By the turn of the 20th century, an extraordinary idea had taken hold across North America—that frequent bathing, perhaps even a daily bath, was good for one’s health. Personal and domestic hygiene was to become a lucrative business, if the many ads for soaps and cleansers are to be believed. By 1950, product design had caught up with cleanliness and appliances featuring modern lines and new materials had taken over the home—or at least the kitchen and bathroom. The spread of mechanical appliances, which were promoted by savvy advertisers as freeing women from their chores also coincided with rising standards of domestic duty. Far from a fairy tale, the period between 1920 and 1960 marked a dramatic increase in “women’s work.”
What gave rise to the push for clean? Using objects from the material culture collection, Spic and Span looks at the local and international, social and scientific factors that turned our society from one of backyard privies to multiple-bathroom homes and our near obsession with soap, scents and getting the brightest white.