What is "washing"

Wash \Wash\, n.

1. The act of washing; an ablution; a cleansing, wetting, or dashing with water; hence, a quantity, as of clothes, washed at once.

2. A piece of ground washed by the action of a sea or river, or sometimes covered and sometimes left dry; the shallowest part of a river, or arm of the sea; also, a bog; a marsh; a fen; as, the washes in Lincolnshire. ``The Wash of Edmonton so gay.''
   --Cowper.

   These Lincoln washes have devoured them.
   --Shak.

3. Substances collected and deposited by the action of water; as, the wash of a sewer, of a river, etc.

   The wash of pastures, fields, commons, and roads, where rain water hath a long time settled.
   --Mortimer.

4. Waste liquid, the refuse of food, the collection from washed dishes, etc., from a kitchen, often used as food for pigs.
   --Shak.

5. (Distilling)

   1. The fermented wort before the spirit is extracted.

   2. A mixture of dunder, molasses, water, and scummings, used in the West Indies for distillation.
      --B. Edwards.

6. That with which anything is washed, or wetted, smeared, tinted, etc., upon the surface. Specifically:

   1. A liquid cosmetic for the complexion.

   2. A liquid dentifrice.

   3. A liquid preparation for the hair; as, a hair wash.

   4. A medical preparation in a liquid form for external application; a lotion.

   5. (Painting) A thin coat of color, esp. water color. (j) A thin coat of metal applied in a liquid form on any object, for beauty or preservation; -- called also washing.

7. (Naut.)

   1. The blade of an oar, or the thin part which enters the water.

   2. The backward current or disturbed water caused by the action of oars, or of a steamer's screw or paddles, etc.

8. The flow, swash, or breaking of a body of water, as a wave; also, the sound of it.

9. Ten strikes, or bushels, of oysters. [Prov. Eng.]

10. [Western U. S.] (Geol.)

    1. Gravel and other rock d['e]bris transported and deposited by running water; coarse alluvium.

    2. An alluvial cone formed by a stream at the base of a mountain.

11. The dry bed of an intermittent stream, sometimes at the bottom of a ca[~n]on; as, the Amargosa wash, Diamond wash; -- called also dry wash. [Western U. S.]

12. (Arch.) The upper surface of a member or material when given a slope to shed water. Hence, a structure or receptacle shaped so as to receive and carry off water, as a carriage wash in a stable.

13. an action or situation in which the gains and losses are equal, or closely compensate each other.

14. (Aeronautics) the disturbance of the air left behind in the wake of a moving airplane or one of its parts. Wash ball, a ball of soap to be used in washing the hands or face. --Swift. Wash barrel (Fisheries), a barrel nearly full of split mackerel, loosely put in, and afterward filled with salt water in order to soak the blood from the fish before salting. Wash bottle. (Chem.)

    1. A bottle partially filled with some liquid through which gases are passed for the purpose of purifying them, especially by removing soluble constituents.

    2. A washing bottle. See under Washing.

       Wash gilding. See Water gilding.

       Wash leather, split sheepskin dressed with oil, in imitation of chamois, or shammy, and used for dusting, cleaning glass or plate, etc.; also, alumed, or buff, leather for soldiers' belts.

Old English wæscing "action of washing clothes," verbal noun from wash (v.). Meaning "clothes washed at one time" is from 1854. Washing machine attested from 1754.

n. 1 (context uncountable English) The action of the verb to '''wash''' 2 (context uncountable chiefly British NZ English) clothing, bedlinen or soft furnishings that have been, are currently being, or are to be washed; laundry. 3 (context countable often in the plural English) The residue after an ore, etc, has been washed 4 The liquid used to wash an ore. 5 A place where a precious metal found in gravel is separated from lighter material by washing. 6 A thin covering or coat. 7 (cx stock exchange English) A fraudulent transaction in which the same stock is simultaneously bought and sold for the purpose of manipulating the market. 8 (cx pottery English) The covering of a piece with an infusible powder, which prevents it from sticking to its supports, while receiving the glaze. vb. (present participle of wash English)

1. n. the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water) [syn: wash, lavation]

2. garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering [syn: laundry, wash, washables]

Washing is a method of cleaning, usually with water and often some kind of soap or detergent. Washing both body and clothing is an essential part of good hygiene and health.

Often people use soaps and detergents to assist in the emulsification of oils and dirt particles so they can be washed away. The soap can be applied directly, or with the aid of a washcloth.

People wash themselves, or bathe periodically. Infants, the sick, and people with disabilities are bathed by a caregiver, but those that can wash themselves often do so. Often a shower or a bathtub is used for washing. People bathe naked under most circumstances, and commonly do so in the privacy of their home.

In Europe, some people use a bidet to wash their external genitalia and the anal region after using the toilet, in addition to using toilet paper.

More frequent is washing of just the hands, e.g. before and after preparing food and eating, after using the toilet, after handling something dirty, etc. Hand washing is important in reducing the spread of germs. also common is washing the face, which is done after waking up, or to keep oneself cool during the day. Brushing one's teeth is also essential for hygiene and is a part of washing.

'Washing' can also refer to the washing of clothing or other cloth items, like bed sheets, whether by hand or with a washing machine. It can also refer to washing one's car, by lathering the exterior with car soap, then rinsing it off with a hose, or washing cookware.

Excessive washing may damage the hair or cause rough skin or skin lesions.

In photography, washing is an important part of all film processing and printmaking processes. After materials have been fixed, washing removes unwanted and exhausted processing chemicals which, if left in situ, may cause deterioration and destruction of the image.

A disadvantage of the use of thiosulfate as a fixer is its ability to dissolve elemental silver at a very slow rate. If films or papers are inadequately washed after fixing, any residual fixer can slowly bleach or stain the photographic image. For prints on high grade fibre papers, a period of continuous washing in clean, cold water for up to 40 minutes may be required. For modern plastic (resin) coated papers, washing for as little as 2 minutes in warm water can be sufficient to eliminate residual fixer. Washing aids (also called hypo clearing agents) can be used to make the process of removing fixer faster and more thorough.

A quick, water-saving, and archival technique for washing film fixed with nonhardening fixer in a spiral tank is the popular " Ilford method":

• Fill the developing tank with tap water at the same temperature as the fixer (+/-5 °C or 9°F)—maintaining a constant bath temperature during processing is necessary to avoid reticulation of the emulsion;
• Invert the tank five times and drain it completely;
• Fill the tank again, invert it ten times, and drain it completely;
• Fill the tank again, invert it twenty times, and drain it completely.
• The film is now washed.

More conventional darkroom practice recommends washing film for 30 minutes or longer, with a flow of water sufficient to change the water in the washing container at least three times. This is not needed when non-hardening fixers are used.

Over-washing can actually reduce the archival properties of film, as thiosulfate in very small concentrations has been shown to have a beneficial effect on film image stability.