Pub. 8 2018 Issue 3

18 AT THE CENTER OF UTAH INDUSTRY the 1880s, however, after the troughs and dry sinks had been replaced by wet sinks, the wet sinks had a fixed position in the home because the sink had to be hooked up to the home’s pipe system. The dishpans, iron pumps, and pipes were all mining products. Settlers initially built their homes where there was a natural supply of water, usually from springs, creeks, and ponds. Some people made a living by carting water (clean or dirty) to people’s homes on a door-to-door basis. One of the first improvements people often made, however, was building rain barrels, cisterns, and wells where water could be collected. Cisterns might be located in the basement or on the roof, and people also built drains out of brick or wood so they could more easily direct waste water somewhere else. Over time, and especially if plumbing was available, people began building multiple sinks in their homes. Farmhouses had sinks in the main family space, which was also used as a kitchen, but nicer houses often had a room next to the dining room, called a butler’s pantry, that had an additional sink where expensive dishes and glasses could be washed. By the 1880s, troughs made of stone, wood, or wood lined with zinc were being replaced by enameled cast iron, granite, steel, or slate sinks with a white-enamel glaze on them and cock-taps to provide running water. These sinks, all of which were mining products, were easy to clean and dry. People still washed dishes in basins, however, because there was less of a chance of breaking delicate plates and glasses in a basin than in a hard sink. The ability to heat water on demand was another luxury. Hot water is usually carried in metal pipes: another mining product. Monel sinks were made of an alloy of copper and nickel. (Monel alloys were also used on countertops, appliances, and roof flashing.) Robert Crooks Stanley, a metallurgist, created the first Monel alloy, and they were patented in 1905 by the International Nickel Company. Robert Crooks Stanley named it after the then-director of the International Nickel Company. He eventually became the company’s director, too. Monel sinks, of course, were made from mining products. Monel sinks became popular in the 1920s because they were not as likely to break dishes, were quieter, didn’t rust or corrode, and were easy to clean. Some manufacturers took a different approach to prevent dishes from being broken in sinks; they made dishes that were supposed to be unbreakable, such as Tupperware, which first showed up in kitchens in the 1940s. Drain stoppers (usually made of metal) were another important improvement. During the 1800s and 1900s, getting dishes clean was a major part of the work that had to be done in the kitchen, and those doing the work had to know how to use many different tools for the job, including different kinds of soaps, chemicals such as borax and bleach, soap savers, textiles, plate racks, and dish drainers. Dish drainers are made of different materials, depending on personal preference, but many of them are made from metal that is available because of mining. Dishwashing skills today are still taught in school, required in restaurants and other businesses with kitchens, such as homes for seniors and daycare centers. Today, dishwashing can now be done safely by children, especially if all you need to know is how to fill the dishwasher, add the dishwashing detergent of your choice, and start the dishwashing cycle. That’s a big improvement over how things used to be. The use of metal in kitchens, such as in sinks, pipes, and dishwashers, is a large part of the reason why dishwashing has become such a pleasant, not-very-difficult job. X METAL IN THE KITCHEN continued from page 17