CORNER FOR BUSY BEES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 182, 3 August 1929, Page 3 (Supplement)

CORNER FOR BUSY BEES.

■ SOME USEFUL HINTS. HOW TO CLEAN THINGS. (Conducted by TINKER BELL.) Dear GirU.— If wc try very hard we will always be able to find ways and means of cleaning things about the house, but if we know the correct way to clean things, then our task becomes ever so much more simple. The following hints tell exactly how some common things around the house are cleaned;— ' TO CLEAN KNIVES. We can clean a dirty, greasy knife by running the blade into mould slantwise several times, and wiping it with a newspaper. Table knives are cleaned in a knife machine, or by sprinkling emery powder on a knifeboard and rubbing the blade sideways along this so that the edge of the blade is not blunted. TO CLEAN STAINED CLOTHES. Before being brushed with a clothesbrush, dusty or muddy garments should be well shaken out of doors. It is better to let splashes of mud dry on cloth, and then remove them with a hard brush, always brushing the way of the nap. To rub the splash with a piece of the material itself before apply ing the brush is a good plan. A grease spot can sometimes be taken out of cloth or silk with eau de Cologne; and when grease is dried on cotton or woollen material it may be removed by moistening it with warm water and soaping it. Benzine is also a good grease remover. Another method is to place a piece of blotting-paper or porous brown paper over the spot, and press a hot iron on it, moving the paper every now and then until the grease is completely absorbed. Black cloth is freshened by sponging with cold tea or ammonia diluted with water. Lay the cloth flat on a table and sponge very carefully, moistening the sponge every now and then, and hang the cloth iit the air to dry. Dirt marks can be removed by rubbing them with a ra? dipped in petrol, but the petrol must not be used near a light or fire. Ink spots can be removed by rubbing with milk or salt. This must Be done at once, otherwise the application is of no iise. If the ink spots are old, the best method is to soap them and then lay a little salts of lemon or salts of sorrel ore them, but the salts must not be rubbed in, or a hole may be made in the material. TO CLEAN PAINT. Dirty painted wood should be first dusted with a dry cloth, and then washed with a soaped one. Very hot water and a hard brush spoils the paint and takes it off. We must then rinse the surface with clean water, and dry with a soft cloth. We can remove paint from brushes by dipping them in linseed oil or turpentine, and washing them in soap and water in the palm of the hand. The soap must be rinsed out in clean water, and the bristles shaped to a point, before being stood upright to dry. TO CLEAN BOTTLES. * A glas bottle can be clenaed by pouring some household ammonia into it; shake it well, empty it, and rinse it clean with warm water. If the neck be wide, tea leaves, or small pieces of a raw potato, mixed with salt and water, can be shaken up in the bottle.