Household Hints

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 5, Issue 1, 1 July 1926, Page 70

Household Hints

Linseed Lea

"C'OR those who are recovering from any illness, have lost weight, and feel easily fatigued, there is nothing so beneficial as a course of linseed tea. It is easily made and is easily taken, being almost tasteless.

Into a quart jug put six dessertspoons of linseed (do not use meal), and pour over it boiling water sufficient to fill the jug. Stir well, and set aside to cool. When cold it is ready. The dose is two tablespoons three or four times a day.

I can vouch for this cure, as I was very much run down when a friend told me of this tea, and after two weeks’ treatment I felt much improved.

Flome-LMade. Fruit Saline r I '0 make this pleasant and health- -*■ ful drink, take 2oz. of Epsomsalt, loz. of magnesia, loz. of carbonate of soda, loz. of cream of tartar. 2oz. of tartaric acid and Alb. of refined sugar. Roll all these together with a bottle and sift two or three times. Put in a dry tin or bottle, and use a teaspoon to a glass or cup of water.

This drink can be further improved by adding to each glassful one dessertspoon of the following mixture: Pour 1 quart of boilingwater over 2oz. of tartaric acid and 21b. of sugar. When cold add a teaspoon of essence of lemon, and bottle.

A saline thus made and used in moderation is splendid for toning up the system. 'Bath Salts 'IPO make bath salts is a very *■ simple thing, and it saves money. Get two pounds of carbonate of soda and one pound of fine oatmeal. Place the carbonate of soda upon a sheet of yesterday's paper and roll it out until quite smooth, add the fine oatmeal, and mix well together. To scent the bath salts add a shilling's worth of oil of lavender, sprinkling it over the contents on the paper, and rubbing it well in with the hands. The result is a jar of perfumed bath salts, a quarter of a pound of which added to a hot bath will have the most refreshing effects, for the carbonate of soda liberates large quantities of oxygen, which is invigorating to tired limbs.

Cleaning *A Suit TF other methods are not satisfac- * tory, the following simple means will be found excellent for cleaning blue or black serge (it revives the colour) : Boz. bruised galls, lib. logwood, 4oz. green vitriol, 5 pints water. Boil together for two hours and strain through muslin. Shake the clothes free from dust and, with a piece of black cloth or a nail brush dipped in the mixture, go over the suit and hang out in the air till nearly dry; then press with

a fairly hot iron over a damp cloth. Another good black serge cleanser is made by boiling a few dozen ivy leaves in a gallon of water. When cold, use in the same way as the above.

Still another method to clean serge suits and costumes is to brush the article very thoroughly with a stiff, clean brush, then go over it carefully, rubbing every dirty spot with a clean cloth moistened with eucalyptus. Then go over the whole suit or costume with a clean cloth moistened with water to which a very little cloudy ammonia has been added. Rub each part with a clean, dry cloth as soon as it is cleaned. Finally, lay a clean, old cloth on the suit and, using a hot iron, press carefully.

A simple tip, if the suit is spotty, is to boil some vinegar and, while it is warm, rub it well into the serge and allow it to dry. If it is shiny, wring a rather thin piece of old calico out of cold water, lay it on the serge and iron quickly with a very hot iron. Lift the cloth off briskly and brush the shiny part with a stiff brush.

c// mmonia

TO brighten the colours in an old carpet, wipe it over with a cloth wrung out of warm water in which has been added a teaspoon of the strongest ammonia.

Dirty door-plates can be cleansed with ammonia and water.

One teaspoon ful added to a basin of water is better for cleaning windows than soap.

A few drops of ammonia in a cup of warm water will remove spots from paintings and chromos.

To remove grease spots from delicate fabrics, use a solution of ammonia and water, then lay soft paper over and iron with a hot iron.

Ammonia will kill most acids if applied at once. If on coloured clothing use chloroform to restore colour.

Old brass can be made to look quite new if rubbed with strong ammonia. The yellow stains made by sewing machine oil can be removed by rubbing with a cloth wet with ammonia.

Equal parts of ammonia and turpentine will take paint out of clothing, be it ever so hard and dry. Saturate the spots frequently and wash out with common soap. To. wash tweed suits add one tablespoon of strong ammonia and two of spirits of turpentine to strong suds. Soak the suits in this while hot (not boiling) ; let them remain till cool, and then wash without any more soap. If the suit is not clean then, repeat and rinse two or three times through ammonia and water and hang out without wringing. Tweed dresses, jackets, etc., can be treated the same way.

Blankets can be washed in warm water and about two tablespoons of ammonia and a little soap. Soak some hours and rub very little.

Italian Savoury Potatoes ALLOW one large potato to each person—the potatoes should be as even in size as possible—scrub, prick and bake in a moderate oven until soft. Cut a "lid" off each potato, scoop out the pulp, leaving about an eighth of an inch inside the skin, weigh the pulp, and add to it a third of its weight of dryly cooked rice. Melt two ounces of butter, stir in the potato pulp and rice, season well, and add one ounce of grated cheese. Mix these thoroughly, fill each potato skin with the mixture, butter each "shell," replace the lid and heat in a brisk oven for ten minutes. z/lpple (finger A IpAKE 61b. apples, 21b. whole gin- -*• ger, and lib. preserved ginger. Bruise the ginger and wrap in muslin. Peel, core, and slice the apples, and slice the preserved ginger. Boil the peelings and cores in sufficient water to cover for about one hour, then pour the juice over the sliced apples and ginger. Weigh all together, add the ginger in muslin and add sugar of equal weight. Boil H

hours, remove the whole ginger and pour into jars. Honey Bran (Rookies A/TIX half cup of sugar, quarter ■*-» A teaspoon of cinnamon, quarter teaspoon of ginger, and half teaspoon of soda, with three cups of bran (the quality sold for cooking), half cup of honey, half cup of milk and half cup of melted butter. Drop from a spoon on to a buttered slide, and bake for fifteen minutes. vf-pple Snow pEEL, core and slice half a dozen * cooking apples, and stew them with a very little water, sugar to taste, and a strip of lemon rind. Rub through a sieve and add a nut of butter or a tablespoonful of cream. Make a custard with half a pint of milk, the yolks of two eggs, and sugar and flavouring to taste. Put the apple puree at the bottom of a buttered dish, cover with the custard, and, finally, with the stiffly-whipped whites of the eggs. Sprinkle with castor sugar and bake until the meringue is slightly browned.

The Uses Of Soda DON'T use soda when washing vessels made of tin or aluminium ; when scrubbing linoleum, oilcloth, and similar material. To clean a discoloured enamel teapot or kettle, boil water and a teaspoonful of soda in them, then rinse well with cold water. Many sinks and grids have an awkward twist that renders cleaning a difficult matter when clogged with grease. The quickest method is to push an equal quantity of soda and salt as far down the pipe as you can reach, then pour boiling water over the mixture until the obstruction is cleared. A gas or oil stove will speedily become an offence to both sight and smell if not cleaned regularly in strong soda suds. The removable parts should be boiled in the same

mixture. Greasy garments, such as overalls, should be steeped overnight in a tub of cold water and a double handful of soda. The subsequent washing will take only half the time, and the laborious rubbing will be done away with. If you suffer from painful corns and have tried "everything," try soda. Soak the foot in water as hot as you can bear and in which has been dissolved a teaspoonful of borax, and dry thoroughly. Rub the corn with a smooth piece of soda or make a neat plaster bandage of powdered soda large enough to cover the corn and bind with court plaster to prevent slipping. Repeat this method every night for a week. The same treatment will banish warts, however long standing.