WELLINGTON STEAM LAUNDRY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4908, 14 December 1876, Page 7

WELLINGTON STEAM LAUNDRY.

■' '- This institution -is situated at the cprnerqf l . - Johns-street and the Adelaide-wSafl; just pppoateU , tba’rite’selectetVfqV- the new ■ ’■ been • in existence about two • .months, - MiyBaylis being starting ■ '-we gave’’a' 1 short ‘ descrtption of, it,_ bub as /that , • description -was not as fill’as it might jbe^antt as it is vcontem^jlated to make large additions tO'the”alreidy'extensive buildihgj_jve purpose ' '' describing lit'more'fully how. ‘ The ifmlding, . stands on an acWSf .tolerably, level ground. • covered "with grass.'* 1 It has a frontage of 37ft., ■ and’is 7Oft. long, and is used solely, for laundry ■ :j ' purpoaes/theWopnetor’s. : ’min -another’part of the‘district, wherein this 1 ’ • establishment'difiers'froin' that recently started ■ 7 "•"by I Mr.' Bennett, 1 ' who lives, on' the premises.. •- '‘We’'Will how "proceed.to describe the interior. •' of I 'the 'building, £ommenc|ng, ‘therefore, the •i ■ " ‘j;he‘visit6raseendS ! a row,of steps and enters.the •sorting-room, .which, ,the.‘name, very naturally; .'iniplieSj'dii’thofiretplacetp which the articles *■ v-'sent to be,’w^she - d are taken. tp.,‘ The. ijoom-is - ‘ 'sufficiently"spacious, and is .kept, scrupulously. ; ••cle.-in'V'-Here the are sorted as they ■ 1 arrive r by a .woman servant, whp makes them ’■ ,J '“_ ■up‘ihto'" separate bundles/ having..preyiously- ■' "marked‘themfoc purposes of distinction;. In 'this Tobin there are generallytd.be seen hbaps ’ of clothing of almost every description, as was the case when our reporter visited the laundry '" ’ yesterday,"the', in ter eating occupant of the room .having just.completed her task. of . arranging the 'articles in the manner already ..described,, . " preparatory; to ,their being subjected to the . next process in order. They are then, taken "to the washing .room, to which compartment we now direct our attention, descending the. steps, for. that ipmpose,.;and .passing through, ‘two rooms/ of which something will be said presently. Hera,all sorts of, appliances for cleansing wearing apparel and bed clothing, meet the view, to say : nothing of the number of women‘who'bear the appearance, of haying: ~ spent their t erdstenoe amid-soap-suds and " steam. ‘They are engaged in an Operation known - to the, learned .as “soapingin,” that ‘is saturating them with; soap • and water, the which,haying been’done, they' are removed from the.tubs to one.or both of the, .washing machines in the room. Thebe ' " ' are cjlmdricaT in form, and pieces of .grooved wood something like ■ an ordinary washingboard, are fixed inside. . The clothes having beeh -put m‘through little doors, the machines, are set in motion and revolve with _great ~ rapidity, being worked by.a steam-engine of 1 ‘■S hOrsb-TOwer, with whichthey'are connected by—in9&ubher belts. It 1 is 1 calculated that 200 dozen per day can, be turned out by this I process; l ’The washing so far'having'heen completed, the articles fare removed from ( these boxes and placed-in steam eoppera, situated at , ,the’eastern-end off the ; room,;and: the process of purificarion-is-continued in these, the steam and hot,, water cleansing, them of the ! soap ~ which., .has .. been ,beaten ,7into » a froth I; by "the '"“Evolutionary 'experience” previl ously allnde'd' to. The attention of the - fair ones - is-demanded again in - this direction, and after: the!clothes have been sub| jected do.what the writer can only describe ad - a goon deal of ..polling 1 about, they are taken out.ol.the coppera' and. placed-in-the rinsing tubi- which is fed from a tap immediately ibove it.. The clothes are .: then rung out, ready for’ . ; drying on.the -numerous; lines lon the spacious '' ' ground outside. We had almost forgotten to „r :mentipnlthe presence in this:room.bf a! very “ small boy. whose- duties . are to attend -to the furnaces. Like everyone; else ;in the. establishment, he/ appears, to have; been washing himself or something else ever since he was born/ tor, notwithstanding the; nature of/' bis .work, in the performance of which. he might /be pardoned for appearing; a’little black; he is scrupulously clean. Like - . Mr* Ilaillie, Junior, • thongh , small, he .has.. a '-Very.: old: appear-,, ancc, and seems,“wide awake,”; as it is called,, to an extentthat.ls.quite overpowering. Leaving this little old-boy, however,- and the room together 1 , we : will proceed to the mangling room, to reaoh which it ia necessary to go up- ■ ’stairs again. ■ Here is’a mangle, :nof very large for:®*'extensive an establishment, but capable of putting through a large quantity of/material. It was originally turned by steam,'but owing to contemplated ; alterations: in the building, Mr. Baylis found it necessary to remove it ffohi’ its / original position on-the' ground floor, and for ’ the present it is - turned: .by.; band. .0 ItOisTno-w necessary to Ides-/ ceud again in order to make ourselves - the ironing-roomrand what is. ■ going oil-' there; - 'This is; a 1 good sized room, • and 5 well.provided .with' light.’ A.numberof : tables are ranged' found the rooin,|and. ; •working- at .them are five’ dr- six _ yauhg’. ■ s women-performing with irons on' articles;off ' clothing, . varying in make, 1 size,’ and color. ■ . The 'appearance of this room is essentially: : comfortable. ’The"workers look as cosy as such'workers -on such - a task should; look, even -the irons look “gleeful as they (are. ; made to,' travel over the table, and perform strange feate - in travelling. round ■ shirt''dollars- and fancy" frills. ’ Then" there jg a -good'looking fireplace for' they purpose of iron-heating," which sends out” a - ' warmth, perhaps a trifle too genial during the summer months. We' have now goae through all the rooms in the establishment as it stands at present.' ‘Apart from, the building thorp is, a large % stable for three .horses,. Which' iare worked' in- a van7 to ‘carry £he/,clothes to and from the "Laundry;,..There are ini all twenty hands; engaged /continually. As before ; -stated, however, Mr.* Baylis has’found his Cus- • tominpreaieto auehan* extent-that he finds it ' necessary-', to,/ 'add ,to „the building. It is'in- - - tended to erect a brick buildingjatjTthe rear; of thepreseht’dcying room, and thisisto beuied for drying'the clothes during/',", the, winter months, when'ifc r is found impossible through wet weather, to.utilise .the.large piece, of sphre •7 / ground to; dry ■ them .on : the’ line, f whjch| of course, is .' the-' better ■ way when it is possible. .I n addition-ito; this,-Mr. ;Baylis purposes adding a room (to be built of wood) to the western ■ wing.: iThiarhe intends to ’use as, an irOning ■ room, and,use that in which,the ironing■ is’ at, , ■ present done 1 for aome other purpose, connected ;with the,business, f These alterations and ; ad- ■ ditions willi be .’coßinienced at the .latter end; of . this, week, or the .beginning of, next.,-, *Mr. " Baylis has ,complete faith in the continuation, ef the success he has already met with,' and we /-hope that his faith may be rewarded. • ; This; is "one ,of the latest-indnstries introduced'into Wellington, and may certainly claim : .to’be las •useful as many others,: > | , ; j