Laundry References
Use borax water to wash sateen. This method will restore the gloss to the goods.
Use warm water to sprinkle your starched clothes.
Fine ginghams and percales dipped in sweet milk instead of starch, gives them that dainty, glossy dressing they have when new.
Ink Stains—Soak in sour milk. If a dark stain remains, rinse in a weak solution of chloride of lime.
Blood Stains—Soak in cold salt water then wash in warm water with plenty of soap, afterward boil.
Grass Stains—Saturate the spot thoroughly with kerosene, then put them in the washtub.
Iodine Stains—Wash with alcohol, then rinse in soapy water.
Hot Tea and Coffee Stains—Soak the stained fabric in cold water; wring; spread out and pour a few drops of glycerine on each spot. Let it stand several hours; then wash with cold water and soap.
Iron Rust—Soap the stain thoroughly with lemon juice; sprinkle with salt and bleach for several hours in the sun.
Grease Spots—Hot water and soap generally remove these. If fixed by long standing, use ether, chloroform or naptha. All three of these must be used away from fire or artificial light.
Mildew—Soak in a weak solution of chloride of lime for several hours. Rinse in cold water.
Sewing Machine Oil Stains—Rub with lard. Let stand for several hours, then wash with cold water and soap.
Scorch Stains—Wet the scorched place, rub with soap and bleach in the sun.
Fruit Stains—Stretch the fabric containing the stain over the mouth of a basin and pour boiling water on the stain. In cold weather fruit spots can frequently be removed by hanging the stained garments out of doors over night. If the stain has been fixed by time soak the article in a weak solution of oxalic acid or hold the spot over the fumes of sulphur.
Here is an excellent cleansing fluid that will leave no rings or water lines: One pint of benzine, an ounce of ether and an ounce of chloroform. Shake well before using and keep tightly corked. An absorbent pad (white blotting paper or thick towel) should be placed beneath the material. Apply cleanser with a soft linen cloth and rub stain lightly until it disappears. Beware of fire.
Cover the grass stains with common black molasses—the thickest you can get—and rub it in with the finger until the fabric is saturated. Leave it on for a day and wash out with clear water. A homely but an effectual process.
For a rust stain, wet the spot and cover with oxalic acid, rub it in well, and then wash off with clean, tepid water.
Soak the white articles in sour milk or in buttermilk all night. Rinse in the morning and sun all day, wetting hourly with cream of tartar water. Rinse again in the evening and repeat the soaking. If one trial does not wholly remove the mildew, repeat the process.
REVIVING BLACK DRESSES.—Wash black cashmere, mohair, voile or other black dress goods, in soap suds until clean, then rinse well. Put bluing into water enough to cover the cloth well until it looks almost black. Put in the cloth and rinse it about in the water, then be sure it is all under water and leave it over night. Lift from this bluing water directly to the line without wringing and let hang until almost dry, then press on the wrong side on an entirely smooth ironing sheet.
TO LAUNDER A BLACK COTTON DRESS.—Black and white or all black muslin dresses seldom look well when they come from the laundry and black cotton does not appear to make a good “tub” dress. But if the following method is tried it will give the cotton a clear look and stiffness like new. Mix one half cup of flour with cold water to make smooth, then turn on two quarts of boiling water and cook five minutes. Add this starch, to enough warm water to wash the dress or waist in and wash the garment without using a particle of soap. Rinse in two waters and hang to dry. Just before ironing sprinkle on the wrong side.
REMEDY FOR PALLOR.—An excellent lotion in case of pallor is made from one tablespoon of tincture of benzoin and three ounces of rose water.
EGGS PRESERVED IN WATER GLASS.—(Silicate of Sodine.) By this method eggs may be kept fresh for eight months if rules are carefully followed. Boil a quantity of water and allow it to cool. Use one gallon of water and one quart of water glass and stir until thoroughly mixed. Use a glazed stone jar and deposit the eggs into the solution and see that the eggs are covered to the depth of at least an inch. The jar must be covered and stored in a cold place. The eggs must be perfectly fresh and best results are obtained if they are put in the solution as gathered from the nests each day. The shells must also be perfectly clean.—Mrs. Harry Hansen.
WASHING FLUID.—This fluid is guaranteed not to injure or take the color out of any fabric and may be used in soaking white clothes, prints and flannels. It is made and used as follows: Heat one gallon of water. Add one can Lewis lye, ten cents worth of crystal ammonia and ten cents worth of salts of tartar. Have water hot but not boiling and cork solution in a gallon jug. A teacupful to three or four pails of hot water is the amount needed in soaking soiled clothes.—Mrs. Harry Hansen.