In the old days, people washed clothes by hand. From the devices they had: a wooden tool (valek), a pelvis or a vat, a solution of sifted ash (lye) or a decoction of a soap root. The lye washed clothes very well, they washed their own clothes at home or hired laundresses. With the advent of the first machines, laundresses, alas, were left without work.
Linen was boiled in a solution of lye in the oven, on the oven, or specially heated, red-hot stones were placed inside the vat, which caused the water to boil. Next, a lump of linen taken out of the vat was placed on a bench and beaten on it for a long time with a wooden tool - a roller - until the soapy solution stopped splashing.
How clothes were washed before the fifties
Washed in the bathroom, in basins, in troughs. To help the housewives there was a brilliant invention of 1797 - a washboard. Soaped laundry was rubbed across the ribs of the device, and all the dirt fell off. The name "washboard" has survived as a metaphor for poor quality roads.
First washing machines
According to some reports, the first washing machine was patented by Noah Kushin, who invented the first device with a manualdrive, where it was necessary to turn a special handle.
The very first cars were made in 1851 in America by James King. They were operated by hand. In 1874, William Blackstone invented the first household washing machine. And the unit with an electric motor was born in 1908, it was invented by Alva Fischer.
The first washing machines in the USSR
How and when did they appear? For the first time in the USSR, washing machines began to be installed in the apartments of government officials in 1925. These units were brought from the USA. The first Soviet plant for the manufacture of washing machines was the Riga RES plant. I must say, the products of the B altic factories at that time were in great demand and respected because of the quality.
Today, photos of the first washing machine in the USSR can be found in old magazines. So, in 1950, two models were manufactured - EAYA-2 and EAYA-3, which were sold at retail at a price of six hundred rubles at a cost of one and a half thousand - the state paid the rest to the factories. I must say that one and a half thousand rubles is an absolutely monstrous price for those times.
The EAYA-2 washing machine was quite progressive. She had an interesting design. The machine had a vertical loading, a steel tank-drum, inside which steel blades were spinning. The machine did not have a timer, the hostess had to determine the washing time by eye, usually twenty to thirty minutes. It is curious that the machine had the function of a centrifuge: by switching the lever, the drum itself was already spinning, and the blades were motionless, so the spin was carried outliquids. The washing machine of the USSR was on retractable wheels, and during operation it was installed on shock-absorbing rubber supports.
The washing machines of the next edition of "Riga-54" were very similar to the robot Erdvadadva from the movie "Star Wars" and are designed for 2.5 kg of laundry. The next model "Riga-55" completely copied the Swedish car of the Husqvarna company.
How washing units have been improved
In 1966, a timer appeared in the USSR washing machine: an extremely unreliable unit that could adjust the washing or spinning time. Thus, it was already an automated washing machine. It was extremely difficult for citizens to buy a car: they had to stand in line for three to five years.
A few years later, the first semi-automatic car was produced, it was called the Volga-10 and it was made in Cheboksary. They are still preserved in the homes of pensioners.
The rise of primitive washers
After the simplest design of washing machines was tested and debugged, many enterprises began to produce household appliances similar to each other. As a rule, they were made at defense enterprises as consumer goods. There was such a national economic plan for them: to produce goods for the population. As they say, rockets in the morning, washing machines and vacuum cleaners made of the same metal in the evening. The products of defense factories were of excellent quality.
What other brands of cars were produced in the USSR? "Oka", "Ural", "Siberia", "Dawn". All of themwere structurally similar and usually represented an unaesthetic tank in the form of a top-loading barrel, at the bottom of the tank there were electric drive blades, the motor itself was located at the bottom. Sometimes a wringer was attached at the top. Photos of washing machines of the USSR are in the article.
Oka-type washers are an example of a never-ending classic
What is the structure of the most classic car from the times of the USSR and, oddly enough, today? Washing machine "Oka" - activator type. She does not have a rotating drum, but there is a fixed vertical tank, at the bottom of which blades are installed - they mix the washing solution with the laundry. This design was characterized by simplicity and colossal reliability. Machines of this type could easily work for several warranty periods.
The device of the old USSR washing machine: there is a metal (now plastic) barrel, inside of which an electric drive and a fixed tank are mounted. That, in fact, is all. There are toggle switches and sometimes in a number of models a timer that controls the shutdown. The machine is extremely reliable and, if properly maintained, practically does not break. Of the typical rare breakdowns - the leakage of the washing solution through the seals, the destruction of the blades and the burnout of the engine. The last two defects are due to overload. Also, the manufacturer strongly does not recommend doing several washing cycles in a row. After completing one cycle, it is worth taking a break, letting the machine rest.
You will be surprised, but the Oka washing machine in various modifications is sold andnow it costs about three thousand rubles. What is especially good about Oka is that it does not require a tie-in to the water supply.
Era of drum devices - semiautomatic devices
Progress went ahead, and now we have developed the first machine with front-loading laundry and a drum. It happened in the early seventies, the car was called "Eureka" and was a semi-automatic. That is, the washing cycles were set by the programmer, but the water had to be poured manually. The machine had a spin mode. Its disadvantage was that the water had to be poured on its own. Since it was not always possible to accurately measure the amount of liquid being poured, very often soapy water broke through the seals and flooded the bathroom floor, and hence the neighbors. Electric motors of washing machines in the USSR often failed due to leaks.
Cars for students
At the same time, the development of compact, small-sized washing machines was carried out, which once had their own, and now the common name "Baby". Most of all, it looked like a huge chamber pot: a relatively small plastic tank and an electric drive on the side.
The car was really tiny and perfect for students, bachelors, and families with children, but did not have the money to buy a more expensive and powerful model. These devices are still in demand.
Automatic washing machines of the USSR
Citizens of the Soviet Union first got acquainted with the automatic car in the late seventies. In Kirov, under the license of the well-known Italian company Marloni-Progetti, a plant was built that produced the first automated washing machine in the USSR, Vyatka-Avtomat. It was an exact copy of the company's products.
The machine was of excellent quality and many functions - a real robot, in fact. The device possessed such unprecedented properties that people from all over the region specially came to the happy owners to look at the curiosity. This machine cost gigantic money: four monthly salaries, and in order to purchase it, they required to provide a certificate from the housing office - the current management company - that the condition of the electrical wiring allows it to be connected. The fact is that the unit was designed for heavy loads of the electrical network (due to drying, mainly), and the wiring in old buildings could not withstand, heat up and catch fire.
So, it was the first automatic washing machine in the USSR, like almost all previous ones, made according to foreign analogues. After that, there were several more modifications, but then the USSR collapsed, and the era of imported cars came, which we can see today in every apartment or house.
