[size=55:1u2v5gy1]BNR 17 September 2010
Are fulling mills disappearing?
White tufted rugs, beautiful colored blankets from the Rhodope Mountain and carpets from the town of Chiprovtzi – they all decorate the small mountain village of Zheleznitza. All the colors of the rainbow are gathered in the fulling mill of Maria Nacheva. The pure mountain waters make them fluffy and fresh in 30 minutes without any detergents at all.
What is the difference between standard cleaning of fleecy rugs or carpets and the one in the fulling mill?
“The difference is that no dirt at all will be left after the washing, since the water is too powerful. The rugs become fluffy, with refreshed colors – says 58-year old Maria. – The dry cleaning uses detergents that often daub over the colors and spoil the tissues. If the colors are red and white, they get mixed and the result is some sort of a pink color. And customers want the colors to shine. Besides that carpets and blankets smell like pine-tree afterwards, they are clean and fresh.”
Our ancestors used to wash in turbulent waters over two centuries ago and hence the tradition. The fulling mill is the actual prototype of contemporary washing machines. A big wooden cauldron is used for centrifugation. A strong stream of pure mountain water from the river rolls the washing in the cauldron while the dirt is washed away. The heavy blankets and carpets are taken out with a long wooden hook and are placed on a wooden grill to strain off. Then they are stretched out on wooden expanses to get dry with the help and energy of the sun and the mountain. Maria’s wooden cauldron takes up to 40 m2 of tissues. And how long do they have to be washed in order to become fresh and fluffy?
“It depends on how dirty the tissue is – Maria explains. – When the water becomes transparent, then the washing is ready. Fleecy rugs and Rhodope blankets need more rolling to become fluffy. In general the washing process takes 30-45 minutes.”
The fulling mill in the village of Zheleznitza, only 15 km away from capital Sofia at the foot of the Vitosha Mountain has worked with no interruption for 40 years now. The tradition was restored by Maria’s husband and she continued his work. She has spent the past 22 years at the river. People come not only to wash their rugs and carpets, but also to have a picnic or to take a walk in the mountain while waiting for the washing to get dry. Other customers hurry to get back home and leave their blankets and carpets. “Two or three days later they usually notice that something is missing at home and they rush back to collect the forgotten items – Maria laughs.”
There is only one fulling mill left near Sofia nowadays.
“They have almost disappeared – Maria says regretfully. – This is perhaps because there is not so much water nowadays as it used to be. The water is clean, but we feel that it decreases each year. There is too little snow on the Vitosha Mountain and the melting is weak. Forests also are been destroyed. The river used to be strong before. It was 4-5 meters wide in the spring. It is different now – simply there is not enough water.”
Will fulling mills disappear totally with nothing but the memory of them to remain?
“No, they won’t, since there is a great interest towards them – Maria answers. – Especially young people prefer to have ecologically clean washing, with no detergents, causing allergies and that is why they choose this method. Fulling mills definitely have their future.”
Sat Sep 18, 2010 2:55 pm
