WAYS WITH WRINGERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22714, 29 October 1935, Page 14

WAYS WITH WRINGERS

In well-equipped American homes the strictest attention is paid to the wringer. This is why our American home laundering possesses something of a professional touch.

After each washing day, we damp the rollers with ordinary paraffin. This prevents them from wearing out, and the water does not soak into the wocd and rot it. The oil does not harm the clothes since it has dried into the wood during the days that elapse between one washday and the next.

If the wood of the rollers is soft already, then we harden it. This is not nearly so difficult as it seems, and you should try it, too. First take cold water, add a few handfuls of sugar, then heat the solution until it boils, stirring occasionally. Now, keeping the mixture at boiling point all the time, saturate the soft wood with a brush dipped in the solution. When the rollers will obsorb no more of the solution, leave them with the tension slackened as much as possible, and as they dry the pores and interstices of the word are filled with solid matter, and the rollers are impervious to water. Of course, we clean off all the hard sugar from the exterior of the rollers before using it for wringing clothes. This we do by simply wiping the rollers over with a cloth moistened lightly in vinegar, or vinegar and water. The wood should now be in perfect condition. If, as sometimes happens, the rollers of a wringer have worn in the centre, we avoid tearing the clothes by winding a length of flannel several times round each roller, then stitching the loose end in position. If both rollers are similarly treated the alignment may be made almost as perfect as whan new. If you make use of rubber rollers in your wringer, and find you get inefficient presshig, due to the rubber being worn in the centre, the ti'ouble may be overcome.

To put this right, use the discarded inner tube of a bicycle. Cut a piece.' without patches, if possible, slightly longer than the roller, and work this on gradually like a stocking, using French chalk to help it slip on. This gives the roller an entirely new surface. Where the rubber rollers of a wringer have been allowed to get hard and brittle so that efficient pressing is impossible, the rubber can be reconditioned (if not too far gone) by frequent applications of an alkaline solution composed of one part ammonia to two parts' of water. This is necessary because acids form in the rubber after a while. The ammonia solution counteracts this acid, and puts the rollers in good condition again. For the same reason, if your rubber rollers are out of use for any length of time you should wrap them up, and include in the wrappings a little quicklime or ammonium carbonate, though take care that this does not come into contact with the actual rubber.—Home Chat.