HINTS FOR HOUSEWIVES

Grey River Argus, 18 December 1940, Page 8

HINTS FOR HOUSEWIVES

Leather, to Clean.—Dip a soft piece of flannel in teaspoon vinegar, mixed with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Rub well into leather. Polish with a piece of soft silk till all vestige of oil has disappeared. This will prevent leather cracking .and hardening.

Marble, to Clean.—Rub badly soiled marble with a rag moistened with vinegar and dipped in salt. Wash off. Dry. Polish with furniture cream.

One way to treat dry. horny cuticles and brittle fingernails is to soak the fingertips in glycerine for a few minutes every night at bedtime. The glycerine helps to make the cuticle smooth and nails strong and flexible.

Snap fasteners are more easily sewn on to dark clothing if one-half of fastener is first sewn on securely, then ball in the centre of fastener is marked with chalk, pressed against goods on other side. Chalk mark will show where other half of fastener should be sewn.

Once an onion has been cut it should be used or thrown away. Cut onion absorbes impurities in the air.

Cover stains on a teacloth with glycerine, and leave to dry, then boil and rinse in the usual way, and all the marks will disappear.

To prevent soft belts of any material from curling when worn, sew a piece of buckram (same length and width) with the belt when making.

Paraffin is excellent for cleaning the rough, unglazed bricks that surround modern fireplaces.

A heaped teaspoon of sugar added when washing swedes will improve the flavour.

To sharpen scissors, open them and gently draw the cutting edges back and forth on a piece of glass or the neck of a bottle as though you were going to cut it off.

Paint Brushes, to Clean.—Simmer bristles in vinegar for half-hour, then wash in soapy water. Rinse in clean water, then leave till dry.

Mahogany Furniture, to Polish.— Rub with a flannel dipped in equal quantities of olive oil, vinegar and turpentine. Polish with a clean duster.

After taking pies from the oven, put a high rack under them until cool, to keep the crust crisp.

A pinch of powdered sugar or cornstarch 6 added to an omelet mixture will help to keep it light.

Grated lemon and orange rinds soaked in a little fruit juice for about ten minutes, and added to cookie dough, give the cookies a good flavour.

Boil your new clothes line for a while before you use it and you will find that it won’t tangle, stretch or knot so easily. And if you want Io make a weather-beaten clothes line look new and fresh, just wrap it round the washboard and scrub it hard.