HINTS AND IDEAS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 122, 25 May 1935, Page 3 (Supplement)

HINTS AND IDEAS.

THINGS WORTH KNOWING

FOR THE HOUSEWIFE.

BRAN WATER-

Bran water can safely be used for cleansing all coloured furnishings. Well brush or shake the article to be washed. Tie the bran, which muet be fresh, in a piece of muslin, loosely enough to allow it to swell, then boil in water until it becomes cloudy. Leave the bran bag in the water until it is cool. No soap ie required, for the bran acts as a cleansing medium. Prepare another yjan with bran water for the first rinsing, then give a second rinsing in clean water. If the article ie largely composed of wooi, have warm water for washing and rinsing.

CLEANING A RAINCOAT.

Brush and shake the garment free from dust and lay it on a flat eurface. Make a lather from a good yellow soap, adding a tablespoonful of liquid ammonia to each pint. Wring out a cloth in clean, hot water and dip in lather, rubbing the garment all over evenly, taking care not to make it too wet. When clean, wring a clean cloth out in cold water, rinee frequently, and well rub with this. Dry in a warm, airy place. WHEN MARKING LINEN. Marking-ink can be applied neatly and easily if the linen to be marked is moistened with cold water starch, dried and ironed. This makes a smooth, stiff writing surface, and prevents the ink running.

AN ALL-NIGHT FIRE. To keep a fire burning all night beat it down well with the poker, add a good layer of small knobs of coal, putting over them an ordinary fire brick, which can be obtained for two or three pence. The brick should be laid quite flat, and the heat will be thrown well forward into the room. CARPET REPAIRS. Before carpets are replaced after cleaning a few small repairs may be necessary, and it is advisable to have a supply of binding at hand. The best way to finish off the edge of a strip of carpet is to lay the binding along the underside and blanket-stitch it firmly in place. The other edge of the binding should be well waxed by rubbing it with a candle end, and if the carpet is hard and thick, wax may be rubbed on the back of it, along the line that has to be stitched.

To save expense when using a gas stove, place over the top of the stove a piece of sheet iron just large enough to cover it. Turn on one burner only, and enough heat will be diffused to heat several saucepans. Whatever requires the greatest heat should be put directly over the burner. In making a fruit tart mix the sugar with the fruit. It should never form a layer on top of the fruit, becauee when it is heated and begins to melt it soaks the under surface of the crust and makes

the pastry indigestible. After use a sponge should be squeezed as dry as possible and then hung up by a string in the air to dry. When used with soap it should be squeezed in warm water and left to lie for a few minutes in cold water. Soap should never be left in sponges, and they should not be wrung, ae this breaks the fibres and injures the elasticity. Try washing the hands with a little sugar added to the soap. This greatly increases the lather and cleansing powers, and- will remove all dirt and chemical stains. Test the heat of the oven by sprinkling a little flour on a piece of brown paper and placing in the oven. If the flour browns in less than a minute, the oven is too hot, but if it takes three minutes to brown the oven is just right for pastry and meat, etc. Before storing coal for the winter, order sufficient coke to cover the floor of the coalhouse. The coal dust adheres to the coke and forms large pieces which obviate waste. Scent spilt on a highly polished dressing-table will take out the polish and leave a bad stain. To prevent this, wipe up the perfume immediately and rub the part well with a cloth which has been wrung out in paraffin. Leave for a day, then polish with furniture polish, and the mark will have disappeared.