DIFFICULTIES OF FLAT DWELLERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18678, 7 April 1924, Page 14

DIFFICULTIES OF FLAT DWELLERS.

The housewife who occupies a flat and who tries to lighten her laundry bill by turning her kitchenette into a laundry and indulging in what is disrespectfully referred to as " dab-washing," suffers from one great disadvantage. With time her clothes tend to become a bad colour, because there is no open-air space in which to dry them. Fortunately, greyish-look-ing handkerchiefs and blouses are not an inevitable part of life in a flat if certain simple precautions are taken. . First, it is necessary to see that all white clothes are perfectly clean before starting to boil them, contrary to the generally accepted comfortable assumption that all stains and dirty marks will come out "in the boil." Probably they will/' but then the boiling water will be discoloured and that will have an adverse effect on the colour of the clothes. The most common stains that require removal are ink stains, ironmould, blood stains, gravy, fruit, and mildew stains. Moisten the stains well with cold water. Should there be an ink stain boil the article separately, and then the discolouration wil lturn to ironmould and can easily be eradicated by stretching the stained part loosely over a bowl and applying Halts of lemon, followed by several applanation* of boiling water. Let the stain aioak for some time, then if necessary repeat the process. Fruit stains also will disappear if treated in this way. Blooc and gravy stains both yield to a treatment of cold salt water, while mildew is best removed by applying at frequent intervals a paste made of Castile soap and French chalk. • Having removed the stains, soften the Water with a little soda and shredded soap. If any garment is very much discoloured . add one tablespoonful of borax to a boilerful of water, and after boiling the article for a pood fifteen minutes a low it to get quite cold. This treatment deserves to be more generally worth the rtl ) e "suit, proves it to be well worth the extra time. over-estimated the woS c , ann , ot be *>~* iv, __t 3 . w °man who knows £ »»' the attention paid to details in" ° n First vinse th clothes inwlrm w^To remove the soap and then plunge them into cold water, holding them up so tfit the water runs through them. Tim will make the material clear-looking.