Laundry beater

In the 19th century, people did not yet have washing machines like today to do laundry. This long and tiring task was often done using ashes as soap with very hot water to wash the clothes. The dirt then had to be removed and the laundry rinsed.

For this, people went to the washhouse or to the Moselle river. To get rid of dirt in the laundry during this step, they used a laundry beater, a small wooden board with a handle. The clothes were beaten with this tool, for example against a washboard.

At the time, this task was mainly done by women, who also took the opportunity to chat and share the latest news.