KEEPING THE GLOSS ON CHINTZ

Evening Star, Issue 22881, 12 February 1938, Page 26

KEEPING THE GLOSS ON CHINTZ

In washing chintz covers avoid soap altogether. Even if it does remove the dirt, it is ten to one it spoils the sheen of the material—just what one is out to avoid. To wash chintz covers without loss of gloss, boil about 21b of good quality rice in two gallons of water, then leave it for five or six hours to cool. Next day boil up the solution again—rice and water that is—and allow it . to cool ofi until you can just bear your hands in it. Then plunge. the chintz into the mixture, rubbing it with the rice water until the dirt falls out and the material it clean all over. A sponge or very soft nail brush helps -considerably, especially if the.covers are much soiled. When the material is as clean as new, boil a, similar quantity of rice again in

the samo amount of fresh water an<L when cool, strain off the liquid thij time. This is the rinsing water which gives to the material its look of new* ness when dry and ready for wea| again. .

After the covers are thoroughly? rinsed, endeavour to dry them as flat as possible by laying them on several thicknesses of newspaper on the floori Not only does this keep the covers 4 good shape, but they dry more quickly* since the absorbent quality of the papel soaks up the superfluous moisture, anq undue shrinkage in any particular pari is avoided. In the actual ironing, us® a medium-heated iron in preference to a hot one. This is important, for it imparts the requisite gloss.