When I was young, my mum taught me that a lady should wash her own undergarments by hand separately from all other clothes. I have asked why many times, but none of the answers given by my mum, my grandma or any other older women would make any sense to me.
Now that I have grown daughters, even though I do not follow that rule at home; I taught my daughters the same rule should they live in other people's house. Interestingly, that rule applied in one of my daughter's landlady's house while she lived near the university. Even though her landlady owns a state-of-the-art washing machine, she still washes her delicates by hand daily.
When I visit friends with foreign maids, I carefully follow my mother's maxim. Though if I go visit a friend with no maid, I would ask if she washes her smalls in her machine and I follow accordingly. I have found that this little thoughtfulness puts me in great favour with many Asian maids.
If you ask me why, I could answer you two ways: either it is a form of respect for the dignity of the maids or I place my self-respect and my intimate apparel above the daily mundane touch of a stranger. I have come across a maid who looked down at her mistress simply because the maid chose to wash things by hand daily and she refused to keep dirty clothes for three days and machine wash them as instructed. It was very confusing: if the maid detested washing undergarments of another female, then she should stop hand washing altogether. Yet the pride of the good housekeeper did not allow her to keep smelly clothes overnight as there were only two employers living in the big house.
I wonder if this is true only in Asia?
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