Mangle (machine)

A mangle[1] is a mechanical laundry aid consisting of two rollers in a sturdy frame, connected by cogs and (in its home version) powered by a hand crank or by electricity.

[citation needed] The "wringer", a smaller lighter machine of similar appearance and function, was used to squeeze the water out of wet washing.

While mangles remain in use in commercial settings, wringers have been made redundant by the spin dry cycle on modern washing machines.

The word comes from the Dutch mangel, from mangelen "to mangle", which in turn derives from the medieval Latin mango or manga which ultimately comes from the Greek manganon, meaning "axis" or "engine".

Gradually, the electric washing machine's spin cycle rendered this use of a mangle obsolete, and with it the need to wring out water from clothes mechanically.

Middle-class households and independent washerwomen used upright mangles for wringing water out of laundry, and in the later 19th century they were more widely used than early washing machines.

They are typically used to press flat items such as sheets or tablecloths, and also are far quicker and more energy-efficient for removing most of the water than a clothes dryer.