Laundry press
The term laundry press describes household appliances with which freshly washed laundry can be drained or dried laundry can be pressed smooth. Depending on the physical principle and structure of the device, z. B. mechanical and hydraulic laundry presses distinguished.
Mechanical laundry press
The mechanical laundry press, also known as a linen press , has been a household device that has been known since the Middle Ages for pressing table and bed linen smooth. The design is similar to a wine press or book printer press . As with a mangle , the linen press is particularly suitable for smoothing relatively large textile products. Mechanical laundry presses based on the spindle principle were produced until the 1930s.
The laundry was carefully folded, stacked under the “spindle board” and pressed for up to twelve hours by tightening the screw . However, this process was harmful if the laundry was pressed too often, as the linen fibers at the pressed-in folds became brittle over time.
Hydraulic laundry press
The hydraulic laundry press uses the pressure of the water supply network (2–8 bar) to dewater wet laundry. With the expansion of the water supply in the cities, hydraulic laundry presses came onto the market in Germany from around 1920. Some important manufacturers of the post-war period:
- Robert Thomas company
- Ernst Mergell
- Herbert Keller
- Wilhelm Cordes
- Karl Glemser
- VEB washing device factory in Schwarzenberg
Two designs were widespread: The rack press stood as a stand-alone device on a rack or frame. The attached laundry press was hung on the housing of a washing machine. The squeezed out water flowed back into the washing container.
Working principle
A rubber bag (3) suspended in a pressure vessel (1) and filled with wet laundry (2) is compressed by the water line pressure. The pressure vessel is closed with a lid (4) after the wet laundry has been filled. The water squeezed out of the laundry is pressed into an annular channel (5) and from there it flows out of the drainage connection (6). The drain cock (7) is used to let off the pressurized water after the tap (8) is closed and no water squeezed out of the laundry comes out of the drain socket. When the pressurized water has drained, the lid can be opened to remove the laundry.
Functional principle of a hydraulic laundry press
Wave wheel washing machine Reni with attached laundry press (VEB Waschgerätewerk Schwarzenberg )
Rack laundry press (VEB Waschgerätewerk Schwarzenberg )
