People use many devices in their homes to help make housework easier. Advances in technology have greatly improved many of these devices and there are some pretty neat ones as well, such as remote controlled vacuum cleaners. While there are new products invented everyday in hopes of making housework easier, most have been around for a long time. One device that is very popular today, but is over a thousand years old is the dumbwaiter.



The first dumbwaiter in recorded history dates back to 200 BC, during the Roman Empire. Likely however, they were used before this, but this is the earliest written document that contains mention of this device. In early days, the dumbwaiter was often only a piece of wood or a shelf, which had a piece of rope tied to it. There are also many cases, where animals or water was used to do the actual lifting.

The dumbwaiter remained incredibly popular throughout history and during the medieval time, they were found in all castles. During the sixteenth century, there were several advances made in dumbwaiter technology at the hands of a Russian inventor. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were many advances including several electric dumbwaiters.

Despite the electric dumbwaiter becoming popular, manual dumbwaiters would remain much more common for some time. These were found in most homes and businesses. They became incredibly popular in apartment buildings as well, which often had steep staircases that could be hard to manage without your hands full.

The tides have turned though and today, most people choose to go with an electric model. The electric lifts are much easier to use and are very reliable. It is possible to effortlessly move over a hundred pounds of groceries to the kitchen, with doing nothing more than pushing a button.

Most commercial, and some of those made for homes, support much more than only a hundred pounds though. Many times, a lift that will be used in a business is designed to support well over seven hundred pounds. For smaller businesses, this type of weight capacity is not needed though, so many opt to go for a less expensive lift. There are several kits that are made for homes, but can be upgraded to support more weight and use a larger car, which makes these more than acceptable for a small business.

Choosing a lift for the home or business first requires that you determine where it will go. You will need a vertical space between floors. This vertical space is usually referred to as a shaft and usually, the shaft will need to be at least 4 square feet (2 foot by 2 foot.)

If you don't have a space you can use, a closet can usually be converted to provide the necessary space. If needed, the car can be configured so that it will open up on different sides. This allows you to have it open on one side on the ground floor and the opposite side in the bedroom, so there are many more opportunities.

Those that choose to use a dumbwaiter in their home will be well served by these devices that have a long history in America.