AT HOME AND ABROAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 171, 21 July 1924, Page 12

AT HOME AND ABROAD.

CLEANING METHODS. If mixed with methylated spirits, vinegar, and paraffin in equal proportion.-*, turpentine will remove dirt, grease and stains from furniture and will produce a high polish at the same time. If beeswax is mixed with turpentine this compound makes an excellent furniture and floor polish for use after cleaning. Turpentine will remove stains from a tiled floor and paint stains from clothes. Clothes sprinkled with it will not be attacked by moths. It helps to whiten clothes it a little is added to the water in which they are boiled. A teaspoonful added t ostarch will help to produce a gloss. | Mixed with sweet oil and then rubbed on patent leather, it will help to prevent cracks. DIRECTIONS FOR DYEING A CARPET. For those who do not desire to incur the expense of. having old carpets dyed by the professional, the difficulty may be' overcome by simple home-dyeing. A writer in an English paper possessed I some very shabby cord stair-carpet, which she desired to renovate. The colour was an ugly brown, and she decided to dye it a good shade of purple. A rich tone was obtained by procuring a few ouncee of aniline dye crystals, costing but a few pennies. The dye crystals were placed in a good-sized tin and well mixed with boiling water till dissolved. Having obtained the strengtli of dye desired, a hard scrubbing brush was dipped into the dye and passed carefully, slowly, and firmly over the carpet. It is necessary - to cover the carpet as evenly as possible or it will look patchy, but if this should occur, go over the uneven parts again, when the carpet is dry. and with a little perseverance you will get the right effect. Probably other fast dyes could be used in a similar manner, but usually, they arc much more expensive. The purple stair-carpet was found mvst satisfactory, and it .was easily touched up whenever it showed a sign of fade. It is desirable to dye the carpet on the spot where it is to remain and also one obtains better command over it when it is left on the floor. It will dry quickly, and because in this process the carpet is not soaked with the dye, no damage will be done the floor underneath.. PREPARING GRAPE FRUIT. Grape fruit is now obtainable and will make a delightful dish, as served by the Americans. See that the fruit is unblemished; wipe it with damp cloth, and then cut in half with a sharp knife. Take out all the pipe, and cut out the core with sharp scissors. Loosen the fruit .from the skin, divide it into convenient pieces, and leave in the halved fruit. Drain out the syrup, mix it with a little sherry, sweeten to taste, and pour over the fruit. Place half a preserved cherry in the centre of the fruit, and a strip of angelica at each side. Serve the fruit on a lace paper on a glass plate with a glass spoon. Serve half a fruit to each person.