Household Hints.

Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 11 September 1912, Page 2

Household Hints.

Silver brushes are best cleaned by immersing them in ammonia or borax

water,

To Prevent Linen from Turning Yellow when stored away, wrap in darkblue paper.

A dishcloth and mop may be kept sweet by washing them in soap suds and rinsing in cold water

Wine stains may be covered with salt, and at the first opportunity pour boiling water through them.

If soot falls on the carpet, cover it thickly with dry salt. Then sweep it up quickly, and it will leave no stain.

When Using Sandpaper to remove old paint, try wetting it with benzine. The work will be accomplished sooner.

Rub sewing machine oil stains with lard. Let stand for several hours. Then wash with cold water and soap.

When creaming butter and sugar for a cake beat with a fork instead of a spoon. The work will thereby be hastened.

Wash combs in borax or ammo,nia water, rinse in cold water and wipe dry. Combs should never be soaked or left wet.

To revive and straighten whalebone, soak the bent bone in warm water until it is pliable; then press it with a warm iron.

To prevent the corners of rugs from curling, sew some stiff material like buckram or haircloth on the under side of the corners.

An inflammable substance like alcohol, rum, turpentine, etc., should always be heated in a water bath and watched carefully.

' Before beginning to paper or whitewash, examine walls and ceiling, and if there are any dark spots, cover them with a coat of shellac.

Enamelled ware that has become burned or discoloured may be cleaned by rubbing with a paste formed by coarse salt and vinegar.

In Cleaning Outdoor Brass fixtures the work is don c more quickly and easily if the scouring soap is mixed with kerosene. Apply with flannel and rub hard.

An authority on cooking says that a tumbler of red currant jelly turned into a pint of ice cream is delicious and imparts an attractive pink ttnt to the cream.

When washing glassware do not put in hot water bottom first, as it will be liable to crack from sudden expansion. Even delicate glass can be safely washed in very hot water if slipped in edgewise. To Clean Slightly-Soiled White Felt, cover with warm white flour, allow it to remain covered for twenty-four hours, then shake well. If badly soiled rub thoroughly with French chalk or magnesia instead of using the flour. For warts on the hands an infallible home remedy is washing soda. Prick the skin at the root of the wart, and each time you wash your hands rub the wart while wet with a piece of washing soda. This remedy is slow but painless, and leaves no scar. A Grandmother who has had a lifetime of experience in household matters says that tansy is an excellent preventitive of moths. Sprinkle the leaves freely among the woollens and furs. It is convenient for a country housewife, who generally lives within easy reach of a wild tansy b&d. Coffee or cream stains may be removed from delicate silk or woollen fabrics by first of all brushing the stains with glycerine, and Iheu well rinsingl them in lukewarm water. But tho stain should not be allowed to dry in. Later, press the material on the wrong side with a warm iron. Instead of always using eggs for binding puddings and cakes, try one tablespoonful of golden syrup mixed in half a pint of milk, warming it in order to blend the ingredients of the pudding or cake perfectly. This quantity equals four eggs in binding properties. The sugar used with the liquid should be less than with ordinary eggs and milk. To Fix the Handles of Knives and Forks, fill th e aperture of the handle with common resin, powdered very finely. Then heat the stock of the knife or fork blade, and force it into the handle. When cold, the handle will be perfectly tight. The common cement used by the cutlers is made of resin and brickdust, or, for superior quality, resin, brickdust, and beeswax. An article that is becoming more and more used is salt. With some, the coarsest salt possible to get—sea salt preferably—-is thrown into the bath water and used as a sort, of weak brine. Another form of us© is to take large handsful of moist salt and rub the whole body and limbs with this, following the 'scour" with a rinsing off in cool, clear water. This is found to be very strengthening.