In the year 2000 a historical exhibit entitled Grandmother’s Laundry was installed in a newly built museum annex. The exhibit features 50 examples of clothes washing technology in chronological order. Visitors will learn about the development of clothes washing – from the first records of laundry in ancient Egypt and Sumer, washing in the Middle Ages, to modern innovations in washing technology. The beginning of the exhibit focuses on the oldest method – washing in rivers and streams with the use of wooden paddles. The later invention of the washboard produced improved results. While the actual history of the production of washing machines began at the end of the 17th century, the core of the exhibit features items from the end of the 19th century through the 20th century. The exhibit includes samples of wooden washing machines with simple mechanisms and drum machines.
