' supplies should not be. kept in the laundry, if it has been designed to accommodate them. They become a nuisance only when they hinder the worker by encroaching on her working space or bringing in a dangerous amount of dirt. Light and Ventilation The laundry is usually built on the south side of the house —other rooms .will benefit more from the sunshine — but it must be well lit and adequately ventilated. A 4ft. width of- windows above or at the end of the tubs will give enough daylight, and the door, or another window on an opposite wall, will secure cross-ventilation. A hood over the■.. copper and windows which reach nearly to the ceiling and can be opened at the top will keep steam cleared away; this point is specially important if the room is to be used for storage of food or clothing,. as continued dampness could cause deterioration. The room will be much lighter if walls and ceiling are painted cream, but if that is impracticable because of heavy wear, natural wood colours are preferable to dark stains. Copper or Washing Machine? . The copper-wash! machine argument is one which is still heard. Old

houses had coppers because all. water had to be heated in-them. Now the laundry is part of the house, and hot water from the central system is piped to the tubs. The.popper, however, is still useful for providing extra hot water and for cleaning the clothes by -boiling and sterilisation. A washing machine requires hot but not boiling water, which can be drawn direct from the taps’ if the house supply is adequate. The standard equipment is two tubs, but . a third may be useful in a large household or for the attachment of a water-driven centrifugal drier, which can be installed if there is a plentiful supply of cold water under pressure. . Tubs and copper should always be built in a straight line and adjacent, so that lifting of,the clothes is minimised. A washing machine needs a place for storage against the wall and clearance room so that it can be wheeled out in front of the tubs for use. At least one electric point is required, and this should be placed most conveniently for using the, washing machine; undue length of flex is dangerous for this damp work. ■ ■ ‘ ' -Where there is no washing machine the point will still be useful for operating an iron, an electric jug for starch making, or other equipment. Storage Space Laundry, supplies such as starch, soda, blue, and soap, powders need a separate small cupboard; 6in. shelves are deep , enough, and such a cupboard can be built into the wall convenient to the tubs. Clothes pegs, starch basins, and larger articles fit well into a cupboard under a bench.

Storage for soiled clothes often becomes a problem. One idea is a stand with three or four open-weave bags attached. Soiled clothes as they accumulate are sorted, into the bags which can be loaded as they are into the washing machine or the contents easily removed for washing by other methods. In a two-storey house a chute which runs from bathroom or upstairs hall to the laundry is a labour-saving device, but do not try to make it too labour saving and have it opening directly above the tubs or clothes may get wet when that is not desired. ■

Lifting and stooping are minimised by a shelf or stool on which the clothes basket can stand. A refinement of this is a basket on wheels, like a tea trolley; a ramp at the door, a path to the clothes drier, and one of the worst jobs—carrying out the basket- of wet clothes overcome. . .

Drying and Ironing

New Zealand weather is seldom so bad that indoor drying of clothes has to be resorted to for any length of time, but some way of drying and airing clothes under. cover is very' helpful. Lines on a frame which can be hauled with , a pulley up to the ceiling and out of the way will be found very satisfactory. They can be put on a back veranda rather than in the laundry if desired. In cold ■or damp climates a small fuel heating stove in the laundry is very useful for drying wet working clothes and drying ana airing the washing. For airing, most families find the sun, the rack, and the hot water cupboard adequate, but it is possible to fit up a special ventilated cupboard with a low-powered electric heating element installed at the bottom for this purpose.

If the room has a concrete floor, a mat or wooden platform should be provided for the worker to stand on. Linoleum, attached with a waterproof cement, is suitable for the laundry which tends toward kitchen uses, but not so satisfactory for the room which has hard wear. A new product, asbestos tiles which can be laid directly on concrete,' promises well for- this use, but is not yet available in New Zealand.

When the laundry equipment has been satisfactorily installed most of the other uses will be taken care of by a well-planned storage wall. This can be designed with full-length cupboards, shelves, and upper and lower cupboard space to keep in order all the items which otherwise would be scattered round the room.

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LAUNDRY PLANS FOR DIFFERENT-SIZED HOUSES J

A Cheerful Petal Collar

A SMALL amount of materialonly a ' ' quarter of a yard—will .make this

very feminine petal collar to .titivate a last year's , woollen frock..

It is made in the following way: Cut out four circles each with'a diameter of Bin. Make a hole about the size of a sixpence in the centre of each' circle. This is ' the . inside edge ■of the collar. Now cut each circle to the centre, opening out the rings of material into long strips. V?

: Seam; the four strips together, end to end,, with very fine french seams. .. Press the seams well on the wrong side with a hot iron and a damp cloth. Roll the hem and stitch it finely, pressing the ,seam - flat as the work proceeds, and then bind the neck edge with bias binding; Iron very carefully, pressing the. bias .binding flat. . 'y. - ■ ■ '/ '■