The River Ness has always been an important source for the people of Inverness.

Laundry In The River Ness
One activity that would nowadays be considered an industry, was the washing of clothes in the River Ness by housewives, servants and professional washerwomen. In the past, in the absence of soap and piped water supplies into homes, it was easier to take the washing to the nearest water supply and get on with the job there.

As soap was too expensive for most people, cold water was perfectly adequate. Indeed, as the use of soap for laundry purposes required hot water for rinsing, it was actually cheaper to use cold water and ammonia to clear the grease which accumulated on clothing. Fortunately, in the days when no provision was made for dealing with sewage, there was a use for urine. Kept in a barrel till it was stale, it made an excellent ammonia for tackling the washing!

Laundry was not usually tackled in winter - most people stockpiled the dirty linen till spring when there was a better chance of drying it in the open air - the wealthier you were, the bigger was your pile of dirty linen by springtime!
By the later years of the 19th century, it was easy to hire a laundress, and there was even a laundry in Montague Road, operated by the Inverness swimming baths and steam Laundry Company.