Dirty Laundry: Washed, not Aired

June 18, 2015 - PRLog -- JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 18 June, 2015 – World-renowned economist Ha-Joon Chang once said that the invention of the washing machine changed the world even more than the internet has. He explained that by cutting hours off the time spent on laundry, this simple yet revolutionary device transformed the way that people, and particularly women lived by launching them out of the home and into the modern era of gender equality¹.

Michael McKechnie, Divisional Head for Digital Appliances at Samsung Electronics South Africa, elaborates on this extraordinary claim: “By reducing the amount of time needed to clean a standard load of laundry from four hours to 41 minutes² – a factor of six compared with the 1940s, a wash cycle that formerly would take an entire morning or afternoon to complete now requires only the time needed to load, add powder, blend softener and press a button. What makes this even more significant is not this sudden shift in stereotype and tradition, but in the economy. The workforce almost doubled in developed countries as a result of all this extra time and their economies surged as a result.²”

He adds that the gift bestowed by this technology extended even further in that it substantially increased an extremely precious commodity – family time. “Hours spent scrubbing, soaking and squeezing could now be used by parents and children to have fun together and bond.”

However, McKechnie says that’s what makes all this fascinating is the twist in the tulle: the washing machine has been around since the early 1800s³.

“However, price and capability were limitations to widespread adoption. The electric washing machine in the 1900s saw this start to shift and by 1947 the first fully automatic washing machine had arrived. The 1950s saw the advent of the spin-dry machine and that is when the technology’s time had finally come. More manufacturers started to enter the industry so that today endless variations on design, innovation and technology deliver increasingly intelligent and dynamic solutions to the home⁴.”

McKechnie concludes that today’s machines are light years ahead of the electric wringer of the early turn of the previous century and are still playing a massive role in pushing home carers out of the laundry room and enabling them to relish spare time and truly enjoy their lives.

Sources:

1. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/aug/29/my-bright-idea-ha-joon-chang

2. http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/how-the-washing-machine-changed-the-world-20120407-1wi1k.html

3. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mfr/4919087.0011.104/--deconstructing-laundry-gendered-technologies?rgn=main;view=fulltext

4. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Washing_Machine.aspx

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

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