Laundering by hand involves soaking, beating, scrubbing, and rinsing dirty textiles.
Before indoor plumbing, it was necessary to carry all the water used for washing, boiling, and rinsing the laundry from a pump, well, or spring.
Water for the laundry would be hand carried, heated on a fire for washing, then poured into a tub.
This meant the amount of warm, soapy water was limited; it would be reused, first to wash the least soiled clothing, then to wash progressively dirtier laundry.