p. 12 | For the Laundry

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 27, 1907

For the Laundry

IF you use the old-style flat-irons, the holders should be lined with a layer of old, soft leather, such as the top of a worn shoe: this will protect your hand from heat far better than any cloth.

In washing white silk handkerchiefs, no soap should be rubbed on the silk; no soda should be mixed with the water, and the handkerchiefs must not be boiled. Make a warm, soapy lather with finely shredded white soap, wash the silk with the hands until clean, then rinse thoroughly in cold water until it is freed from all soap, rinse again in water in which a very little bluing has been dropped, and when most of the water has been squeezed out, let the silk get nearly dry, then iron it, with a cloth between the iron and the silk.

It is recommended, when ironing starched clothes, to keep a bit of soap on the table, and to occasionally run the flat-iron over it, then over a bit of paper, and this will prevent the iron’s sticking, and at the same time give a nice gloss to the clothes.

White silk ties may be cleansed by rubbing them over with French chalk and holding them over the heat. The heat will cause the chalk to absorb any grease, and it can then be shaken out.

A tablespoonful of turpentine in the water intended for boiling the white clothes, will whiten them, remove stains, and render the washing much easier. The clothes must, in all cases, be well rinsed, in order to remove all traces of soap, as the soap yellows them.

Do not attempt to iron every piece that goes through the wash. Sheets can be folded as taken from the line, and laid one on top of the other, if thoroughly dried before taking down, and they will have few creases in them, if hung straight on the line at first. All coarse towels should be hung straight on the line, and when dry, folded and pressed by hand. Knit underwear, and soft linen table-cloths, and many other pieces will look just as well if carefully folded and laid away. Ironing in summer-time is usually very uncomfortable work, and should be made as easy as possible.

When the chimney takes fire, throw salt on the fire in the stove, and shut off the draft as much as possible. It will then burn out slowly. If oil is spilled and takes fire, throw common flour over the flames, and this will smother without spreading the fire. Salt is also good.—The Commoner.