Lume manual washing machine, from the 60s

This month we highlight the following piece from our collection: a Lume brand manual washing machine from Eibar, built in the 60s and normally used by housewives to wash small items of clothing. This apparatus came to us by means of a private donation from Oier Gorosabel and Conchi Carballo.

These manual washing machines were built during the 60s at the workshop of A. Garmendia in Eibar. Their operation is rather intuitive: the water must first of all be heated and poured into the machine with the clothes and a little soap. It is then closed and turned with the handle before rinsing the clothes and hanging them out to dry.

The Lume brand patented the invention and made these machines during the 60s... however, their production came to an end with the arrival to homes of the electric washing machine. We are fortunate to have this witness to Eibar’s industrial history at the Museum.