In Soviet times there was no Vanish and Tide, but the housewives knew how to wash clothes. In those days there was already machine washing, but many people washed things by hand. Things with stubborn stains were taken to the laundry or dry cleaner, but at home, women had their own secrets when washing.
Soak
Before washing, many people soaked the laundry so that the bleach or powder would work, so that it would dissolve better and the dirt would be washed away. Laundry soap was also grated and dissolved in a basin with clothes. Sometimes they used a washboard to remove dirt.
This advice is still relevant today: you don’t have to wash your clothes until there are holes in them, but simply soak the clothes before the main wash. This procedure will take 30 minutes. Then you need to rinse the clothes and wash them.
Boiling
Our grandmothers had supplies of bleach and an enamel bucket or tank at home. The textiles were placed in a bucket, bleach and water were added, and the gas was turned on. Boiling did a better job of removing stains than modern bleach and stain removers.
In Soviet times, bed linen was exclusively white, so it was necessary to boil it in order not only to get rid of dirt and make it snow-white, but also to disinfect it.
When boiling, there was one rule: you cannot boil colored with white. White laundry becomes snow-white after boiling.And to stir it or pull it out of the bucket, you need to use a wooden stick.
Also, when boiling, starch was used so that the clothes were not only clean, but also starched. The whole procedure took several hours, so women arranged laundry days.
Reservoirs and street frost
City housewives rinsed the laundry in the bathroom, and rural women went to a pond or river. Especially in winter, rinsing in cold water, the washed laundry was impeccably clean, had no odors. And hanging it outside and then bringing home crispy laundry, the frosty aroma of fresh clean things cannot be conveyed. In the summer, in the fresh air there are its advantages in drying: it dries quickly, and there was also a freshness of textiles.
Laundry detergents
Most often, powder or washing soda was used for washing off heavy dirt. And if you add grated soap, you get bleach. Chlorine was often used for white things if there was no time to boil. And to get rid of berry juice or chocolate stains, they used a product made from the following ingredients: powder, bleach, vegetable oil and soda, all of which were diluted with 5 liters of boiling water. Inexpensive bleaching agent helped and effectively removed stains.
All Soviet housewives used such tricks. There were no automatic machines and modern powders, but the laundry was fresh, clean and with a pleasant smell.
