Encyclopedia article on laundry machinery and the laundry industry, describing the equipment of steam laundries: washers, disinfectors, hydro-extractors, drying closets, mangles and other calender-type ironing machines, and starching machines. It also covers water quality, safety and power supply, and gives 1909 US census figures on laundry establishments, employment, wages and receipts. A short bibliography of British and American sources closes the article.