HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 76, 29 March 1924, Page 22

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

An All Purpose Cleanser.

The making up of the following simple recipe will result in a cleansing agent that has a multitude of uses in an ordinary household. Take lib of Castile soap, 5 pints of water, Joz of saltpetre, and 3 gills of aqua ammonia. See that the soap is not too new, and when sufficiently dry shave it up and pour over it the water —rain water preferably—and boil till the soap is thoroughly dissolved. Remove from fire, and then" add the saltpetre, stirring in very slowly. Strain off and allow the suds to remain in order to settle. When this is done remove any crust that may have formed on the top, and add the ammonia. Bottle immediately, and keep well corked. Mixed with a little whiting the cleanser may be used as a metal polish. It will remove all traces of grease from carpets and upholstery. It deals successfully with grease or oil on fine fabrics, in which case it should be well rubbed into the spot on both sides, and afterwards rinsed in cold water. Besides these there are many other cleansing purpurposes which suggest themselves in household use.

Brass tape and door fittings may be cleaned with powdered bathbrick which has been mixed to a paste with paraffin or oil of turpentine. After cleaning, if rubbed over with vaseline, outside brass does not tarnish so quickly.

Never use hard water when washing. If you cannot obtain rain-water, soften your washing water with borax, oatmeal, or a teaspoonful or two of lemon juice. Silk embroidery can be cleaned with spirits of wine without removing it from the gown it trims. Put a little of this into a saucer, dip a camel's liair brush in the spirit, and with this go jover every part of the embroidery until it is quite clean. It is most important to keep on rinsing the brush in the spirit that is in the saucer so that it is clean every time it is used.

Varnished wallpaper should be cleaned with warm water to which salt of tartar has been added—one teaspoonful to half a pail of water. Remove all dust from the paper with a dry duster, or a emudgy, muddy effect will result.

Iron rust on white materials can be removed by soaking the eta'n with lemon juice and then rubbing it with common salt. . Put the article in the sun to dry.

When covering jam jars, instead of tying the paper cover on with striing, dip some grease-proof paper into very hot starch and immediately put it o<ver the jars, fixing firmly at the sides. When dry the paper will be like parchment and quite air-tight.

Sago soaked in water or milk until quite soft is an excellent substitute for suet or baking powder, in the proportion of one teacupful of dry sago to four of flour.

A pinch of salt and the same amount of castor sugar improves the flavour of mustard. If mixed with boiling water instead of cold, it will be found to keep moist much longer.

At least once a week, and at night, sprinkle the sink with chlorate of lime. In the morning scrub with a longhandled brush and pour boiling water down. The chlorate of lime removes all grease, both from the sink and the pipe, and acts as a disinfectant.