George Washington once compared his home to a "well-resorted tavern," referring to the large number of visitors that he and Martha entertained. One satisfied guest remarked that the Mount Vernon slaves, "took care of me, of my linen, and my clothes."

Slave women performed a variety of daily laundry tasks in the Wash House

Because of the steady parade of house guests, the slaves in the Mount Vernon Wash House had a huge workload. Vina and Dolsey were two of the slave women who worked up to six days a week washing the laundry that belonged to the Washingtons, their guests, and some farm managers. Daily laundry tasks included washing, drying and ironing shirts, shifts, sheets, towels, and other linens.

In nice weather, wet laundry was either laid on the grass or hung on lines to dry

Most washable items were made of linen, which could stand up to frequent washing and steady use. The slaves washed and rinsed each item in a big wooden tub of hot water, using soap made of lye and animal fat. When the weather was fair, they laid the pieces out to dry in the laundry yard behind the Wash House. In inclement weather the laundry was dried indoors on a wooden drying rack called a clothes horse.

Slave women ironed garments as well as table and bed linens in the Wash House

The final step was ironing, using either a flat iron, heated directly over the fire, or a box iron, heated with a hot metal 'heater’ inserted through an opening in the back.

***For more information on Mount Vernon's Wash House, click on the link below to download the Interpretive Summary.