Lavandeira

Clean  clothes

A lavenderia is a wash house in a public place for washing clothes. Communal washing places were common in all of Europe. These were used until washing machines were invented.

Lavenderias were near springs or beside rivers. Many of the lavenderias had roofs for shelter for the ladies to wash clothes.

 

Some didn’t have covers any more.

 

The large angled granite plates were used to scrub the clothes on.

 

Wash basins in some of the albergues look like this. We washed clothes in these a few times.

We washed in modern washing machines and dryers in the albergues.

 

Lots of people hang their washing out their windows as spare inside is very limited.

 

My sister went swimming in some of the old wash areas.

 

By Finn and Mum