USEFUL HINTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 232, 1 October 1925, Page 21

USEFUL HINTS.

I TO WASH KNITTED SHE. j Prepare a lukewarm rads of good pore : soap. Put in the garment and souse j ' it up and dotrn. If there are any dirty j pans rub them very Ilgaily. Repeat process in another bcwl of suds, then rin~e in slightly soapy "water. The j ' garment shotild not be pulled or "wrong; ! Place it inada a folded Turkish towel ] and pat and squeeze trntU nearly all' - moisture is absorbed. Gently stretch into shape and place on Turkish to-srel ; to dry. Txtra over freqeentJj aod dry j quiddy. CUSHION COVERS. Whai can be cone frith a little i • ingenuity and a fe-w yards of tape aad j ! linea -vrae exemplified ill soms deii^rtfal caslilon;. I saw the oiler day. state an ; Ecsriish pap»r. Among the prectiest "were ■ foine of piaia cream lissi striped from corner »o corner vitii bias iaj>e of Tariou* soades of tan, the stripes being aixyaz faaii aa mci apari. j j Aaoth£r of oranire lioea "sras boaad! • in fclaek tape, -s-iiicli formed squares in ■ each corner. Others, again, had & little : •, -sroollen fringe, and some ■srare of flowered j glazed ciiintz boand or racaed -arith! ■ reciings in p-lain colour. ,; AH of these comers "were made, so; . that they could be removed for -RTasMag — j j a practical and sensiiae plan this, for ! there i≤ nothing gets so easily soiled I . : "siien used oat of doors. J TO HESD A RUBBER BAG. li your rabber hot--water bag has ! spnnig a leak, protiding it is not a j : : very huge one, yon may give it another: life hj~ this method: Spread a piece of : linen with solution soec as you use j for tyrs punctures, and lay it" quickly j j on the hole, pressing the" edges welL : It shocM then be eorered 'with a piece . of piper, pressed ■srith a waim iron, | i and left iriti. a ireignt ca it till dry. ■ . The paper can then be rezno-red and j . £he oater side of ihe linen patch neatly : . j covered "arita the solution and rubbed :j Esaooth.

LAUNDRY LIKES. Small quantities of ammonia, and j borax added to the soapy •water in which J clothes are soaked frill loosen the dirt j and make white materials whiter. To prevent the blue in clothes from i looking patchy it is a good plan to make ! a'quart or two of water a blue, and I | from that p-our into the blueing-tub until j | yon have the required tint. Remember that yen should not soak • ! coloured garments. Wash them oot and ! finish at once. Do not use starch with silk materials; it they require stiffening dip them ia gum water. Make this by pouring a quarter of a pint of Vijlinj: water over j one ounce of gum arabic. If you wear a large apron of white oil-cloth while washing it will prevent you from wetting and soiling your dress. " i j TO STAIN A FLOOR. | A carpet or large rug gives an air of I homely comfort to any room, but there are occasions when for reasons of hygiene or economy other means of I making your floors attractive must be 1 soughtStained wood can be made very ] pleasing and durable if a little time and trouble is expended on it. and is j eminently suitable for bedroom floors. ! sitting-room surrounds, and sxairtread?. Water stain is the simplest to apply. ilt may be a chemical such as perman- ; ganate of potash, or merely a dye that lis dissolved in water —such as vandyke j brown crystals. Or. if you like, ready , prepared water stains can be bought at any oil and colour shop. A water stain ! penetrates the grain of the wood -and • colours rt. successive coais of stain intensify the colour, but it does not preserve or 311 up the pores of the wood lin the same way as an oil stain does, i There are. of course, preserving- stains i such as creosote, but the~e are more . generally used for outside woodwork. An old washing-up mop covered with i several pieces of any smooth cotton ; material will apply the stain quite well. j Oils stains penetrate well into the I wood. and. in addition to colouring it, • preserves it and brings up the grain. ; The oil lenathens the life of the wood | and counteracts wear. After a floor has been oil stained it j can be varnished if liked, but by far | the most satisfactory final treatment ! for either an oil or water-stained floor |is was polishing after one or two coata jof linseed oil have been rubbed in. The . action of the air on linseed oil is to ; harden it. and thus a good surface is I produced on which either pasta or | liquid wax can be applied with good ' effect. When once a satisfactory aad I durable stained floor is obtained in this ' way. a sparing application; of ''Glowax 5 ' ■ once a week or once a fortnight is snS- \ cient to keep it in excellent condition. ; With such a floor there is no ehantfs of !' the stain tr earing or chipping, as the wood is actually dyed.

= = = = AS OVFN TEST. After the first 10 minutes of cooking meat, if the liquid in the tin is splintering very fast, and there is an acrid smoke in the oven, it _i too hot. so lower the gas in a gas oven or push in the damper of a kitchener. If the liquid in the pan is spluttering gently, the temperature of the oven is correct. If it is i -still, the oven is not hot enough. -CHEAP ICE CREAM. Beat the yoik of an egg in a cupful ■of milk: add a teaspooasfu! of c-om- , flower, some sugar, aad Savouring. Boil till it is a kind of custard, then thin it ' down with milk till like a cream. Pour ;it into the freeezing can, put on the lid, and twirl it rapidly. In a few minutes scrape the ice-from the sides, and mix j with the remainder. Put on the lid. and \ again twirl until all is frozen. This is ' only a sample—a larger quantity can be ' made. White fnrsitur? is best treated with a little whiting dissolved in warm a-a:?". P.ub this on with a cloth, and it will restore- the whiteness and help to pre- | serve the enamel.