The American Housewife Part 22

If you do not wish to have white flannels shrink when washed, make a good suds of hard soap, and wash the flannels in it, without rubbing any soap on them; rub them out in another suds, then wring them out of it, and put them in a clean tub, and turn on sufficient boiling water to cover them, and let them remain till the water is cold. A little indigo in the boiling water makes the flannels look nicer. If you wish to have your white flannels shrink, so as to have them thick, wash them in soft soap-suds, and rinse them in cold water. Colored woollens that incline to fade, should be washed with beef's gall and warm water before they are put into soap-suds. Colored pantaloons look very well washed with beef's gall and fair warm water, and pressed on the wrong side while damp.

415. _Directions for Washing White Cotton Clothes._

Table-cloths, or any white clothes that have coffee or fruit stains on them, before being put into soap-suds, should have boiling water turned on them, and remain in it till the water is cold--the spots should be then rubbed out in it. If they are put into soap-suds with the stains in, they will be set by it, so that no subsequent washing will remove them. Table-cloths will be less likely to get stained up, if they are always rinsed in thin starch water, as it tends to keep coffee and fruit from sinking into the texture of the cloth. White clothes that are very dirty, will come clean easily if put into strong, cool suds and hung on the fire the night previous to the day in which they are to be washed.

If they get to boiling, it will not do them any harm, provided the suds is cool when they are put in; if it is hot at first, it will set the dirt in. The following method of washing clothes is a saving of a great deal of labor: Soak the clothes in lukewarm soap-suds; if they are quite dirty, soak them over night. To every three pails of water put a pint of soft soap, and a table-spoonful of the salts of soda. Heat it till mildly warm, then put in the clothes without any rubbing, and boil them an hour. Drain the suds out of them as much as possible, as it is bad for the hands; then add water till cool enough for the hands. The dirt will be loose, so that they will require but a little rubbing. Rinse them thoroughly in clear water, then in indigo water. The soda can be procured cheap, by purchasing it in large quant.i.ties--soda is an excellent thing to soften hard water. The soda suds will not do to wash calicoes in. It is a good plan to save your suds, after washing, to water your garden, if you have one, or to harden cellars and yards, when sandy.

416. _Starch._

To make good flour starch, mix flour gradually with cold water, so that it may be free from lumps. Stir in cold water till it will pour easily; then stir it into a pot of boiling water, and let it boil five or six minutes, stirring it frequently. A tallow or spermaceti candle, stirred round in the starch several times, will make it smoother--strain it through a thick cloth. Starch made in this manner will answer for both cotton and linen very well. Some people do not boil their starch, but merely turn boiling water on the mixed flour and water, but it does not make clothes look nice. Poland starch is made in the same manner as wheat starch. When rice is boiled in a pot without being tied up in a bag, the water in which it is boiled is as good as Poland starch for clear-starching muslins, if boiled to a thick consistency after it is turned off from the boiled rice, and then strained. Muslins, to look clear, should be starched, and clapped dry, while the starch is hot, then folded in a very damp cloth, and suffered to remain in it till they become quite damp, before ironing them. If muslins are sprinkled, they are apt to look spotted. Garments that are not worn, when laid by, should not be starched, as it rots them when not exposed to the air.

417. _To clean Woollen and Silk Shawls._

Pare and grate raw, mealy potatoes, and put to each pint of the potato pulp a couple of quarts of cold water. Let it stand five hours, then strain the water through a sieve, and rub as much of the potato pulp through as possible--let the strained water stand to settle again--when very clear, turn the water off from the dregs carefully. Put a clean white cotton sheet on a perfectly clean table, lay on the shawl which you wish to clean, and pin it down tight. Dip a sponge, that has never been used, into the potato water, and rub the shawl with it till clean; then rinse the shawl in clear water, with a tea-cup of salt to a pailful of the water. Spread it on a clean, level place, where it will dry quick--if hung up to dry, the colors are apt to run, and make the shawl streaked. Fold it up while damp, and let it remain half an hour, then put it in a mangler--if you have not one, wrap it in a clean white cloth, and put it under a weight, and let it remain till dry. If there are any grease spots on the shawl, they should be extracted before the shawl is washed.

418. _Directions for Carpets._

Carpets should be taken up and shook thoroughly, if in constant use, as often as three or four times in a year, as the dirt that collects underneath them wears them out very fast. Straw kept under carpets, will make them wear much longer, as the dirt will sift through, and keep it from grinding out. Carpets should be taken up as often as once a year, even if not much used, as there is danger of moths getting into them. If there is any appearance of moths in carpets when they are taken up, sprinkle tobacco or black pepper on the floor before the carpets are put down, and let it remain after they are laid down. When the dust is well shaken out of carpets, if there are any grease spots on them, grate on potter's clay very thick, cover them with a brown paper, and set on a warm iron. It will be necessary to repeat this process several times, to get out all the grease. If the carpets are so much soiled as to require cleaning all over, after the dirt has been shaken out, spread them on a clean floor, and rub on them, with a new broom, pared and grated raw potatoes. Let the carpets remain till perfectly dry, before walking on them.

419. _To clean Light Kid Gloves._

Magnesia, moist bread, and India rubber, are all of them good to clean light kid gloves. They should be rubbed on the gloves thoroughly. If so much soiled that they cannot be cleaned, sew up the tops of the gloves, and rub them over with a sponge dipped in a decoction of saffron and water. The gloves will be yellow or brown, according to the strength of the decoction.

420. _To restore rusty Italian c.r.a.pe._

Heat skim milk and water--dissolve in half a pint of it a piece of glue an inch square, then take it from the fire. Rinse the c.r.a.pe out in vinegar to clean it; then, to stiffen it, put it in the mixed glue and milk. Wring it out, and clap it till dry, then smooth it out with a hot iron--a paper should be laid over it when it is ironed. Gin is an excellent thing to restore rusty c.r.a.pe--dip it in, and let it get saturated with it; then clap it till dry, and smooth it out with a moderately hot iron. Italian c.r.a.pe can be dyed to look as nice as that which is new.

421. _To clean Mahogany and Marble Furniture._

No soap should ever be used for them--they should be washed in fair water, and rubbed with a clean, soft cloth, till dry. A little sweet oil, rubbed on occasionally, gives them a fine polish. The furniture should be rubbed over with a cloth dipped in oil, then rubbed over with a clean cloth till it appears dry and polished. White spots on varnished furniture may be removed by rubbing them with a warm flannel, dipped in spirits of turpentine. Ink spots may be removed by rubbing them with a woollen cloth, dipped in oil of vitriol and water mixed, being careful not to touch any part of the furniture that is not spotted. As soon as the ink is extracted, rinse the spot with pearl-ash water, and then with fair water. It is said that blotting paper alone will extract the ink, if rolled up tight, and rubbed hard on the spots. If it answers the purpose, it is altogether best to use it, as there is always danger attending the use of oil of vitriol, it being so powerful as to corrode whatever it may get dropped on, without its effects are destroyed by the use of an alkali.

422. _To clean Stoves and Stone Hearths._

Varnished stoves should have several coats of varnish put on in summer, in order to have it get hard, before being used. They should be washed in warm water, without soap--a little oil rubbed on them occasionally, makes them look nice, and tends to keep the varnish from wearing off.

Black lead and British l.u.s.tre are both of them good to black stoves which have never been varnished--if they have been, it will not answer.

They should be mixed with cold water, to form a paste, then rubbed on the stoves, and remain till quite dry--they should then be rubbed with a dry, stiff, and flat brush, till clean and polished. If you wish to preserve the color of free-stone hearths, wash them in water, without any soap; then rub on them, while damp, free-stone, that has been reduced to a powder--let it remain till dry, then rub it off. If the hearths are stained, rub them hard with a piece of free-stone. If you wish to have your hearth look dark, rub it over with hot soft soap, alone, or diluted with water. For brick hearths, use redding, mixed with thin hot starch and milk.

423. _To extract Ink from Floors._

Ink spots on floors can be removed by scouring them with sand wet in oil of vitriol, and water, mixed. Rinse them, when the ink is extracted, with strong pearl-ash water.

424. _To remove Paint and Putty from Window Gla.s.s._

Put sufficient pearl-ash into hot water, to make it very strong of it; then saturate the paint which is daubed on the gla.s.s with it. Let it remain till nearly dry, then rub it off hard, with a woollen cloth.

Pearl-ash water is also good to remove putty before it is dried on the gla.s.s. If it dries on, whiting is good to remove it.

425. _To cleanse Feather Beds and Mattresses._

When feather beds become soiled or heavy, they may be made clean and light by being treated in the following manner: Rub them over with a stiff brush, dipped in hot soap-suds. When clean, lay them on a shed, or any other clean place, where the rain will fall on them. When thoroughly soaked, let them dry in a hot sun for six or seven successive days, shaking them up well, and turning them over each day. They should be covered over with a thick cloth during the night; if exposed to the night air, they will become damp, and mildew. This way of washing the bed ticking and feathers, makes them very fresh and light, and is much easier than the old-fashioned way of emptying the beds, and washing the feathers separately, while it answers quite as well. Care must be taken to dry the bed perfectly, before sleeping on it. Hair mattresses that have become hard and dirty, can be made nearly as good as new by ripping them, washing the ticking, and picking the hair free from bunches, and keeping it in a dry, airy place, several days. Whenever the ticking gets dry, fill it lightly with the hair, and tack it together.

426. _To cleanse Vials and Pie Plates._

Bottles and vials that have had medicine in them, may be cleansed by putting ashes in each one, and immersing them in a pot of cold water, then heating the water gradually, until it boils. When they have boiled in it an hour, take it from the fire, and let them remain in it till cold; then wash them in soap-suds, and rinse them in fair water till clear. Pie plates that have been used much for baking, are apt to impart an unpleasant taste to the pies, which is owing to the lard and b.u.t.ter of the crust soaking into them, and becoming rancid. It may be removed by putting them in a bra.s.s kettle, with ashes and cool water, and boiling them in it an hour.

427. _To temper Earthen-ware._

Earthen-ware that is used to bake in, will be less liable to crack from the heat if put, before they are used, into a vessel, with sufficient cold water to cover them, then heated in it gradually, till the water boils. When the vessel is taken from the fire, the ware should remain in until cold.

428. _To temper New Ovens and Iron-ware._

New ovens, before they are baked in, should have a fire kept up in them half a day. As soon as the wood is removed, put up the lid of the oven.

It should not be used for baking until it has been heated the second time. If not treated in this manner, it will never retain the heat well.

New flat irons should be heated half a day before they are used, in order to retain heat well. Iron cooking utensils, when new, will be less liable to crack if heated gradually five or six hours, and then cooled slowly, before being used to cook in. Cold water should never be turned into hot iron utensils, as it will crack them by cooling the surface too suddenly.

429. _To polish Bra.s.s, Britannia, and Silver Utensils._

Rotten stone, mixed with a little spirit, is the best thing to clean bra.s.s with: rotten stone and oil does very well. They should be polished with dry rotten stone, and a dry cloth. Hot vinegar and milk makes bra.s.s look nice--it should be rinsed off, wiped dry, and rubbed over with chalk, to kill the acid, and give the bra.s.s a polish. Bra.s.s looks very nice cleaned in this manner, and will keep clean a long time, provided all the acid is killed--if not, they will turn very soon. When bra.s.s utensils are not in use, they should be thoroughly cleaned with rotten stone and oil, and wrapped up tight to exclude the air. Whiting or chalk is good to polish silver. If the silver is spotted, wet the chalk, (which should be powdered,) rub it on the silver, and let it remain until dry; then rub it off with a clean dry cloth. When chalk will not remove spots, hot ashes will. Britannia-ware should be rubbed with a flannel rag dipped in sweet or linseed oil, if spotted, then washed in soap-suds, and wiped dry. To give it a polish, rub it over with dry powdered chalk or whiting, using a clean dry rag.

430. _To remove or keep Rust from Cutlery._

Bristol brick is good to remove rust, and give a polish to steel utensils. It should be powdered fine, and rubbed on dry, with a woollen cloth. Knives should be rubbed on a board, with a thick leather covered over it, and fastened down tight. The brick should be dry, and powdered fine, and the knives should not be wet after cleaning, but merely wiped, with a dry clean cloth. To make the handles smooth, wipe them with a cloth that is a little damp, being careful not to touch the blades, as it will tarnish them. Knives look very nice cleaned in this manner, and the edge will keep sharp. Ivory-handled knives should never have the handles put into hot water, as it will turn them yellow. If, through misuse, they turn yellow, rub them with sand paper. When Bristol brick will not remove rust from steel, rub the spots with sand paper or emery, or else rub on sweet oil, and let it remain a day; then rub it off with powdered quicklime. To keep steel utensils (that are not in constant use) from contracting rust, clean them thoroughly with Bristol brick, wipe them on a perfectly dry cloth, and rub them over with sweet oil, and cover them with brown paper, so as to exclude the air. Knives and forks should be wrapped up in brown paper, each one by itself.

431. _Preservatives against the ravages of Moths._

Moths are very apt to eat woollen and fur garments early in the summer.

To keep them from the garments, take them late in the spring, when not worn, and put them in a chest, with considerable camphor gum. Cedar chips, or tobacco leaves, are also good for this purpose. When moths get into garments, the best thing to destroy them is to hang the garments in a closet, and make a strong smoke of tobacco leaves under them. In order to do it, have a pan of live coals in the closet, and sprinkle on the tobacco leaves.

432. _To destroy c.o.c.kroaches, Ants, and other household Vermin._

h.e.l.lebore, rubbed over with mola.s.ses, and put round the places that c.o.c.kroaches frequent, is a very effectual poison for them. a.r.s.enic, spread on bread and b.u.t.ter, and placed round rat or mouse holes, will soon put a stop to their ravages. Quicksilver and the white of an egg, beat together, and laid with a feather round the crevices of the bedsteads and the sacking, is very effectual in destroying bugs in them.

To kill flies, when so numerous as to be troublesome, keep cobalt, wet with spirit, in a large shallow plate. The spirit will attract the flies, and the cobalt will kill them very soon. Black pepper is said to be good to destroy them--it should be mixed, so as to be very strong, with a little cream and sugar. Great care is necessary in using the above poisons, where there are any children, as they are so apt to eat any thing that comes in their way, and these poisons will prove as fatal to them as to vermin, (excepting the pepper.) The flour of sulphur is said to be good to drive ants away, if sprinkled round the places that they frequent. Sage is also good. Weak brine will kill worms in gravel walks, if kept moist with it a week in the spring, and three or four days in the fall.