About Washing Machines

Washing machines may be commonplace for the vast majority of people in societies today, but their significance can too easily be overlooked. Manual washing techniques stretching back to ancient times were often cumbersome and unseemly. One ancient Roman practice of clothes-whitening involved the use of fermented urine, and with washboards and similar techniques the process had always involved a good amount of physical exertion. Certainly the development of automated clothes-washing devices has represented an important milestone in the development of human society. D

Invented
The modern washing machine has had a number of different origins, and each of the early designs began as a manually-operated machine. The earliest known patent for a washing machine stretches all the way back to 1691. A drawing of a washing machine was published in a British "Gentleman's Magazine" dating from the 1750s. And in 1767, Jacob C. Schaffer from Germany published his own washing-machine design. In the United States, the first known washing-machine patent came in 1797.

Evolution
The first full-fledged washing machine--though still manually operated--came in 1843 with John Turnbull's "Clothes Washer with Wringing Rolls." It was not until the early 1900s, with the advent of electricity, that washing machines were able to be fully automated. As electricity became more prominent throughout the United States and Europe, washing machine sales exploded and became nearly ubiquitous. By 1940, 60 percent of homes with electricity were equipped with a washing machine.

Type
Today washing machines come in two main varieties: front-loading and top-loading. It is traditionally understood that top-loading washing machines are more common in Australia, the United States and Canada, while most of Europe and the Middle East prefer the front-loading variety. Front-loaders are thought to be less mechanically-complicated than top loaders, due to the technical design necessities arising out of each. Nevertheless, top-loading machines have their advantages, among them being easier to keep the water from leaking through the door.

Features
Standard features on washing machines include water temperature variability, child-proof locks, delayed wash capabilities, steaming and different kinds of wash cycles for different kinds of clothes. Each feature can be controlled by a turn of a knob or a push of the button. Many modern washing machines even have the ability to save settings of previous washes, which can make the process even easier.

Significance
Washing machines, aside from their technological innovations, have in the eyes of some revolutionized domestic life on a sociological level. Some historians have speculated that the increased popularity of the washing machine (and other automated domestic devices) contributed to the rise of the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some have lamented the mechanization of domestic life, longing for the simpler days of rewarding manual labor. Regardless of perspective, the washing machine has had an important impact on the shape and contour of modern life.

Source: http://www.ehow.com/about_4564942_washing-machines.html