Artifact Spotlight

Soap shaker aka soap cage used to hold a bar or flakes of soap in the collection
 of the Waterford Historical Museum & Cultural Center

Some task that have continued to be a necessity during quarantine are washing the dishes and doing the laundry.  Or, at least, for those with some sense of normalcy that can keep up with the laundry. Be honest - you know of at least one person who is okay with going the day sans pants. 

Today’s laundry machines have the option of using pods or liquid detergent to clean your clothes and, if you’re splurging, make your fabrics soft and cozy. But those detergents weren’t used until Procter & Gamble introduced the first in 1933. Called “Dreft”, it could only handle lightly soiled jobs. Eventually Tide was created in 1943, introduced in October 1946 as the world’s first heavy-duty detergent. Prior to these detergents, plain old soap was used to clean grease and dirt as best as possible. 

Soap shakers, also known as soap cages, were commonly used from the 1920s and into the 1980s. Lye soap was the go-to soap for a long time when cleaning clothes. This was rough on the hands and eventually a tallow-based soap became popular. Flakes of soap could be added to the cage to make the most from every scrap. This was used in tubs and washing machines. 

1920s washing machine

But these soap flakes had a couple downsides:  It performed poorly in hard water, leaving a ring in the washing machines, and often dulled colors and tuned whites gray. 

Devices like this metal soap cage were used in laundry, but also for washing dishes. This small device was donated to the Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center by Mrs. Egbert Mayell.