Washing paddle
The washing paddle or washing bat, known as thaapi in Haryanvi and Hindi languages, is a hand tool used to do laundry. It is made of wood, shaped like a baker's shovel (a peel), but with a much shorter handle used as a grip. It was used to beat the wet clothes and linens, pushing out the dirt by hammering the items against the washboard, or against the flat slabs built into the laundry area.
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This was usually done at home or in the public wash-house (lavoir). In the latter case, each woman had to carry with her the washboard and the washing paddle. The paddle was used together with a washboard, made from a rectangular wooden frame with a series of wooden or metal reliefs or ripples mounted inside.
Women were going to the laundry with their baskets full of dirty clothes, a little bench to protect their knees and a block of homemade soap.[1]
References
- Donald Davis (1 September 1994). Thirteen miles from Suncrest. august house. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-0-87483-379-9. Retrieved 7 June 2011.