Sixth Grade
Worksheets
How Do Washers and Dryers Work?
Sure, it seems like work when your mom makes you do your own laundry. But years ago when the electric washer and dryer first came into use, they seemed like the greatest work savers ever invented. Everyone wanted her own shiny new washer and dryer.
So, how did these new-fangled inventions work? What did they do that would replace the effort of washing by hand in a laundry tub and hanging the clothes out on a clothesline to dry?
Electric washers and dryers use the same basic method as the old wash tub and clothesline. They clean clothes by stirring them around in a tub of water and detergent and then blowing air through the clothes to dry them.
A clothes washer has an electric motor and plumbing that allows it to perform its four basic functions - fill, wash, drain, and spin. Its largest parts are two large tubs, an inner tub that is full of drain holes and an outer one that holds water. Inside the tubs is the agitator, which moves back and forth to stir the clothes in the water.
