Carpet beater
Encyclopedia
A carpet beater or carpetbeater (also referred to as a rug beater or rugbeater, mattenklopper, carpet whip, rug whip, clothes-beater, dust beater or dustbeater, carpet duster, rug duster, or pillow fluffer, and formerly also as a carpet cleaner or rug cleaner) is a housecleaning tool
that was in common use until the vacuum cleaner became affordable during the early 20th century. Carpets, rugs, clothes, cushions, and bedding were hung over a clothesline or railing and the dust and dirt was beat out of them. Typically made of wood, rattan
, cane, wicker, spring steel or coiled wire, antique rug beaters have become very collectible. Modern mass-production versions can also be in plastic or wire.
and parts of Belgium
the carpet beater was a common tool for mothers to discipline their children, by making them bend over and spanking them on their behinds, leaving a distinctive pattern on the child's (bare) buttocks. Like the actual beating of the rugs these punishments mostly took place in the backyards, turning the beating into a somewhat public event. This form of punishment nowadays is almost extinct in The Netherlands but was very common up until the mid-1980s; since then the use of instruments such as wooden spoons and carpet beaters in spanking has rapidly grown out of fashion.
This 'secondary use' earned the carpet beater a special place in Dutch folklore, as a symbol for good housecleaning, conservative family values and childrearing, as well as a symbol for the dominant position of the housemother in traditional Dutch families.
Its use in cleaning has been largely replaced since the 1950s by the carpet sweeper
and then the vacuum cleaner
. They are, however, still sold in most household stores and up until the 1980s were present in almost every household. This can be attributed to both the late introduction (1970s) of the vacuum cleaner in some rural parts of the country and, as mentioned, to its secondary use as an instrument for corporal punishment, which quite frequently was the carpet beaters' only use in Dutch households since the early 1970s.
Tool
A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...
that was in common use until the vacuum cleaner became affordable during the early 20th century. Carpets, rugs, clothes, cushions, and bedding were hung over a clothesline or railing and the dust and dirt was beat out of them. Typically made of wood, rattan
Rattan
Rattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...
, cane, wicker, spring steel or coiled wire, antique rug beaters have become very collectible. Modern mass-production versions can also be in plastic or wire.
Uses
In the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and parts of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
the carpet beater was a common tool for mothers to discipline their children, by making them bend over and spanking them on their behinds, leaving a distinctive pattern on the child's (bare) buttocks. Like the actual beating of the rugs these punishments mostly took place in the backyards, turning the beating into a somewhat public event. This form of punishment nowadays is almost extinct in The Netherlands but was very common up until the mid-1980s; since then the use of instruments such as wooden spoons and carpet beaters in spanking has rapidly grown out of fashion.
This 'secondary use' earned the carpet beater a special place in Dutch folklore, as a symbol for good housecleaning, conservative family values and childrearing, as well as a symbol for the dominant position of the housemother in traditional Dutch families.
Its use in cleaning has been largely replaced since the 1950s by the carpet sweeper
Carpet sweeper
A carpet sweeper is a mechanical device for the cleaning of carpets. These were popular before the introduction of the vacuum cleaner and have been largely superseded by them....
and then the vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
. They are, however, still sold in most household stores and up until the 1980s were present in almost every household. This can be attributed to both the late introduction (1970s) of the vacuum cleaner in some rural parts of the country and, as mentioned, to its secondary use as an instrument for corporal punishment, which quite frequently was the carpet beaters' only use in Dutch households since the early 1970s.