Dishwashing in the old days

23 February 2021

Last week I was busy painting all kinds of separate parts of the HELENA. A perfect job in a heated workshop while it was frosty outside. These loose parts include the permanent inventory of a sailing inland vessel such as the gangway and the hook.

But I also painted the ‘dishwasher’ of the HELENA. In the old days they used a wooden or zinc-made sink with a tray in it that could be hung on the railing on the outside of the ship. The dishes were placed in the tray and rinsed with a bucket full of water scooped from the river. These kinds of ‘dishwashers’ were only used in inland shipping, partly because only fresh water is suitable for rinsing dishes. If an inland vessel was on salt water, the small supply of drinking water on board was used sparingly. In the days of sailing inland shipping, ships had a wooden or zinc barrel of about 20 litres of drinking water on board. This was filled at a water tap in a harbour or at a lock.

On the photo above you can see the ‘dishwasher’ hanging on the railing on starboard.