9 mind blowing facts about laundry
Let's face it, laundry can be a bit boring. So here's some fun facts to lighten your load!
1. 70% of dirt on your clothes is invisible.
Think those jeans are clean? May want to think again. After a few wears your clothes may still look fine, but according to scientists what's making them dirty isn't necessarily dirt. It's "human matter" like dead skin cells, sweat, natural body oils and also products like lotions, deodorant and soap. Which leads us to fact 2...
2. You perspire about 6 litres of sweat a day
Ewwww - but true. The average adult on a normal day produces around 6 litres of perspiration (half through our feet... can anyone say 'stinky socks'!). It keeps going while we sleep, at the rate of at least 1 litre every night (consider that if you're a bit slack on changing the bed sheets).
In addition our bodies produce 10 grams of salt, 40 grams of grease and sebum and 10 grams of dead flaky skin, the equivalent of 2 billion skin cells. As a result each load of washing you do has about 53g of grime - about the size and weight of a Snickers Bar.
3. Fragrance sensitivities are on the rise
Chemical sensitivities to artificial fragrances and perfumes appear to be increasing - a study out of the University of Georgia found that over 30 percent of participants had headaches, breathing difficulties or other problems when exposed to perfumes on others, 19% had issues with air fresheners and 1 in 10 were irritated by fragranced laundy products.
Another study found scented laundry products emit a toxic bouquet of VOC's - Volatile Organic Compounds, classified as hazardous to health.
Fortunately you don't need fake Mountain Breeze to make your laundry smell fresh - Bosisto's laundry range uses nature's deodoriser: pure, natural eucalyptus oil.
4. The first washing machine was called 'Thor'
The first mass-marketed electric one, that is, developed in 1908. The very first washing machine was invented in 1782 by H. Sidgier of Great Britian, a design honed by other inventers afterwards - including William Blackstone, who invented the first at-home washer as a birthday gift for his wife (thanks, honey!).
5. Dryers have only been around 200 years
And they weren't a household item until well into the 1960's due to prohibitive cost - in 1950 they cost about $1600 in today's money terms. Luckily in Australia we've never really been huge users of electric dryers, with most households prefering a clothesline when possible. In fact, it was an Aussie - Adelaide man Lance (Leonard) Hill - who invented the very first rotary clothes line, the Hills Hoist, in 1945.
6. ... However, Ironing was a thing 1000 years ago
Flattening fabrics with hot pieces of metal was a technique first introduced in Ancient China. The first actual ironing board - then called an 'ironing table' - was invented in New York in 1858.
7. Astronauts incinerate their undies!
First they try to re-use them (for up to a week), but with no washing machines up in space, dirty laundry gets shuttled off into outer space - along with anything else unecessary to the trip home.
8. Detergent was invented due to a soap shortage
In World War 1, a chronic shortage of fats to make soap led to the development of a synthetic type of detergent. In 1933 this first went on sale as 'Dreft'.
9. .... But soapmaking itself dates back to 2800 BC
Ancient artifacts show our prehistoric ancestors were rendering soap with ashes and fats.
1. 70% of dirt on your clothes is invisible.
Think those jeans are clean? May want to think again. After a few wears your clothes may still look fine, but according to scientists what's making them dirty isn't necessarily dirt. It's "human matter" like dead skin cells, sweat, natural body oils and also products like lotions, deodorant and soap. Which leads us to fact 2...
2. You perspire about 6 litres of sweat a day
Ewwww - but true. The average adult on a normal day produces around 6 litres of perspiration (half through our feet... can anyone say 'stinky socks'!). It keeps going while we sleep, at the rate of at least 1 litre every night (consider that if you're a bit slack on changing the bed sheets).
In addition our bodies produce 10 grams of salt, 40 grams of grease and sebum and 10 grams of dead flaky skin, the equivalent of 2 billion skin cells. As a result each load of washing you do has about 53g of grime - about the size and weight of a Snickers Bar.
3. Fragrance sensitivities are on the rise
Chemical sensitivities to artificial fragrances and perfumes appear to be increasing - a study out of the University of Georgia found that over 30 percent of participants had headaches, breathing difficulties or other problems when exposed to perfumes on others, 19% had issues with air fresheners and 1 in 10 were irritated by fragranced laundy products.
Another study found scented laundry products emit a toxic bouquet of VOC's - Volatile Organic Compounds, classified as hazardous to health.
Fortunately you don't need fake Mountain Breeze to make your laundry smell fresh - Bosisto's laundry range uses nature's deodoriser: pure, natural eucalyptus oil.
4. The first washing machine was called 'Thor'
The first mass-marketed electric one, that is, developed in 1908. The very first washing machine was invented in 1782 by H. Sidgier of Great Britian, a design honed by other inventers afterwards - including William Blackstone, who invented the first at-home washer as a birthday gift for his wife (thanks, honey!).
5. Dryers have only been around 200 years
And they weren't a household item until well into the 1960's due to prohibitive cost - in 1950 they cost about $1600 in today's money terms. Luckily in Australia we've never really been huge users of electric dryers, with most households prefering a clothesline when possible. In fact, it was an Aussie - Adelaide man Lance (Leonard) Hill - who invented the very first rotary clothes line, the Hills Hoist, in 1945.
6. ... However, Ironing was a thing 1000 years ago
Flattening fabrics with hot pieces of metal was a technique first introduced in Ancient China. The first actual ironing board - then called an 'ironing table' - was invented in New York in 1858.
7. Astronauts incinerate their undies!
First they try to re-use them (for up to a week), but with no washing machines up in space, dirty laundry gets shuttled off into outer space - along with anything else unecessary to the trip home.
8. Detergent was invented due to a soap shortage
In World War 1, a chronic shortage of fats to make soap led to the development of a synthetic type of detergent. In 1933 this first went on sale as 'Dreft'.
9. .... But soapmaking itself dates back to 2800 BC
Ancient artifacts show our prehistoric ancestors were rendering soap with ashes and fats.
