Electricity in the Home

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 5, Issue 1, 1 July 1926, Page 58

Electricity in the Home

The way water-power has been harnessed in New Zealand for the production of electricity is one of the most striking examples of the wonderful strides that have been made in the development of this young country. There is no country in the world to-day where electricity is more widely used and sold at a cheaper rate than in New Zealand, when considered from a population basis. We are far ahead of the Mother Country in the development of our electrical energy for both domestic and industrial purposes. A description of the uses and comforts derived from electricity in the modern New Zealand home would read like a fairy tale to our grandmothers. People who lived a couple of generations ago could not believe or appreciate the changes that electricity has brought about in our home life, to say nothing of the energy and power that has been

placed at the disposal of man by the harnessing of "white coal." Not only are the dwellers in our large towns benefiting by the phenomenal progress of electrical science, but even in the remote farm houses the boon is present, and there is no doubt that there are becoming available a steadily increasing assortment of inventions calculated to do away with an appreciable proportion of household drudgery.

T7IRST in importance to the a housewife are, naturally, aids to efficiency in cooking, washing and cleansing. Apart from a long list of minor cookers, such as grillers, toasters, chafing dishes and other fairly well-known devices, there are numerous cookersstoves, that is—which, generally, operate on the non-supervised method of self-cook- ' ing. The food to be cooked is placed in the oven and the electric current is turned on; then, when heated to a certain temperature, an automatic-

ally-operating "timer," or thermostat, cuts off the current and the heat is stored in the insulated oven and completes the cooking. In one make of electric stoves the cooking heat is delivered almost immediately by heat-producing "speed" units, and red-hot wires of special make radiate and evenly distribute the heat. A door, whose construction permits its being used as a shelf, is counterbalanced so that a mere touch opens and closes it. In the same category is a portable cabinet stove, operating on a similar principle, whose four legs are castored, allowing ready removal to any room desired. Another very handy cooker is provided with two heating units which give five adjustments of heat for the housewife's choice in cooking. One fine example of modern electric stove has a specially-pro-tected element (the heat "ring" on

which the cooking utensil is placed) with coils enclosed in porcelain to ensure safety for the user and protection against splashing fat or corrosive matter. The ovens arc enamelled to the smoothness of glass, are seamless, have round corners and are fitted with removable rack- holders and racks—all features which tend to minimise trouble in cleaning. The doors are mag-nesia-block insulated to "store" the cooking heat in the oven, and the cooking temperature is indicated by thermometers, for cooking is becoming an art of scientific precision. For minor cooking there are available cooking plates which render obsolete the time-honoured gasrings, and separate electric saucepans, kettles and other utensils for domestic use. /COMPLEMENTARY to these > cookers are dish-washers of various makes. One which may be used in the kitchen sink is in spash-

proof metal cabinet form, wherein a clearing spray washes the dishes and may be turned to account in washing out the cabinet after use. Still more accomplished is an electric dish-washer which, in ten minutes, not only cleanses, but also rinses, sterilises and dries all the dishes accumulated from the day's meals. Electric clothes-washers of divers types, but on the same principle, keenly compete for domestic favour. One of these silent domestic servitors, which is white-enamelled, is readily portable, running as it does on large swivelled castors. By lever touch the special wringer, which has a patented safety release, wrings the clothes by electric power ; and its companion appliance, which is brought into action on ball-bear-ing castors, is an ironing machine which, impelled and heated by electricity, irons the clothes as they are fed into it for the purpose. Another washing machine is without wringer attachment, but has an internal perforated metal "basket" which, in operation, whirls within the closed washer and in ten minutes washes and rinses the clothes, blues them, and leaves them wring-er-dry, ready to be ironed. This machine has a flat top which may be utilised as a table. The electric irons, which finish what the washers have cleaned, are legion. Most of these are guaranteed ; one, with mica insulated terminals, a shield protector and unbreakable connector, is guaranteed for three years; an iron with constant non-scorching temperature evenly distributed over the soleplate, carries twenty-five years' warranty, while another, which has side-entry plugs and self-contained stand, comes with a life guarantee. There is an iron with ventilating handle support, foolproof terminal sheath and cool handle and thumb rest: and a wrinkleproof iron has a

round heel so that on the back stroke the cloth is neither gathered nor wrinkled, and which irons backward and sideways with the same facility as forward. T?OR despatch, efficiency and ease ■*• in the dusting and cleansing of the home, electric apparatus are rapidly increasing. There is an electric vacuum sweeper, which can be connected in an instant to any power point or lamp socket, whose brush

Parent : "Nov.', on the question of money: Can you keep going?" Suitor: "Well, sir. yon- see —— I'm afraid " Parents "Precisely. Well, if you can't keep go'ng, don't keep coming."

Illlllllltllllllllllllllllllllllllll!illlllllll!!llllllli!ll]llllllllllll!llllllllilll!llllllllll!llllllllllllilll gently taps the carpet to dislodge the grit, straightens and combs out the nap, allowing the machine to pick up adhering threads and fluff and to absorb litter and crumbs as well as dust. This and some other machines clean every accessible place in a room walls, ceilings, intricate wood-work, upholstery and drapes as well as mattresses, carpets, etc. One vacuum cleaner in operation disinfects and perfumes the room; and another almost intelligent electric sweeper, which also blows dust from inaccessible crevices, serves as motive power for an apparatus which dries milady's tresses. Continued on page 63