List of laundry topics



This is a list of laundry topics. Laundry is the washing of clothing and linens (e.g. sheets and towels). Laundry processes are often done in a business, room or area in a home or apartment building, reserved for that purpose; this is referred to as a laundry room. The material that is being washed, or has been laundered, is also generally referred to as laundry.

Chemicals

 * Biological detergent – laundry detergent that contains enzymes harvested from micro-organisms such as bacteria adapted to live in hot springs. The description is commonly used in the United Kingdom.
 * Bleach
 * Fabric softener
 * Laundry detergent

Washing

 * Combo washer dryer
 * Dry cleaning
 * Posser or washing dolly, a tool for agitating the wet fabric
 * Washboard and washing paddle, also known under many other names
 * Wash copper, a portable or built-in boiler
 * Washing machine
 * Wet cleaning, a retronym meaning "not dry cleaning"

Drying

 * Airing cupboard
 * Clothes dryer
 * Clothes horse or drying rack or many other names
 * Clothes line
 * Drying cabinet
 * Hills Hoist
 * Kitchen maid (pulley airer)
 * Mangle (machine)
 * Sheila Maid
 * Winter Dyke

Finishing

 * Box mangle
 * Fluff and Fold, a service provided by commercial laundrettes
 * Ironing
 * Tunnel finisher

Industrial

 * Industrial laundry
 * Tunnel washer

Concepts
Some of these relate more to textile manufacturing than laundry, but there is overlap in how wet cloth is processed.


 * Color fastness, the degree to which a textile retains its color without fading or bleeding
 * Fulling – a step in making woollen cloth - cleaning the fleece to eliminate oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker.
 * Posting, trampling or treading wet clothing
 * Shrinkage
 * Stain

Organizations

 * Dry Cleaning and Laundry International
 * Dry Cleaning Institute of Australia
 * Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance
 * Laundry and Dry Cleaning International Union
 * Laundry Workers Industrial Union
 * Magdalene asylum
 * Project Laundry List – a New Hampshire group that encourages the outdoor drying of clothes
 * Worshipful Company of Launderers – a livery company in the City of London that promotes the profession of the launderers by awarding scholarships to laundry students.

Companies

 * 5àsec - a French franchise network
 * Washio (company) - defunct laundry delivery service
 * SudShare - an American app-based laundry cleaning and delivery company

Culture

 * Dadeumi, the traditional Korean practice of rhythmically beating cloth, associated with the hardships of a woman's life
 * Dhobiwallah, or dhobi, the washermen in South Central Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc.), and their caste group, historically associated with washing clothes
 * Fullo, the Latin word for a person washing laundry
 * Washerwoman or laundress
 * Housekeeping
 * Laundry symbols

Accessories

 * Clothes hanger
 * Clothes iron
 * Clothespin
 * Dispensing ball
 * Dryer ball
 * Hamper
 * Laundry ball
 * Laundry basket

Law

 * Barbier v. Connolly
 * Kimball Laundry Co. v. United States
 * Muller v. Oregon
 * Pearson v. Chung
 * Yick Wo v. Hopkins

Places

 * Baths and wash houses in Britain, public places that included facilities for washing the body as well as clothes
 * Dhobi ghat, any open-air washing-place in southern central Asia
 * Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat, a well-known open air laundry in Mumbai, India.
 * Laundry room, in a private dwelling
 * Lavoir, a public open-air wash-house in a village
 * Self-service laundry, also known as a coin wash, laundromat, washeteria, laundrette
 * Tvättstuga, a shared laundry room in a hall of residence or block of flats
 * Utility room, in a private dwelling that includes laundry functions