A professional who tends machines that wash or treat cloth with chemicals preparatory to or after processes, such as bleaching, dyeing, printing, and finishing. Respnsibilities include:

• Pushes truck of cloth into feeding position or mounts roll of cloth on shaft at feed-end of machine.
• Sews end of cloth to leader in machine, using portable sewing machine.
• Turns valves to admit water, detergents, caustic, acids, steam, or other chemicals into washing tanks according to specifications.
• Starts machine and observes flow of cloth through machine to detect tears in cloth.
• Stops machine, disentangles tear-outs, and knots selvages of torn cloth by hand.
• Tests solutions in washing tanks by titration or using litmus paper or hydrometer.
• Adds water, detergents, or chemicals to washing tanks to dilute or strengthen solutions as indicated by tests.
• May be designated according to chemicals used in washing tanks as Aacid-washer operator; naphthol-soaping-machine operator; according to objective of washing as cloth neutralizer; or according to type of cloth as back-gray-cloth washer.
• May tend machines consisting of series of tanks that process cloth in open-width or rope form. Important variables may be indicated by trade names of machines used.