Before washing machines were invented people removed dirt from their clothes by pounding them on rocks and washing them clean in the streams. Sand was used as a malleable cleaning stone for the clothes. Soap was eventually found at a place in Rome called Sapo Hill. People found ashes containing the fat of animals to have great cleaning powers. .
The first washing "machine" was invented in 1797. Most people called it a scrub board because one would literally scrub the clothes clean. In 1874 William Blackstone decided to build a birthday present for his wife. It was a machine that removed and washed away dirt from clothes. It was made of a wooden tub in which there was a piece of wood with six wooden pegs glued in it. The inside tub looked like a milking stool. The stool moved back and forth with a handle and some gears. The dirty clothes were hooked on the pegs and moved through the hot soapy water. Mr. Blackstone started to build and sell his washers for $2.50 each. When word got out, the competition moved in fast. Most of the early washing machines cost less than $10. .
In 1861 a "wringer" was added to the washer. Later metal tubs replaced the wooden types. Drive belts were introduced in the steam or gasoline engines in the early 1900s and in an electric motor first time in 1906. Maytag's first built a washer in 1907. A turning handle operated it. In 1922 Maytag introduced a system of forcing water through the clothes by using an agitator. This is the most common used now. As early as 1875 there had been more than 2,000 patents issued for various washing devices. One company built a machine designed to wash only one item at a time. What may have been the first "laundromat" was opened in 1851. They had a twelve machine shop that was run by ten donkeys. One washer even contained rollers that were pushed back and forth by hand to squeeze out dirt. There are only two types still around today, the agitator system and the cylinder system.