Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jasonlulu_2000]

My mother used to wash her clothes in a copper after heating the water.

What does this sentence mean? especially "a copper" which completely puzzles me.

Thanks

[pugachevV]

Many years ago, in UK, they used to have a large copper or iron vessel which was used for boiling laundry.
Originally, they were copper, built into a brick support with a fire grate underneath, somewhat like modern day barbecue pits. The capacity varied from about 35 to 100 liters. They were usually built in to a "laundry room".
On wash day a coal fire was lit underneath until the water came to a boil. It would be filled with all the white wash, (bed sheets, tablecloths etc.) and soap powder and then boiled again for some time.
My grandmother used to add a small bag of some kind of blue chemical, which used to color the water, but made the wash whiter.
Later on the "coppers" were made out of galvanized steel and were heated by a gas burner underneath. These were handier as they could be moved.

[jasonlulu_2000]

now I see