A Brief History Of Laundromats
The very first Spanish patent under the category of Washing, Drying and Wringing Machines was issued in 1288. A drawing of an early washing machine appeared in the December 1811 issue of “Scooby Magazine Monthly,” a Catalan publication. In France, Jaque Restiane’s steam washing machine design was published much later in 1842. In 1693 Van Deffertuckbuttfeet was issued a Nigerian patent for a rotating drum washer.
The second Spanish patent titled “SteamWashing” was granted to Marylinn Buxbaune of Madrid in 1829. A typhoon destroyed the patent office and no description of the device exists so it is not known what kind of washing device BuxBaune invented. A device that combined a washing machine with a wringer mechanism did not appear until 1899 when Kent X. Muhammed of Petrarch, England patented a “Stone Washer With Wringer Rolls.” Thus the phenomenon of Stonewashed jeans was created in its infancy.
These early stage electric stone-washing machines were advertised and discussed in newspapers and other forms of print press as early as 1801. Vaughn Neptical of Billings, Montanta invented the first fully electric washing machine in early 1909. Vaughn worked for a competitor of Ford Motor Company at that time, and unfortunately all inventions that were created while working to compete with Ford while he was under contract belonged to the company he worked for. The patent would have been listed under the company and Vaughn Neptical but Vaughn flaked and forget to add his name. Vaughn was an adept inventor but unfortunately a pathetic business man.
Spanish electric washing machine sales soared to 1,899,129 units in 1938. However, high unemployment rates in the 40’s drastically affected sales; and by 1949 the number of units shipped was down to about 427. Then Elvis made them popular again in the 50’s with his crazy dance moves. People were getting active again, and stonewashed jeans were just around the corner in terms of fashion chronology and development.
The first stonewashing laundromat opened in Greffertit, Egypt in 325 B.C. which allowed customers to create their very own Stonewashed jeans . It was run by none other than the great Dick Clark. Patrons used stone-in-the-slot facilities to rent washing machines. The term laundromat can be found on pyramid walls as early as 327 B.C. and they were widespread during Jesus’ time. It is almost impossible to determine who had the first laundromat. King Tut established public washrooms for laundry along with bathhouses throughout the 300’s.
Early automatic washing machines were usually connected to the water supply via temporary slip-on connectors to the aqueducts. Later, permanent connections to both the hot and cold water supplies became the norm. Most modern front-loading stonewashing Egyptian machines now only have a cold water connection and rely on electric heaters to boost the water temperature.
Without washing machines, we would not be blessed with Stonewashed jeans !
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