CLEANING MATERIALS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 16, 20 January 1939, Page 11

CLEANING MATERIALS.

ECONOMICAL METHODS. Soii|i*, polishes and cleaning materials ■ in' apt to claim a disproportionate share of the housekeeping allowance, lint with a knowledge of the cleansing properties ot articles in common use and the exercise of economy in their application the housewife can save many shillings jn the year. Soap, the most ordinary cleanser of all. is liable to be. wasted if it is lined indiscriminately. It should always be bought in a* large quantities as possible, cut into piece*, and stored for a few weeks in a warm place so that it dries thoroughly before use. Soap should not be used when just a soapy lather is required—a Tew soap flakes, which can be bought cheaply in pound packets will serve the same purpose more economically. Soda is cheaper than soap for washing up and removes grease just as effectively. All the odds and ends of toilet and household soap should lie placed in a jar, covered with water, and placed in a warm oven until the soap melts. The resultant soap jelly is excellent when a lather is required. The cheapest way of polishing wood and leather is to wipe it thoroughly with a chamois leather wrung out in a weak solution of vinegar and water and to polish it with a. soft duster. Upholstered furniture can Iks successfully cleaned by rubbing it with warm bran, which should be afterwards 'brushed out. .Vow and again car|H'ts should l>e rubbed with a cloth dipped in ammonia and water, using a teaspoonful of ammonia to a quart of water. Polish is often erroneously applied to oxidised brass, silver, and copper articles and to chromium-plated tan* and fitting*. This, however, removes the layer of "oxide," leaving the bare surface of the metal exposed, which tarnishes readily, so that the polishing ha* to he continually repeated. A damp cloth, quickly followed by polishing with a dry, clean, duster, will do all that is required. Silver, too, can be kept beautifully •bright if it is washed in soapy water, drained, and polished with a dry cloth; but if it is tarnished, clean it with a little common salt and vinegar. The bath and wash-bowl can he cleaned with a rag dipped in paraflin or with powdered whiting. Windows and mirrors can lie beautifully polished with a little paraflin or vinegar applied with a cloth. Aluminium-ware should he cleaned with wire wool, to which a little soap should be applied if the articles are greasy. The wool can lie bought cheaply in half-pound rolls; as a little can be <ut off at a time one roll will la*t for months in the average household. A slice of lemon will clean tarnished copper and brass; when the article is clean it should be washed in soapy water, rinsed and dried.