How did the Chinese iron their clothes in the old days?

The modern housewife, including a light iron with a temperature regulator and a steamer, does not even think about the fact that the item so familiar to her has a very long history - almost as long as the clothes. Since ancient times, people have sought to look beautiful and wear things as long as possible, and therefore came up with a variety of ways to process fabrics. Especially inventive were residents of eastern countries. The article will discuss how the Chinese ironed clothes in the old days.

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Why bother ironing clothes?

Modern clothing manufacturers are constantly coming up with new materials, including those that do not need to be ironed at all. However, for the most part, things need ironing, and the matter is not only in appearance.

A hot iron or steam generator disinfects the fabric and makes it softer. This is relevant now, but what about those times when there was neither microfiber, nor even dacron fibers?

In ancient times, people sewed clothes only from natural materials:

• Wool
• flax;
• cotton
• silks:
• nettles;
• bamboo.

Any housewife who has ever dealt with such materials at least once in her life knows that the items become stiff after washing. In addition, water, of course, will cope with some part of the bacteria, but it can not do anything with a louse. And the diseases that this insect suffers were the real scourge of ancient civilizations.

Important! In countries with cold climates, there was another way to deal with body lice - clothes were dried over a fire or frozen.

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How did ancient people stroke?

In China, long before our era, a developed civilization took shape. It is difficult to even list what exactly the ancient inhabitants of this country gave the world. We still use many of their inventions. In ancient China, porcelain, gunpowder, paper and much more. Therefore, it is unlikely that anyone will be surprised if, when asked what the Chinese ironed their clothes, they will hear the answer - of course, with an iron.

Yes, the first iron was indeed invented in ancient China. However, until this point, people used to iron what was at their fingertips:

• bones of large animals;
• large stones;
• pieces of solid wood;
• metal objects.

Bones and stones

Bones and stones were pre-treated - their surface should be as smooth as possible. Of course, in order to perfectly polish the cobblestone, it took a very long time.

Important! This ironing method had several significant drawbacks:

• it was extremely inconvenient to iron fabrics with a handleless object;
• the process took a very long time;
• it was possible to get rid of wrinkles and soften the material, but it was not always possible to get rid of bacteria.

Metal

Ironing became somewhat easier when metal objects appeared in everyday life. The metal has several obvious advantages:

• from them you can cast an object of any shape;
• this item may have a perfectly flat bottom;
• metal can be heated.

Before the first iron was invented, people tried to iron using a hot roasting pan or just a metal sheet. It was much more effective than stone. However, there was one problem - the metal sheet heats up quickly, but quickly cools down.How to maintain the right temperature? It is precisely this question that the unknown inventor from Ancient China answered.

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What was the first iron?

The first iron was invented in the fourth century BC. In shape, it very little resembled an assembly with a sharp nose, to which we are accustomed. However, the principle of operation of the device by which the Chinese ironed clothes in the old days, until the middle of the last century, is similar.

The immediate predecessor of the iron was a frying pan. Almost the same as standing on your stove, only heavier and made of ordinary iron. An unknown Chinese master one day realized that if the pan was filled with something hot, it would keep the heat much longer than the empty one.

It only remained to figure out how to move it around the fabric, but this was already a matter of technology - at first they pushed a round iron with sticks, then they came up with a pen.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Chinese iron

The ancient ironing process looked like this:

1. Heated coal or sand.
2. Filled the pan.
3. They put it on the fabric.
4. Gradually moved.

Compared to ironing with stones or mammoth bones, this method was certainly more effective:

• the fabric softened and smoothed much better;
• clothes are disinfected.

However, if you compare this method with the modern one, the disadvantages will immediately become apparent:

• the iron was too heavy - it had to weigh at least 10 kg;
• it was easy to burn clothes, or even to make a fire;
• sand had to be constantly heated.
• the shape did not allow to smooth out small folds.

Despite the shortcomings, people used such units for a very long time. The shape was changing, the sizes were decreasing, but even now somewhere else in the grandmother's barn or in an antique shop you can find a heavy iron, inside which coals are filled up. And you can still use it, because there is simply nothing to break in such a device.

Important! Irons of a modern form appeared in the Baroque era, when it was already necessary to smooth out all kinds of folds and frills.

Coal iron as a universal item

A coal iron was not only ironed. Already in later times it was used in a variety of ways:

• chopped nuts;
• hammered nails;
• put as oppression in a barrel of cabbage;
• turned into a mousetrap.

Important! If in the first three cases the iron was used simply as a heavy object, then the mousetrap could only be made of coal, which had a lid and a cavity inside.

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What ironed clothes in the old days in other countries?

The Chinese were not the only ones who cared how to preserve the appearance and quality of clothes after washing. The ancient Greeks had a similar adaptation. In ancient Rome there was a way - clothes were tapped with a hammer. In this way, they smoothed the fabric, but there was not even any talk about disinfection.

In Eastern Europe, including Russia, a different method was used. For smoothing linen, there were such items:

• roll;
• rubel.

Valk and ruble - difference in action

The roller, or roller, was a round or square stick. He was successfully replaced by a rolling pin. A product was wound on it.

The clothes were rolled with a ruble, which also had a second name - pralik.

It was a corrugated board, wooden or metal. Scars were cut on one side, the other remained smooth, but sometimes it was decorated with carvings.

Important! Back in the middle of the last century, clothes were washed and ironed in this way not only in villages, but also in cities. True, the board was already made of stainless steel.

This method had a great advantage - the linen was perfectly bleached.

Shirts were sewed mainly from linen, so such an old-fashioned way to iron clothes was quite good. After the “rolling”, even a poorly washed thing became perfectly clean, and it was from here that the proverb “not by washing, so by skating” came from. If we talk about the shortcomings, then the main ones were:

• the work was very hard;
• linen did not work perfectly ironed.

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Other ways to smooth clothes

The old ironing methods can be used in our time. Of course, it is unlikely that anyone would think of ironing a dress with a frying pan with coals - well, unless the hostess is seriously involved in historical reconstruction and believes that if ancient technologies are used, then in full.

But other ancient and modern methods are extremely simple. Can be used:

• a pot;
• mattress;
• vinegar;
• wet towel;
• shower;
• hair straightener.

Pan

At its core, ironing with a pan is no different from the ancient Chinese method. Only coals do not need to be laid - you can be satisfied with hot water or just heat a stainless steel pan.

Important! Aluminum dishes are not suitable for this method - it can leave dark traces.

Mattress

Smoothing with a mattress is an ideal way for a lazy person:

1. A board is placed under the mattress (or nothing is put if the bed is flat).
2. The piece of clothing that needs to be smoothed is exactly laid.
3. From above all this is closed with a mattress.
4. You are stacked on top of the mattress.
5. Over night, the thing will smooth out.

Important! Of course, if you need to iron the frills, this method will not work.

Vinegar

Food vinegar is truly a universal remedy. He will cope with crumpled fabrics:

1. Make a solution at the rate of 1 part 3% vinegar to 3 parts water.
2. Spread the thing on the table.
3. Spray it with a solution.
4. Dry the product outdoors.

Shower, kettle, hairdryer

In the role of the iron (more precisely, steam cleaner) may be the most ordinary shower - unless, of course, you like to take hot:

1. Hang the item on a hanger above the bathroom.
2. Close the door.
3. Take a hot shower.
4. Move the product to another room so that it dries.

Important! The method is just perfect for those who often have to stay in hotels and have no habit of always carrying iron.

In the same way, you can smooth out the folds with the help of a kettle - it will be even better, because the temperature is higher. In fact, the kettle plays the role of a steam generator. The dress is enough to hang over the kettle and wait.

But the hair dryer works a little differently, although it can also serve as an iron:

1. Wet the item slightly (so that it is wet, not wet).
2. Set the heat on the hair dryer.
3. Aim the jet at the product.

The folds are smoothed out - and there is absolutely no risk that tan marks will appear.

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Stock footage

In this article, we told you how the Chinese ironed clothes in the old days, as well as some simple ways how to iron clothes if there is no iron at hand. We hope that this information was both useful and interesting for you.