Husch-Husch washing stomp (plunger)

The Husch-Husch washing stomp is a mechanical device moved by hand, which was used in households for washing and rinsing fabrics. The washing mechanism consists of three parts: two overlapping brass components in the shape of a bell and a spring between them. All are mounted on a wooden handle. Washing was done by pounding clothes immersed in a tub with water and suds (lye). When the plunger was moved up, air was sucked up together with water, suds, and fabric, and when it moved down, the air and suds were forced into the fabric. In this way, the fabric was cleaned of dirt. The name Husch-Husch was probably taken from the sound generated when the device was operated. According to some translations “huschen” means “to zoom”, so Husch-Husch can be translated as ”zoom-zoom”. Manufacturer: unknown, Germany Inv. No.: MIM777/IX-44 Model prepared on the basis of photogrammetric measurements Licence: CC BY-NC-SA (CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike)