USEFUL HINTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20102, 8 May 1935, Page 12

USEFUL HINTS

To prevent dust accumulating behind pictures and staining the walls, fix a little piece of cork at each bottom corner on the back of the picture. This will keep it away from the wall and will not give the dust a chance to collect.

To prevent your silk jumpers and underwear looking shiny when they are ironed, keep a piece of thin muslin and put it over the silk when you are ironing.

To make breadcrumbs quickly, put your pieces, of stale bread in the oven, and when they are crisp put them through the mincer. To clean a discoloured gas-fire sprinkle it, when cold, with coarse salt. When the fire is lit the salt will burn and leave the fire clean. To clean and polish black marble, be it a clock or mantlepiece, rub with a little olive oil on a soft cloth, and polish with another. To prevent the mustard spoon from becoming discoloured, mix your mustard with milk instead of water—but it will not keep so long made this way. Silver lace and braid can be easily brightened by the application of powdered magnesia. This is rubbed on and allowed to remain for a few hours, then brushed off with a clean plate brush, or rubbed with a flannel dipped in spirits of wine. Put two heaped tablespoonfuls of flour in the oven to dry. Take out and mix well with one tablespoonful of Cerebos salt. Rub the hat with the mixture, using a piece of flannel, afterwards brushing it hard with a stiff, clean clothes brush. The hat will then be quite clean. This method is also good for cleaning collars and cuffs of costumes made of light cloth materiays. When the original blackness of ebony wears off, leaving a brown surface, treat it as follows: Wash -n warm, soapy water to remove grease, etc., and allow to dry. Then apply black shoe dye as you would to a suede shoe. When quite dry polish with a good furniture cream. Mustard and water is an easy and mild emetic. Mustard rubbed on the hands will at once remove all smell of fish. Mustard mixed with soft food for fowls increases and auickens the egg supDly. And for table use. to obtain the full flavour of mustard it should be mixed with salad oil and not water.

Many housewives do not realise the magic which kerosene will work in removing the clogging dirt which tries the nerves and temper. A light rubbing with a cloth dipped in kerosene will restore the bathtub to whitness in a moment; the finger marks around the doornob disappear at once if it is used, and it does not hurt the paint as scrubbing with soap and water will do. And this common liquid is really a soan-and-water substitute if used on furniture. It cleans and then evaporates. Mildew is quickly removed with it; a hasty and light application will greatly improve mildewed books.