The 20th century revolutionized people’s lives. Household chores were facilitated by technological innovations such as electricity, gas, and running water, which became common in homes around the time before and after World War II. With electricity, household appliances gradually became popular in Luxembourg homes, and local production, especially of refrigerators and washing machines, got underway in the Grand Duchy.

Established in Dudelange in 1938, “Waschmaschinenfabrik Zuang” did not really begin manufacturing washing machines until after the war. Production ceased in the 1970s, however, as it did in most other Luxembourg factories of household appliances that were forced to close for lack of profitability or were bought by large international groups.

The washing machine exhibited at the MNHA was built before 1959. It was purchased second-hand that year by a family in Schifflange, where it continued to be used until 1990, when it was added to the museum’s collections.

- Régis Moes