We lived in a house with one of these as I was growing up. It was a chute in the corner of a little room next to the bathroom (too small for a bedroom). That le

We lived in a house with one of these as I was growing up. It was a chute in the corner of a little room next to the bathroom (too small for a bedroom). That led down to a cabinet at the top of the basement stairs that held the dirty laundry until you washed it. And to be fair, this house was built in 1918, and I think part of the purpose was to have their maids/servants wash them. Out of sight and all. This house also had doors sectioning off the kitchen and made sure the basement had its own entrance.