TONICS FOR YOUR CLOTHES

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXX, Issue 3627, 3 July 1939, Page 2

TONICS FOR YOUR CLOTHES

It isn't possible to be ahyays sending clothes to the dry cleaners, and you will find it well worth while to give them a freshening treatment once or twice between sending them for professional cleaning. If a tailored suit is losing its clean--cut contour, hang it up after you have cleaned it, while it still has just a. suspicion of dampness on the surface, and leave it, jf possible, for at least a week. Tailors will tell you how much they rely on this method to shrink “bulges" in suits they axe altering. Begin with a good shaking and brushing for loose dust, sponge the inside of the collar with petrol, and then press the suit not by ironing, but by laying a wet cloth on one part after another, and keeping a hot iron just moving over it until the cloth is dry. Put the coat immediately on a padded hanger and lay the skirt over the bar of the hanger or a wardrobe bar. Nothing has eclipsed the old ivy remedy for shiny black or navy blue clothes; Boil, the ivy leaves in a saucepan of water, and simmer them down to a strong liquid, which can be used, undiluted, for sponging the shiny parts. If you are bringing out any black clothes that have been laid away for some months, they may disappoint you by looking rusty, although they were cleaned beforehand. . Banish the rusty tinge by sponging with one; part of spirits of wine to three parts of water. * The color of a navy cloth frock for coat can be brought up by sponging with vinegar, boiled and allowed to cool. Any dress of dark material will respond to a thorough brushing with ammonia and water. ' Keep dipping the , tips of the bristles only in the solu-. tion, and shake them before they touch, the material. ..Press it on the wrong side while still damp. You may have a coat-frock of tweed, gabardine, or similar fabric which looks a little tired, but not yet due for dry-cleaning. Put a handful of scented bath-salts in a basin of warm water, dip a clean rag in it, and sponge lightly all over the cloth. It will remove any smoky or dusty smell, and give the dress a nice fresh feeling in wear. Several light frocks are worth washing in petrol, as one bath for cleaning and the other for rinsing will do for them all, and they r do , not require ironing. This is a point of some im- • portance with, the draped and pleated silk gowns of the present fashion, as it is no easy matter to iron them. Black felt hats can be cleaned by rubbing with very fine sandpaper, and light felt by ground rice applied with a rag and removed later with a stiff brush. Suede can be cleaned effectively by -rubbing lightly in a circular movement with a flannel dipped in fine oatmeal. ... :