07/11/2010 - Ships Laundry

I was asked today about who/how laundry was done? In the 60s (aboard both my cans) each compartment had two laundry bags, one for whites and one for colored (basically dungarees). Everyone's clothing was stenciled. A few times a week the person cleaning the compartment (always a junior seaman) would take the bags to the ships laundry. Next day he would pick it up, and then throw the clean laundry on everyone's rack (their bunk) so they could fold and stow. This process always occurred after inspection.

I discussed this topic with one of our WWII volunteers and it was fairly similar. Instead of laundry bags they used a sheet, and they didn't sort the clothing into white/color piles. This process was probably done in the ship's laundry.

The USS Slater has a virtual tour of the ship, and they have fairly good description of the laundry room, which is on the 1st platform, starboard side, aft (right side, near the end).

The description notes that the ships laundry equipment was manufactured by two companies: the Hoffman Machinery Company, and the American Laundry Machine Company. There are interesting on-line references to each company. The American Laundry Machine Company is a defunct set of buildings in Rochester, NY. The Hoffman Machine Company was the centerpiece for a holding company in the 1950s.