That starchy feeling

Posted by Victor under Lifestyle
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Have you ever seen a shirt that stands? Ever worn a starchy shirt? If you have not, chances are you are still young. (^^)

I remember the poor old days when we tried to keep our white shirt whiter and neater from the easily crumpled cotton shirt that we wore to schools. To achieve that, two processes had to be inserted into the very manual hand-wash done those days. Washing machines were hardly seen nor heard of. Mum was working and so, we kids had to help out in the washing in a communal kitchen space. If you visit the Chinatown Heritage Center, you would have an idea on the space in the kitchen. So, we had to choose off-peak periods to do the washing. And be mindful of the water, as the landlord was all eyes on any wastage of water.

Image Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Clothes were soaked in water and washing powder overnight (pails hidden in some corners so as not to obstruct) and you can imagine the smell when we started the first move of washing. After scrubbing with brush, hands or the famous washing board (extinct these days except when they are part of a musical band?), we would pour the remaining soap water to another pail, to be used for washing the kitchen floor. The kitchen floor was most of the time wet and oily.

After the second and third round of further washing, we came to the next round where we wash the white shirts in water tinted with indigo-blue, the blue powder that was also used to paint on the cheek and neck with vinegar when one gets mumps. This blue helped to give a fresher and whiter hue to the fast fading and becoming yellow shirts.

Image Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

To make the shirt last longer (we were lucky if we have two shirts for a week, and even then, what if it rained?), we made some starch from starch powder (tua-zu-hoon in Hokkien or Jeong-fun in Cantonese, anyone knows what it was?) with hot water. Stirring until the powder became starch, we then put into a pail or basin, and into it the white shirt to give it a good rub, making the shirt felt slippery. And then, we hung the shirt to dry in the sun.

When the shirt was later ironed (maybe with a charcoal filled iron), it gave a stiff and flat shine. And in those stiff shirts and pants we walked, cycled or rushed with the bus-crush to school, often, arriving semi crumpled.

Those days of the rituals to be carried out before one could get to school. (^^)