HINTS AND RECIPES.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 19156, 12 April 1932, Page 3

HINTS AND RECIPES.

TO INTEREST THE HOUSEWIFE. The bristles of hair brushes can be stiffened by standing them for half an hour in a solution of one ounce of alum and a quart of water. The bristles only should be immersed in the solution. Ink spots on carpets can often be removed by washing them with warm milk and afterwards sprinkling with cornflour. The cornflour should be brushed off after twenty-four hours. Wet umbrellas should be stood on their handles to dry. This allows the water to run out of them instead of into the part where the silk and ribs are meeting, thus causing the metal to rust and the silk to rot. Remember that butter contains far more nourishment than margarine, and. therefore, it should be used whenever possible, even when cooking. Burnt saucepans should never have soda placed in the water In which they are soaked; if so, they will burn again. Put a small handful of salt in the water instead, leave the saucepans soaking in it till next day. then bring to the boll slowly; the burnt saucepans will be cleansed easily and there will be no likelihood of them sticking again. Broken Gramophone Records.—Don’t throw away your broken records but use them to revive a dying fire. There must, however, be a sufficiently bright glow to ignite the records. Protect Your Water Pipes.—Water pipes need attention when frost is threatened. All the outside ones should be protected by binding them with straw rope or with ordinary furniture webbing, which can be bought quite cheaply. Cover the inside pipes with pieces of old blanket or felt. To Keep Table Knives Free from Rust. —When storing knives, clean the knives thoroughly, and then wipe them with vaseline. Wrap them in brown paper, one knife in each fold. To Keep Vegetables.—Green vegetables retain their crispness much longer if lightly sprinkled with water and put in an earthenware vessel, covered with a sheet in a cool dark place. Onions may be kept for a long time if their roots are first singed with a hot iron, then trimmed and placed on a dry shelf with a small piece of charcoal near. Stains on Flannel.—Apply a little glycerine mixed with raw egg and allow it to remain on the stairs for an hour or two, then wash the stained parts in a good lather of soapy water. Varnish Your Candles.—The life of a candle can be doubled without impairing its lighting value. Buy your candles in quantities, varnish them all over with transparent varnish, and leave them to dry for two or three days. They will burn without a spot, of wax running down. Buying New Linoleum.—When choosing a new linoleum remember to buy an inlaid kind, as the pattern goes right through, so will not wear off as the cheaper printed kinds do. If choosing a plain linoleum, remember the lighter shades are more serviceable; the darker toned plain linoleums tend to show footmarks. Save old pieces of linoleum, for they may come in useful for patching; saucepan rests, or for the kitchen table.