Anthony Zarb Dimech
Before the advent of washing machines, manual washing was a slow, laborious and lengthy process compared to the present day liberation technology of the now fully-automatic washing machines.
Once upon a time a metal washboard and bar of hard soap with a tub of hot water was a new-fangled way of tackling laundry. Though today this is a common picture of "old-fashioned" laundering, we know little of the washing process without the factory-made equipment and cleansing products we use today.
Facilities for laundering clothes were lacking in the houses of the people: tap water was not yet thought of and the public fountains were not close to every dwelling place. This feature explores the history of the washing of clothing and hygiene in Malta.
It was in ancient times when bathing and clothes-washing developed and soap began to be used, both for bathing and for laundering clothes.
The Romans used public laundries staffed by workers who washed clothing with a form of detergents. The establishment or workshop of the fullers was called fullonica
The Romans learned of the soap from the Germans.
The fulleries were not a healthy environment for those who worked in them. Although there are no known archaeological finds of a fullery in Roman Malta, public baths were discovered. These public baths became popular, as bathing was seen as a social event.
The remains of other baths were discovered at Ramla Bay, Marsaxlokk and Marsa. But Għajn Tuffieħa remains the only one that has not been either covered or destroyed. One would rightfully assume that the presence of Roman baths in Malta would have also included fulleries for the washing of clothes both for the Romans and the local population.
Medieval dwellings roofs were flat, so rain water was gathered in wells for the needs of the family and their animals. A big yard (bitħa) was in the centre of the house where housewives did most of their domestic chores, washing clothes with their hands, using big heavy zinc tubs and well water. Donkeys and mules were the only help the peasants got to work the water mills (swieni).
Previous to the arrival of the Knights of St John in Malta, water was stored in cisterns and ditches and was considered salty and sedimentary. Though there were regulations stating that every house should have its own well, water shortages still occurred. Aqueducts were built and these brought water into the homes of the wealthy, whereas the working class had to carry water from the public fountains and rivers to their homes.
The Wignacourt Aqueduct in Malta is a very old building that runs through Balzan, Birkirkara, Fleur-de-Lys and Santa Venera. It was built by the Order of Saint John in 1610 to carry water from Dingli and Rabat to Valletta. The Aqueduct was inaugurated on 21 April 1615 and remained in use until the 20th century. It is named after Alof de Wignacourt, the Grandmaster who financed its building.
In the Middle Ages, soap was used primarily for washing clothes. Arab traders brought bars of soap to Europe in the 7th century, and soon soap making became an established craft in Europe
Clothing was washed only every two or three months. It was soaked in a tub with a washing solution of lye and fuller's earth or white clay. Then it was trampled or beaten, after which the dirty wash water ran out through a hole. This process was repeated until the water came out clean, after which the clothes were rinsed, wrung out by hand, and left to air dry.
Soap making became more specialized in the 15th and 16th centuries. In France, soap was made on a small scale from goat tallow and beech ash, but in the 17th century soap factories were established. The first one was built by royal edict in Toulon.
Large households and affluent people in Malta employed a washer woman (ħassiela). Sometimes these women came to the house just to wash clothes, but more often they took the washing to their own homes; smaller households had to fend for themselves.
This was an invaluable way to augment the family's income for a married woman, and for a single or widowed woman it was crucial. The work could be very skilled and laundresses could earn quite a good income. However, it was always arduous. The women would work six days a week and in many cases would do the work for the rest of their lives. But most of the washing was done in wash houses.
Public Washing or the Knights' Public Wash House
Public washing places were constructed by the Knights of St John in the 17th century. The washing place area was covered over in case of inclement weather, troughs were carved into the stone and water would run along open channels into different troughs which were of different sizes and depths.
The public washing places must have been a social meeting point for the community in the same way the Romans viewed washing as a social event. It needs no stretch of the imagination to picture the lively and colourful scenes these places witnessed, nor hear in imagination the lively chatter and spontaneous folk songs with which the washer-women surely accompanied their toil. It was a common sight to see some fat lady with rosy cheeks washing.
Indeed, the tidy and clean appearance of well-dressed men and women in photos of the time owes so much to the women who did most of the work. It is noted that the Knights also employed slaves to wash clothes.
The washing process
The clothes were placed in large kaldaruni filled with water. The kaldaruni were usually large metal containers used for the importation of pure hog lard. Zinc and enamel containers were also used. These containers were placed on a stove. The whites were boiled separately and, at frequent intervals, the clothes would be stirred using a large wooden spatula.
A corrugated metal shell would be rubbed with soap and the wet clothes would be scrubbed against it to add to the cleaning.
In the rinsing process a blue cube known as Bluna was added. The wringing was done manually with clothes emerging amazingly white.
The ironing was done by placing the iron on a stove covered by a thin metal sheet to avoid dirtying the iron with soot when contact was made with the hot iron. This process had to be repeated frequently as the iron cooled down after use.
In time, these washing places in time because less frequented, although in some places they are still used on a small scale as the one in Xlendi, Gozo. In spite of the passage of hundreds of years since their construction, water still trickles along their channels.
Public Wash Houses in Gozo
Two particularly well-preserved public wash places are outside Rabat, on the road to Xlendi. These are supplied with spring water and they stand on opposite sides of the road. The smaller one is known as Għajn Bendu, the other Għajn il-Kbira. The district near these fountains which, in time grew large enough to become a parish separate from Rabat (Victoria) is known as il-Fontana - the Fountain. These were constructed in the 16th century in what was then the small village of il-Fontana.
Arched shelters were built over the springs for the convenience of people washing their clothes. A very old irrigation system made up from stone gutters constantly brings water from a spring situated in the Ta' Kerċem part of the valley.
Mdina's Public Wash House
This is located in the steep road opposite the western gate of Mdina, which leads down to the former tram station and under the walls of Mdina known as Għajn Hamiem -probably a corruption of the Arabic word hamman, meaning public baths or Turkish bath or Sauna.
This particular washhouse has large and deep troughs and served the populations of both Rabat and Mdina for centuries.
Its facade is characterized by three stout semi-circular arches, on top of which runs a plain band of masonry, which is repeated at roof level as a cornice. It had three coats of arms all centrally positioned above every arch on its facade, which were defaced during the French occupation. But it still retains traces of the traditional red and yellow paintwork on its facade - the lower third red and the upper two thirds yellow.
The wash house has a flow of natural spring water, and a drainage system. The interior of the wash house is characterized by a series of vaulted arches with a number of troughs were the water flows for the washing of garments.
Msida Public Wash House and the Knights' Bailiff
At Msida, a well-known and once much used public washing place was on the main road passing through the village. Until recently this place was used by the poorer inhabitants of the surroundings, but due to a fault in the drainage system, the place became a health hazard and the lower part containing the troughs was covered.
This washing place, l-Għajn tal-Hasselin (constructed in 1750), as it is called by the people of the neighbourhood, has a special connection with the Knights of St John.
A member of the Order, Fr Wolfgang Philip Guttemberg, (1647-1733), Baron of the Holy Roman Empire and Grand Bailiff of Brandenburg, had a country residence in the district and for the convenience of the population, he ordered the construction of this wash-house.
A few yards distant from the fountain is an old church Guttemberg frequented when residing in his country house. When the congregation grew in number, he endowed the church sufficiently to have Mass celebrated on Sundays and public holidays. The people of the district called this church, il-Knisja tal-Balliju, (the church of the Bailiff).
As Msida grew in size, a new and large parish church was built - the church we know today - and the church endowed by Guttemberg became less important. This wash house is a fine example of the type in use four centuries ago.
Dingli Public Wash House
A flight of stairs next to Djar il-Bniet and Sta Domenica Church leads to a natural spring esplanade with a fountain known as l-Għajn tal-Hasselin. This spring water gushes out for most of the year, particularly in winter. Il-Għajn was an important water source for the location when there was no tap water. It was used mostly as a wash fountain. It is most likely that the Għajn had its decorations financed by the Inguanez family of Djar il-Bniet. The spring lies a few metres above a valley.
Marsascala or Wied il-Għajn
Wied il-Għajn, or Marsascala as it is often called, is a maritime/fishing village in the south of Malta, not far from Zabbar and Zejtun. It has been called Wied il-Għajn because of the two valleys on which it is built.
"Wied" is the Maltese word for valley. The first valley on Żabbar Road lies between St Leonard Hill and Bidni Hill, and the second one between the latter and St Anthony Hill. From here a road leads to Żejtun.
The village's name also refers also to a spring of fresh water (għajn), which in past times served as a washing place and still flows under Marina Street into the sea.
Laundry companies in Malta
Although many cleaning services existed in Malta before the First World War, these were a cottage industry in small private households.
Large laundry and dry cleaning machinery was first brought to Malta by the Portughes firm that commenced business in 1915 and were pioneers in this field. The firm was the sole contractor for the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The strict observance and enforcement of the sanitary rules and regulations that were in force in the laundry trade ensured that whoever provided such a service had to be licensed. Every individual's clothes were registered as prevention against contagious diseases such as syphilis. The registration acted as a laundry trail in identifying the sick person and clothes, so that precautionary measures could be taken.
Initially, most of the laundry firms established in Malta focused on providing a laundry service to the British Services stationed here. However, following Malta's independence and the gradual departure of British servicemen in the 1970s, companies shifted their focus on providing laundry services to the growing hotel and restaurant sector, while also providing dry-cleaning services to the domestic market too.