Before modern detergents took over, Eezall was a household name praised for making washday easier. Touted as a “gold medal oxygen washing compound,” it earned accolades across the UK and promised to soften water and cut hours off handwashing. Trusted by generations—including “Granny”—Eezall tackled everything from greasy dishes to grimy overalls with its simple yet effective formula of sodium carbonate and sodium silicate.
Norman Hall who owned N.A. Hall Manufacturing, the producers of Eezall washing powder, lived at ‘The Lons’, a country house in Bitton. The soap packing factory, was at one time located at the Querns in Willsbridge, a large stone-built house opposite the garage in Willsbridge. Local people worked there filling boxes with Eezall washing powder. Norman Hall moved to the Lons during the 1940’s where he kept Shire horses which were put out to graze on the land which is now Fonthill Garden Centre. He also had the factory at the bottom of the “Turnpike”, Barry Road, Oldland Common.
Many say that Eezall was not much help with the wash. However, anything which made a slight improvement when washing by hand and made the water softer must have been welcomed.
In the mid 1930s detergents based on phosphates became available first with Dreft (which was later re-launched for delicate fabrics and baby clothes). At that time a typical way of selling soap was to have a demonstration and to offer sample packets for trial at home. These worked by breaking up oils and grease to float away the dirt but left the clothes hard and stiff. By the late 1940s Proctor and Gamble introduced Tide, and Lever Brothers introduced Surf, products which would have a dramatic effect on sales of Eezall and other soap-based products (even if it was ‘what Granny uses’). These superior products led to Eezall becoming wound up as a company in 1953.
It would take us another fifty years to find that these newer phosphorus-based agents, although generally non-toxic, caused nutrient pollution with serious environmental consequences.
Doing the laundry before washing machines and detergents was an arduous, seemingly endless task. For most families it was a weekly task that started on Monday. Clothes were often badly soiled from physical work, with the ‘Sunday best’, required for church. On a Sunday evening, copper and dolly tubs might be filled with cold water in preparation for wash day on Monday.
A clothes mangle, a hand operated machine consisting of two rotating rollers (mind your fingers!), would be used to squeeze out all the excess water. Hopefully it wasn’t raining, and clothes could be hung out to dry on a clothesline, otherwise they had to be laid over a clothes-horse next to the kitchen or living room fire. Often by the time the washing, drying and ironing tasks had been fully completed, wash day had come back around again! Anything whichmade that task easier or helped to make the clothes look cleaner was worth spending money on and hence Eezall became big business.
The next public meeting of Bitton Parish History Group is 10th June, at 7:00 for 7:30 pm with a talk by Peter Carpenter on Hanham Hall. Everyone is welcome. Venue: Unity Oldland, West Street, BS30 9QS
To learn more about our local history, visit: www.bittonhistory.org.uk