HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Waipa Post, Volume VII, Issue 334, 28 July 1914, Page 3

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

To make cabbage digestible, when half boiled pour off the water and place in fresh boiling water.

Before pouring boiling water info a tumbler, place a spoon in it, this will prevent the glass from cracking.

One teaspoonful of vinegar is a substitute for an egg, and makes a cake light in which dripping has been used instead of butter.

Don’t throw away squeezed lemons, but use ihem for cleaning. Dip them into fine whiting and they are invaluable for brass or copper..

If, when doing up lace curtains, sheets of fine white paper be placed between before mangling, they will not stick, and will look equal to new.

A little saltpetre added to the water in which cut flowers are placed will make them last twice as long as they otherwise would do.

If new tinware is rubbed over with fresh lard, then thoroughly heated in the oven before it is used, it will never rust afterwards.

When short of starch on washing day take the same amount of flour that you would require of starch and mix it in the same way. It will answer equally well.

A little soot rubbed on to a greasy stove after frying potatoes or fish will make shorter work afterwards of the business of polishing, and will economise the blacklead.

When packing away summer blouses, wrap all coloured ones in blue paper instead of white, as tlio chemicals used in the manufacture of the latter are apt to injure the dye.

White paint can be kept in good condition if whiting is mixed to a stiff paste with warm water and used instead of soap. off with clear water and dry with a duster or leather.

Brown leather travelling bags or any other brown leather goods may bo beautifully polished by rubbing them well with the inside of banana skins, and then polishing with a soft dry cloth.

It is quite easy to make one’s own ammonia at home in the following way: Mix ono ounce of rock ammonia, with half a gallon of cold water. When this is dissolved tire addition of a little yellow soap will make it quite cloudy.

A capital cleanser for varnished and stained woodwork is that "of tea water’., This may be made by pouring boiling water on spent tea leaves, straining, the liquid afterwards through a cloth or muslin. The tea-water loosens the dirt quickly.

Wash your lamp-burners occasionally if you want tlio lamps to give a good light. Scrub well in a good lather then well rinse and dry by standing on tlie stove rack. I’ut them into a paper bag before placing on the rack, as this protects them from dust.

It is a good plan to apply a coat of clear varnish to' bedroom matting before it is used. This makes it last much longer than it otherwise would do, and it always looks fresh and nice. White varnish should be used for white matting.

If there is any difficulty in turning out a hot pudding, wrap a cloth round it that has been wrung out in cold water for a minute or two, and the pudding will slip out quite easily. For jellies and cold puddings let the cloth be wrung out in hot water.

Dust bins should be kept covered and far from the vicinity of the dwellings, not only on account of the unpleasant and fusty smells, but the mixing of rain with the vegetables and other refuse causes fermentation, which is most dangerous. All dust bins should be emptied at least once a week:

The care of the piano is not understood as a rulo, and so a valuable instrument often suffers. Always close down the piano at night and in damp weather; open it on bright days, and, if possible, let the sun shine on the keys, for the light prevents the ivory from turning yellow.

A man’s coat should be laid pertectly flat with the wrong side down. The sleeves should be spread out smoothly, and then folded back to the elbow until each end of the sleeve is even with the collar. Fold revers back and then double the coat over, folding it directly in the centre seam and smoothing it out cafefully.

The great saving any household can effect by making its own polishing powder may be accomplished as follows : To two"pounds of best quality whiting, add one quarter of a pound of cream of tartar, and one and a half ounces of calcinced magnesia, mix thoroughly together, and it is then ready for use. It will he found invaluablo for gold and silverware, German silver, brass, copper, glass, tin, steel, or any material where a brilliant lustre is required. The best results are gained when the polish is used dry with a piece of flannel previously moistened with water and finished with the polish dry. A few moments’ rubbing will develop a surprising lustre, different front the polish produced by any other substance.