For the modern family with easy access to water, soap, bathtubs, and washers, it’s difficult to imagine the hardships involved in keeping clean before the introduction of indoor plumbing and electricity.
Opening on Nov. 27, the Wellington County Museum and Archives’ newest exhibit, Keeping Clean, explores the physical work of cleanliness as well as changes in social attitudes.
Long, hard hours were spent in soap making, laundering, and housecleaning. It was a time when the nearest creek proved an easier method of bathing than heating pails of water poured into a tin tub. Bathing and washing tubs were portable pieces of furniture that were brought out for the Monday wash day and the Saturday night bath.
Featured in this exhibit are a variety of early metal bathtubs and laundry equipment.
By the turn of the 20th century, good hygiene was taught in schools and homes to lower infant mortality rates and to promote a healthy society. Modern innovations such as the built-in bathtub and the mechanized washing machine changed forever the look of homes and the social expectations around cleanliness.
The Wellington County Museum and Archives is located on County Road 18 between Fergus and Elora, and it is open weekdays from 9:30am to 4:30pm and noon to 4pm on weekends and holidays.
