1948 Small Hospital Laundry
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Don't forget the
Asbestos wrapped Steam pipe overhead lining the room!
Asbestos wrapped Steam pipe overhead lining the room!
rpms
Well-known member
I wonder if its 2am or 2 pm? With no windows, it would be rather dungeon like. You can imagine the stuff that poor woman must have had to handle. At least she has a comfy chair to sit on.
Gasway
I know who that was named for.
Thanks for the neat photograph. Why does it look like there is a flue coming out of the washer? Could it have had a live steam booster? What is the plumbing beside the washer? Is the extractor between the washer and the tumbler or is it at the far right edge of the picture? What is interesting is how dry the floor is. Where is the floor drain? They must have finished washing hours ago. I don't see any hood over the ironer to carry off the heat. I wonder what she's folding. She would not be running that operation by herself. It usually takes two people just to run the ironer. I love the way sheets emerge from the ironer and fall in soft folds. When we were kids, my brother and I would watch the women doing the folding. It was almost choreography. We would immitate them at home when we had something large to fold, but when we came together for the final folds, we would do body slams.
I know who that was named for.
Thanks for the neat photograph. Why does it look like there is a flue coming out of the washer? Could it have had a live steam booster? What is the plumbing beside the washer? Is the extractor between the washer and the tumbler or is it at the far right edge of the picture? What is interesting is how dry the floor is. Where is the floor drain? They must have finished washing hours ago. I don't see any hood over the ironer to carry off the heat. I wonder what she's folding. She would not be running that operation by herself. It usually takes two people just to run the ironer. I love the way sheets emerge from the ironer and fall in soft folds. When we were kids, my brother and I would watch the women doing the folding. It was almost choreography. We would immitate them at home when we had something large to fold, but when we came together for the final folds, we would do body slams.
Tom
The flue is the water level contol as the float rises it cuts the water off, Notice the 2 water valves at the top of the pic. This is a semi automatic machine. The Extractor is between the washer and Dryer. if the load was allowed to "sit" for about 15 mins there really is not a lot of water, If the sheets were ironed Hems first one person could do most of the ironing if slow. That model ironer had 2 speeds. 10 and 20 fpm(feet per Min). that is what the gear shift rod is for at the end. In that time ironers rarely ever had canopys. Most likely the other worker is the one taking the pic. I would guess the floor drain may be behind the soap keg. Bet she rarely got to use the chair. Very well could have been 2 am.. Most hospital laundries in that day .Started very early to keep up with surgery demands. When I started in the hospital in the 60s we started at 3 am..
Washmen almost always started 1 or 2 hours ahead of the girls and then left early. Some times Shake out girls started 30 mins before the rest also. Just depended on the size of the plant.. When at StJoseph I had it scheduled so sorting room started @ 2am.Head washman Started @ 3 the 2 pull boys started @ 3 and the other washman started @ 5 Shake out started @ 4am and flatwork and tumble dry girls started @ 5. I was almost always in by 3 am As I am now.
The flue is the water level contol as the float rises it cuts the water off, Notice the 2 water valves at the top of the pic. This is a semi automatic machine. The Extractor is between the washer and Dryer. if the load was allowed to "sit" for about 15 mins there really is not a lot of water, If the sheets were ironed Hems first one person could do most of the ironing if slow. That model ironer had 2 speeds. 10 and 20 fpm(feet per Min). that is what the gear shift rod is for at the end. In that time ironers rarely ever had canopys. Most likely the other worker is the one taking the pic. I would guess the floor drain may be behind the soap keg. Bet she rarely got to use the chair. Very well could have been 2 am.. Most hospital laundries in that day .Started very early to keep up with surgery demands. When I started in the hospital in the 60s we started at 3 am..
Washmen almost always started 1 or 2 hours ahead of the girls and then left early. Some times Shake out girls started 30 mins before the rest also. Just depended on the size of the plant.. When at StJoseph I had it scheduled so sorting room started @ 2am.Head washman Started @ 3 the 2 pull boys started @ 3 and the other washman started @ 5 Shake out started @ 4am and flatwork and tumble dry girls started @ 5. I was almost always in by 3 am As I am now.
Lee, Is the float in the chamber beside the washer, bolted to the post? What then is the pipe of equal diameter that appears to go toward the ceiling from the raised squared area on top of the washer? Sorry to be so dense.
Were you at St. Joseph's when it was in downtown Atlanta, before it moved out by the Perimeter Hwy? That was an old hospital building. DeKalb General was decades newer. It had a powerful boiler. The tumblers were steam heated as was the ironer. One weekend the electricians had this long bar fitted with sockets and heat lamps that they were installing in the ironer to add heat so that the speed could be increased and still have dry linens come out and that was after they went through the extractor! The kitchen, where I worked for a few months, fortunately during cold weather, had live steam to boost the main wash tank of the dishwasher. You opened a valve and steam shot into the machine. Each floor had a utilty room used by housekeeping with a stainless steel Hobart made machine modeled on a KD12 design with one rack designed to hold bedpans. We used Cascade in the machine. After the wash and rinses, the "DRY" cycle energized a steam valve and live steam shot into the machine for 18 minutes or so. By that time, most of the pans were similar in color to Maytag's turquoise and probably were polypropylene. I think that the laundry managed to get by operating 5 days a week because there was no elective surgery on the weekends, but it was late Wednesday afternoon before we could get in and scrub the floor of the room at the bottom of the laundry chutes. There was no way our big washer could let the load sit and drip for 15 minutes. As soon as it was finished, the load was heaved into the extractor basket. I guess that was why our floor was wet between the washer and extractor.
So you are at work by 3 AM. You put in long days. Your surgery rooms probably start before sunrise also. People think I am nuts for getting up before 4 and getting to work by 6:15 AM. How are things going with your staff since the Christmas debacle?
Were you at St. Joseph's when it was in downtown Atlanta, before it moved out by the Perimeter Hwy? That was an old hospital building. DeKalb General was decades newer. It had a powerful boiler. The tumblers were steam heated as was the ironer. One weekend the electricians had this long bar fitted with sockets and heat lamps that they were installing in the ironer to add heat so that the speed could be increased and still have dry linens come out and that was after they went through the extractor! The kitchen, where I worked for a few months, fortunately during cold weather, had live steam to boost the main wash tank of the dishwasher. You opened a valve and steam shot into the machine. Each floor had a utilty room used by housekeeping with a stainless steel Hobart made machine modeled on a KD12 design with one rack designed to hold bedpans. We used Cascade in the machine. After the wash and rinses, the "DRY" cycle energized a steam valve and live steam shot into the machine for 18 minutes or so. By that time, most of the pans were similar in color to Maytag's turquoise and probably were polypropylene. I think that the laundry managed to get by operating 5 days a week because there was no elective surgery on the weekends, but it was late Wednesday afternoon before we could get in and scrub the floor of the room at the bottom of the laundry chutes. There was no way our big washer could let the load sit and drip for 15 minutes. As soon as it was finished, the load was heaved into the extractor basket. I guess that was why our floor was wet between the washer and extractor.
So you are at work by 3 AM. You put in long days. Your surgery rooms probably start before sunrise also. People think I am nuts for getting up before 4 and getting to work by 6:15 AM. How are things going with your staff since the Christmas debacle?
Tom
I was with St Joseph Ft Worth. At that time was the largest hospital in tarrant county. . We had 3 large pc ironers and 2 small pc machines. and a full pressing dept for uniforms and for drs use. The sheet ironers were all steam. The small pc ironers were gas. We also did work for 2 other hospitals and the total bed capacity was 1250 plus several nursing homes operated by the sisters.
The pipe that is bolted to the floor holds the water level chamber . Much like a toilet float. The other pipe you see it the exhaust duct from the dryer going out the roof.. Look closely and you can tell it is duct work.. the washer I am sure did have steam but it was induced from the back.
The dryer was gas, And the ironer was running at hi speed when this was taken.. THe gear shift is @ 2 oclock position if low speed it would have been @ 1 o clock and stopped was noon position.
I was with St Joseph Ft Worth. At that time was the largest hospital in tarrant county. . We had 3 large pc ironers and 2 small pc machines. and a full pressing dept for uniforms and for drs use. The sheet ironers were all steam. The small pc ironers were gas. We also did work for 2 other hospitals and the total bed capacity was 1250 plus several nursing homes operated by the sisters.
The pipe that is bolted to the floor holds the water level chamber . Much like a toilet float. The other pipe you see it the exhaust duct from the dryer going out the roof.. Look closely and you can tell it is duct work.. the washer I am sure did have steam but it was induced from the back.
The dryer was gas, And the ironer was running at hi speed when this was taken.. THe gear shift is @ 2 oclock position if low speed it would have been @ 1 o clock and stopped was noon position.
