Household Hints.

Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 7 August 1912, Page 2

Household Hints.

Tooth brushes should be washed in a strong solution of salt water

When pulling threads out of canvas •r linen use a pair of toilet tweezers.

To cut warm bread or cake evenly, heat the kni|e-blade just before using it.

To, remove varnish, scrape with sandpaper and then use spirits of ammonia-

A good dressing for kid shoes which will not harden the leather is made of milk and ink in equal parts.

To prevent mould from forming On top of the liquid in which pickles are kept, put in a few pieces of horseradish root.

Before using new enamelled cooking utensils, grease the inside with butter. This prevents the enamel cracking and chipping afterwards.

About half a tablespoonful of ordinary moist sugar rubbed into the hands with a, soapy lather will clean them and leave them beautiful and smooth.

Before driving a nail through a piece of'wood, push it through a cake of hard saop. You will find that it will then go through the wood without any trouble and will not split it.

To clean ivory knife-handles,use a paste made of equal parts of ammonia, olive oil, and prepared chalk. Let the paste dry on, wash it off, dry the handles, and polish with a soft cloth.

When cooking a chop, place- it in a colander and pour over it a little boiling water. This will prevent any of the nutritious juices from being wasted- Then cook on a gridiron in the usual way.

A warm bath just before going to bed tends to allay nervous irritability, which prevents sleep. It does so probably by dilating- the blood-vessels on the surface of the body, and so relieving the brain.

To remove paper labels from old bottles easily, wet the face of the label with water and hold for an instant over any convenient flame. The steam formed penetrates the label at once and softens the paste.

To save incandescent mantles, when lighting- turn on the g;as for a few seconds, then hold the match one inch above the chimney. It is through applying- the match too quickly that so many mantles are destroyed

To make steel bright, dip a piece of rag in a little paraffin, then in fine ashes, and rub the steel briskly for a few minutes. Then polish with a clean cloth, and dry fine ashes, and you will be delighted with the result.

If your pie overflows in the oven, insert a short piece of uncooked macaroni in the top crust. This is an improvement on the paper funnel sometimes used. The macaroni should be withdrawn after the pie has been baked.

To prevent brass from tarnishing, clean it in the usual way and then rub on a little methylated spirit. Next apply some powdered chalky rubbinsi it on with a dry rag, This preserves the brass and makes it nice and bright.

If the top of the range has burned red, rub lard on the stove when cold, and allow it to remain overnight. In the morning rub well with a woollen, cloth, apply a thin coat of blacking, and when nearly dry polish with a good brush.

In choosing fowls for cooking, see that the spurs are short and that they have not been cut or pared to deceive the buyer. The comb of the cock should be bright red. Black legged fowls are to be preferred for roasting, white-legged fowls for boiling.

After washing and drying woollen blankets, hang them on a line in the open air, and beat them well with a carpet-beater. This raises the fluff. The blankets will look almost as good as new for years if they are treated in this way every time they are washed.

To remove the smell of onions from knives, place them in the earth for a few rr.mttes. Earth will also sweeten pickle jars, etc., that washing ! seems powerless to render fit for use; | but in that case the jars, etc.; should be filled with earth and allowed to remain twenty-four hours or so in the j open air; I Polishing Furniture—Clean all polished furniture with vinegar freely | diluted with water; then, when all i dirt has been removed, apply the following polish with a rag and rub briskly until you see your hand reflect, ed as in a looking-glass—One \gill of sweet oil, one gill of vinegar, half a gill of methylated spirits. This extremely simple operation, performed once a week,-will gradually produce a polish that is unrivalled. Boiling; wa--1 ter even may be poured over it with impunity. It is not readily scratched, and the wood, having- the pores filled with the application, becomes very hard.