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Castellote Washing Places

The old washhouse of the locality, located in the high streets, is accessed by a stairway on the right side. It consists of a polygonal pile topped with eaves, attached to a stone wall on one of its short sides. The basin is divided into two parts by a small interior wall that allows the passage of water from one to the other. This comes through a channel that takes it from the fountain to the washhouse. Above the laundry room there is a metal bar that is supported by several pillars and is used for hanging clothes.

In the new part of town there is a newer and larger laundry room. It is an L-shaped building accessed through two doors, one at each end. It is open on the inside with semicircular arches to facilitate the entrance of light. It has two pools, one for washing and a larger one for rinsing, with a height of just over one meter to avoid washing on your knees. The profile of these pools is surrounded by a railing that was used to drain the clothes so that they would weigh less when taken home. With the arrival of the first washing machines, these spaces gradually fell into disuse, although some women continued to wash blankets and carpets there, which were too big to be put in the machine.

At present, both washhouses have been restored and are no longer in use.