Hints and Recipes

Northern Advocate, 29 December 1934, Page 4

Hints and Recipes

Troublesome Fluff.—Do you know the best way to brush your husband’s blue suit? Just damp the clothes brush and you’ll find that all those tiresome bits of fluff will disappear in the twinkling of an eye. It is also a good tip for your big blue coat.

Shiny Serge.—Brush sei'ge upwards, instead of downwards and the shiny parts will not show.

Whilst 'Cooking.—When creaming butter and sugar, stand the basin on a wet dishcloth on the tabic, and the basin won’t slip all over the place.

Moths in Carpet.—You can get the moth out of a carpet in the following way; Put the carpel on the floor, and cover it—a bit at a time—with a cloth wrung out of cold water and then press with a hot iron. The heat and steam combined will not only kill the grubs which have caused the trouble, but will also kill any eggs which may still be in the cai’pet. Go over all the carpet carefully and you should have no further trouble. If the pile is eaten right away in places, buy some wools to match the colours of your carpet, and fill up the damaged portion with a series of loops. These should be a fraction higher than the pile so that when the lops are cut off, the wools will be exactly the same level as the pile. Worked,in this way it will be difficult to see the carpet has been repaired. * w • * To Wash a Sheepskin Rug.—Choose a breezy day for drying. Remove the lining from the rug and wash it separately. Let the skin soak for two or three hours in cold water to which a little ammonia has been added, a tablespoonful to every pail. Press and pull the rug about, and when a good deal of the dirt lias been extracted put jnto another tub oT warm water with more ammonia, and stir vigorously. Put through a wringer with a very loose- tension. Shake vigorously and beat hard on the bade with a stick to get the tangles out of the fleece. Keep shaking during the drying process and comb with a coarse comb.

Saving the Cuffs.—Machine-stitch a piece of good-quality tape inside the cuffs just where the “rub” comes. You will find this prevents the cuffs from fraying. ♦ * ' ♦ *■ Cleaning Red Bricks.—lf a brick fireplace is only slightly soiled you will probably, find the dirt can be removed with a piece of ordinary red rubber. However, should the fireplace be really dirty all over the best thing to do is to “scrub” it with a red brick dipped in clean water. For this purpose a soft brick should be used — that is, one which is inclined to be “crumbly.” Using Up Soap.—Odd pieces of soap can be melted down and made into a good scrubbing soap if treated in the following way: Put all the pieces of soap into a jam-jar and stand this in a saucepan of hot water. When the soap has quite dissolved stir in one tablespoonful of household ammonia and sufficient dx*y sand to make a thick dough. Foi - m into cubes or balls, and leave for a few days until dry and hard. This soap is especially good for scrubbing kitchen tables and shelves.

Uses for Egg Shells. —In every household a number of eggs are used every day and usually the egg shells are thrown away as viseless. Instead, they should be dried and crushed as finely as possible with the rolling-pin. Use the powder for removing stains on enamel saucepans, teapots and coffee pots, etc. Wring out a cloth in warm water, dip it in the egg shells and rub gently. For removing the marks of burnt food, mix the egg shells with a little common salt. * » * • New Stockings.—lt is probably not news to you that if you want your stockings to last twice, even three limes, as long, you should never wear them two days running without washing them. But do you 'know the reason why? This is what a man who owns prolific slocking mills says: Each little silk thread is like a tube, but in wearing it gets flattened out, and so all Dio rubbing comes on the same flat surface. When the stockings are washed the thread becomes a tube again, and so .stands up to wear much better.