A Housewife's A Diary

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 231, 30 September 1936, Page 14

A Housewife's A Diary

Hints About The Home

Do not tuck down linoleum until the day after it has been fitted so as to allow for spreading. White Silk. White silk will better retain its. colour if a little milk is added to the final rinsing water. Handbags. Eucalyptus oil, applied with a soft rag, will clean and restore the colour of skin-made handbags. Give final polish with white shoe cream. Starch, Starched garments, etc., sometimes stick together when drying. Avoid this by including a small quantity of salt when mixing up the starch. Storing Clothes. Make up into parcels, using newspaper as coverings. If well pinned over, moths will be kept away as they do not like printer’s ink. Use of Petrol. When using petrol for getting off a stain, add a pinch of salt and no ringed edge will show where the stain was removed. Bronze Ornaments. These are best cleaned by rubbing over with olive oil, rubbing over with a soft duster and finally polishing with a chamois leather. When Tired. A good refresher is a cup of hot water, sweetened by a lump of sugar. Spectacles. A few drops of eau-de-Cologne will clean and polish spectacles and other eyeglasses. .Finger Nails. Digging the finger points into a cut lemon twice every week produces transparent nails. Batin Shoes. If badly stained, apply vinegar with a soft sponge. When dry, rub over a second time. Tulips. Wrap a piece of paper tightly round the stems of a bunch of tulips, leaving ends bare, and place in water for thirty minutes. On removing paper it will be found the stems will stand upright in vases. Teapot. A lump of sugar -in a silver teapot will ensure freedom from any moisture. Common salt will remove stains from an aluminium teapot. Onions. A raw potato or small piece of stale bread in the water being used while peeling onions is a good precaution against smarting of the eyes being caused. Socks and Stockings. The feet of socks and stockings will be kept soft if a few drops of olive oil is added to the water when washing them. Paint Brushes. Neglected paint brushes should be stood in vinegar for thirty minutes and then washed in soapy water. Bugs. Do not sew the lining of rugs on the short sides as the openings will enable the dust to be shaken out. Rugs should not be shaken by holding them by the corners; they should be folded in half. Glazed Tiles. Rubbing with a cut lemon will remove stains from glazed tiles. Polish a tiled hearth with furniture cream. Creases. Creases in clothes can be removed by hanging them on a line in the bathroom and turning on the hot water tap until the room becomes full of steam. After an hour or more, dry the clothes in the open air and press on the wrong side with a rather cool flat iron. Chimney Sweep. When the chimney sweep is gone, open the window, top and bottom, close the door, and leave the room for ten minutes. This will clear away all lingering soot and dust. Wallpaper. Stale bread will remove marks from wallpaper, or apply a little whiting mixed with clean water and remove with a soft brush when dry. Tiles. First wash with hot water. Afterwards, using a partly-wrung-out flannel, rub soft soap over the tiles. The tiles will absorb the soap. Tack Before Washing. Before sending clothes to the laundry, it is worth while to spend ten minutes on judicious tacking, for the work may save considerable outlay of time, trouble and money later on. A frock with a kilted hem and pleated trimming on the collar, if washed before kilting and pleats are tacked down, will emerge with the trimmings looking like gathered flounces that will keep neither in place nor in shape. They will have to be properly repleated if they are to look well again and this will mean unpicking, a visit to” the pleating, shop and re-sewing. Better to tack before washing. Organdie jabots, too, should be carefully tacked. Narrow frills will do with a single line of tacking about half an inch from the outer edges, but wider ones will need two, the upper one at about the centre. \ciy vide kilting may need three or more. When a cardigan goes to the wash, tack down the top edges of the pockets so that they do not come back stretched out of shape.