Advertisements for Better Home Week in an April 1924 edition of the Stratford Beacon Herald highlighted the dishwasher
Let’s rewind a century to the Saturday, April 5, 1924, edition of the Stratford Beacon Herald, which was full of advertising for the upcoming Better Homes Week. Topics ranged from how to spruce up your décor with new paint, mirrors, lamps, etc. to improving your home comfort with a phonograph. There were articles, like the one copied below, touting modern conveniences, especially for the kitchen. Time-saving devices like the electric waffle iron, electric iron, electric stove, electric toaster, and one particularly attractive new appliance, the dishwasher, were featured topics.
“Electrical Dish Washer Relieves Heavy Home Task
The Very Handy invention Has Come to Stay and Saves Much Time and Labor
Housewives from time immemorial have been so accustomed to washing utensils and dishes by hand that they have come to look on this part of the routine of housekeeping as a necessary evil. Probably there is no other task that becomes so tremendously monotonous to the housewife as dish washing. How often we have heard the popular expression: ‘Man’s work is from sun to sun, but women’s work is never done’? The originator of this little verse no doubt had in mind dish washing.
Whether the dishes are washed after each meal or only once a day, it is an odious task that must ultimately be done, if one is to continue to eat on dishes.
Many a wife has had a visit with her folk spoiled upon returning home to find a mountain high pile of dirty dishes. The husband’s office or shop labour-saving devices make him impatient at the thought of doing by hand that which could easily be done by machinery. He allows the dishes to accumulate, saying to himself that he can do them all at once and save much time and energy.
It is no longer in an experimental stage, but has been perfected and developed through a series of criticisms and suggestions. The electric dish washer has come to stay. It is a practical business-like little servant which merrily churns away at the housewife’s option, performing its duty without murmur or thought of recompense.
Details of Construction
The machine should have no complicated mechanical parts and should be made of some heavy non-rusting material which will not chip or break easily. Copper, tinned on the inside, seems to meet these conditions most admirably. This material presents a practically self-cleaning surface under action, and is not corrosive. For appearance’s sake the exterior of the machine can be enameled or finished in any other manner consistent with good appearance. Enamel makes an ideal material because of the ease with which it can be kept clean and sanitary. The inlet should be so designed as to introduce water in a cone-shaped spray. This serves to soften the food and grease; preliminary to washing action. The motor should be approved and standard design and manufactured by a recognized concern.
With hot water and soap powder, the operation of washing the dishes should not consume more than ten minutes. This gives a housewife more time to herself.”
During Better Homes Week, many of the furniture and electrical appliance dealers in Stratford, such as J. A. Duggan Ltd., Duncan Ferguson Co. Ltd., Down and Fleming, Hydro Shop, Peter and Sylvester, and R. White and Company, stayed open late on Tuesday evening for the benefit of those who could visit their stores and view the goods described on exhibit. Technology and attitudes about responsibility for household chores have certainly changed in the past 100 years. However, it is interesting to see how many of these devices we all still use in the home today.
The Stratford-Perth Archives welcomes donations to the collection and is open for drop-in research from Tuesday to Friday plus other times, including Saturdays, by appointment. For details about what’s available during Reading Room drop-in hours and appointments for in-depth research, please visit www.perthcounty.ca/StratfordPerthArchives, call us at 519-271-0531 ext. 259 or email archives@perthcounty.ca
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Reflections: The age of the electrical dish washer
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05.04.2024
Advertisements for Better Home Week in an April 1924 edition of the Stratford Beacon Herald highlighted the dishwasher
Let’s rewind a century to the Saturday, April 5, 1924, edition of the Stratford Beacon Herald, which was full of advertising for the upcoming Better Homes Week. Topics ranged from how to spruce up your décor with new paint, mirrors, lamps, etc. to improving your home comfort with a phonograph. There were articles, like the one copied below, touting modern conveniences, especially for the kitchen. Time-saving devices like the electric waffle iron, electric iron, electric stove, electric toaster, and one particularly attractive new appliance, the dishwasher, were featured topics.
“Electrical Dish Washer Relieves Heavy Home Task
The Very Handy invention Has Come to Stay and Saves Much Time and Labor
Housewives from time immemorial have been so accustomed to washing utensils and dishes by hand that they have come to look on this part of the routine of housekeeping as a necessary evil. Probably there is no other task that becomes so tremendously monotonous to the housewife as dish washing.........
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