HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 17 February 1915, Page 2

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

To remove the smell of cooked onions from a pot, fill it with boiling water i and drop in a red hot cinder. V When boiling fowls or fish, add to the I water in which they are boiled the juice of half a lenion. This will mak< them beautifully white.' I"-.-'-

To stiffen the bristles of hair brushes after washing, dip them into a mixture of equal quantities of milk and water, and then dry before a fire.

A use for left-over vegetables, cut into small cubes, mix with a few pieces of kidney or cold meat, and make into a pie.

1 When frying bacon cut a few thin slices of bread and fry in the'fat. This is very tasty and makes the bacon go further.

New brooms and brushes should be steeped in cold water before being used. This prevents the hairs from falling out.

When making horseradish sauce, use condensed milk instead of cream, and wlien the vinegar has been added the difference will not be noticeable.

A tablespoonful of vinegar added to the water in which meat is stewed or boiled will make the toughest meat tender.

To make red tiles a nice bright clear color, rub them well with lemon dipped in fine salt, leave for a few minutes, then'wash in the usual way. This will remove all stains.

Stains on white silk can usually be removed by soaking the stain with gasolene, and then rubbing in as much lump magnesia as the gasolene will absorb.

Before using a paper pattern, press it with a hot iron. This removes the numerous creases caused by folding and stiffens the usually very thin paper, making it much easier to handle.

When brushing stair carpets, have a basin of warm water handy and dip the brush into it occasionally. This prevents the dust from rising, and m,akes the color look clear and bright.

To remove mildew from linen, rub the spots with a piece of soap, then cover with a layer of chalk and place in the air to .bleach. Repeat the process till all spots have disappeared.

When making milk puddings use half milk and half water for mixing them. This is more economical, and the pudding will taste almost as well as if made with all milk.

It-tar should be spilt on any article, place in a saucer the part of the article that is spoilt, and pour pure olive oil over it. Let it soak all night, then wash in the usual way, and tho tar will have disappeared.

Take a little finely-powdered bathbrick, moisten with vinegar, and when it is mixed to a paste rub a little on to the copper. Let it stand for a time, then rub off and polish with a soft cloth. To lengthen the wear of children's stockings, darn the knees, heels, and toes on the wrong side before they are worn. This will make them last three times as long, and they will .not show signs of having been darned.

A Coal-saving Hint.—Sweep up all coal dust and mix to the consistency of clay with salted water. Form into lumps, allow to dry, and use to bank up fires. This is especially useful for banking fires for the night where there are invalids.

To renew shabby coat-collars take a raw potato, peel it, and grate it into a basin. Pour half a pint of cold wattover it, and let it stand until it ti*n settled. Then take a piece of clean flannel dip it into the clear liquid, and rub the collar well.

To make a soiled moire underskirt look like new, wash in the ordinary wayj tfien, instead of using starch, dissolve half an ounce of common glue in a pint of boiling water. Dip tha skirt in, wiring, and hang out immediately. When nearly dry iron on the wrong side.

White shoes which have become too dark and dirty-looking to be cleaned can be turned into smart-looking brown shoes by rubbing them over with a mixture of twenty drops of saffon and two tablespoonfuls of olive oil. Two applications will be required to make the color dark enough.

If you wish to remove stains from sewing-machine oil, washing in a lather made of soap, coiil water, and a tablespoonful, of ammonia will usiially prove successful, but in the case of colored linens and cottons the ammonia should be applied cautiously, as it is apt to make the color fade.

A good substitute for an eiderdown quilt is a blanket of soft warm texture covered with quilted satin on one side and with sateen on the other iH a lighter or darker shade, or otherwise in a contrasting color. The quilting should be done in big diamonds. A good-sized crib blanket is considered large enough, if not. a single bed blanket can be utilised, but it should be thick and soft.