<P> Laundry was first done in watercourses, letting the water carry away the materials which could cause stains and smells . Laundry is still done this way in some less industrialized areas and rural regions . Agitation helps remove the dirt, so the laundry is often rubbed, twisted, or slapped against flat rocks . Wooden bats or clubs could be used to help with beating the dirt out . These were often called washing beetles or bats and could be used by the waterside on a rock (a beetling - stone), on a block (battling - block), or on a washboard . They were once common across Europe and were also used by settlers in North America . Similar techniques have also been identified in Japan . Wooden or stone scrubbing surfaces set up near a water supply or portable washboards, including factory - made corrugated glass or metal ones, gradually replaced rocks as a surface for loosening soil . </P> <P> Once clean, the clothes were wrung out--twisted to remove most of the water . Then they were hung up on poles or clotheslines to air dry, or sometimes just spread out on clean grass . </P> <P> Before the advent of the washing machine, laundry was often done in a communal setting . In poor parts of the world today, laundry is still done beside a river or lake . Villages across Europe that could afford it built a wash - house . Water was channelled from a stream or spring and fed into a building, possibly just a roof with no walls . This wash - house usually contained two basins - one for washing and the other for rinsing - through which the water was constantly flowing, as well as a stone lip inclined towards the water against which the washers could beat the clothes . Such facilities were much more comfortable than washing in a watercourse because the launderers could work standing up instead of on their knees, and were protected from inclement weather . Also, they didn't have to go far, as the facilities were usually at hand in the village or at the edge of a town . Sometimes large metal cauldrons, often termed "coppers", even when not made of that metal, were filled with fresh water and heated over a fire; hot or boiling water being more effective than cold in removing dirt . A posser could be used to agitate clothes in a tub . </P> <P> These facilities were public and available to all families, and usually used by the entire village . Many of these village wash - houses are still standing, historic structures with no obvious modern purpose . </P>

What is the purpose of a laundry bag