Household Hints

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 5, Issue 3, 1 September 1926, Page 67

Household Hints

Qure For Fl (fold Persons attacked by the form of cold so prevalent at present, and commonly called “flu,” will find wonderful efficacy in this simple remedyabstaining altogether from all liquid food as long as possible, or until the symptoms of febrile excitement, watering of the eyes, and sneezing abate. The remedy has been repeatedly tried and found efficacious in many instances. It was originally recommended by a high medical authority. There is a mistake, tho' the saying is old. To hear a man tell you he has a bad cold; IVe must drop the saying, though long it has stood. For I never heard of a cold that was good. Seasonable olds Many colds are largely unavoidable because they are contagious, and because sufferers scatter the germs with prodigal sneezes and coughs, and by using public telephones. Caught in this way the com-

plaint is 60 per cent, more dangerous than when it results from climatic changes. Some people regularly start the winter with a cold which persists until the warm weather arrives. People who arc susceptible to the seasonable colds are usually in a run-down physical condition and need bracing up. An excess of acid in the system leaves one liable to catch cold from atmospheric conditions as well as from contact with infection. Such a one needs to correct his or her diet. Too much sugar and starchy food cause the superHuity of acid, and to correct this one should eliminate from the diet white bread, meat, pastry, rice or any starchy cereal, eggs and oysters. Foods that have a reducing effect upon acidity arc fruits and vegetables. such as apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, lemons, raisins, potatoes. turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, haricot and lima beans, lettuce and

celery. Milk, butter and cream arc also good. If you suspect that your too-fre-quent cold is caused by too much acidity in your system, next time you feel the symptoms of a cold coming on take a soda-mint tablet every half-hour all day. If the cold has not got a grip this will put enough alkali into your system to check it. If you have caught your cold, however, and it is not possible to nurse it at home and stay in bed, procure a good inhalant from your chemist and use it on a handkerchief. For a cold that gives you a heavy catarrhal feeling at the back of the nose, have a mixture made up of 10 grains each of camphor and menthol and 10 drops of extract of eucalyptus in loz. of white vaseline. Insert a small bit in each nostril and sniff up as hard as possible. At night, when you are safe and warm in bed, inhale eucalyptus, friar’s balsam or camphor in boilingwater, and take a hot lemon drink. For a cold that you fear will result from exposure, try the old-fashion-ed remedy of putting the feet in mustard and water and going im-

immmmiminiiimiiiiiiiiiimimiimmniiiiimiiiiiKnmminiiimiiiinniii mediately to bed, or take a hot bath in which there is four ounces of eucalyptus extract. Be very careful to avoid chill in going from the bathroom to bed. Fortify yourself against the biting winds and chilly night air, fogs and dampness by attending to your diet and by taking a good tonic that will improve your circulation and brace up your systemand go in for some form of exercise. These precautions will ward off the usual first cold and, after all, prevention is still better than cure. leaning While Taint Water, in which onions have * y been boiled, makes a magic cleanser for white paint. Boil the onions till the goodness is quite out, then use the water with or without soap. The dirt will disappear very quickly, leaving the paint white and glossy.

{Making Raincoats Waterproof Raincoats sometimes let the damp through in certain places. Secure a small lump of beeswax and spread the raincoat on a flat surface, wrong side upwards. Now rub the material with the wax until the surface appears to have taken on a grey tint. Then hold a sheet of brown paper over the spot and press with a hot iron. This melts the beeswax and makes it pass into every fibre of the cloth. The raincoat will then be perfectly weatherproof. Some Ways Of Using Kerosene To clean a sewing-machine mix equal quantities of kerosene and olive-oil and apply with an oil-can. The kerosene thoroughly cleanses the machine and the olive-oil acts as the necessary lubricant. This same mixture is excellent for removing and preventing dandruff. Rub well into the scalp on retiring and wash the head in the ordinary way in the morning. Kerosene is the only cleanser for baths and sinks which is not likely eventually to injure their smooth surface. A rag dipped in kerosene and then in salt will clean a sink like magic. It is a good plan to keep a cloth saturated with kerosene in the bathroom and use it often. To make a lamp for the week-end camp put kerosene in a pickle-bottle with a small metal pipe (an old pencil-holder will do) through the cork and a piece of twisted cord run through the pipe. This will give a bright light. If you are troubled with dust or fleas add a little kerosene to the

water used for washing the linoleum. Kerosene gives linoleum a bright polish. Your fowls will always be clean and healthy if the perches are washed down once a fortnight with kerosene. Starch made into a paste with kerosene is excellent for cleaning windows. Smear the paste on the glass and, when dry, rub off with a soft cloth. Sad-irons can be made rustless and smooth by rubbing with sandsoap and kerosene. Dusty woodwork can be cleaned with a mixture of kerosene and salt. Rub the woodwork gently with the mixture, then wash with warm water. An excellent mixture for the copper is made thus : Half a pound of soap shavings and half a cup of kerosene. Melt the soap thoroughly in one pint of boiling water, add the kerosene, then put the mixture in the copper. There will be no smell of kerosene, and the clothes will be beautifully white when boiled in this way. To wash clothes without boiling, soak them in water to which the following has been added : One pint of boiling water, 2oz. of soap, 1 dessertspoon of ammonia and 1 dessertspoon of kerosene. This is sufficient for three-quarters of a gallon of cold water. Indian Qruel For Influenza I 'ake three-quarters of a pint of A good stout, place in an enamelled pan, and bring to steaming heat ; lift from hob and add quickly one well-beaten fresh egg wherein has been mixed half an eggeup of fine oatmeal, half a thimbleful in equal parts of Indian curry and white

pepper, with four pieces of loaf sugar. The mixture is then stirred into the hot stout; place back over fire, and stir at steaming heat for five minutes, when, after quickly stirring in wineglass of rum and a piece of fresh butter the size of a walnut, the gruel will be ready to be partaken. This should be at the time when bed-rest can immediately follow if possible. Lemon-Juice -And Its Values T emon-juice will prevent diph- •*- theria, cure a sore throat or cough, cure a whitlow, drive away a sick headache, beautify the complexion, and make the hair fluffy. For a sore throat, gargle with pure, undiluted, unsweetened lemon-juice. For a cough, mix equal parts of lemon-juice and strained honey, and take a tablespoonful every hour. For a sick headache, mix one part lemon-juice and two parts boiling water, and sip a teacupful as hot as possible every two hours. For a whitlow, cut off the end of a lemon, stick the finger into a hole, and bind it on. Let it stay for a day or two, when the finger will be ready to lance. For the complexion, mix equal parts of rosewater and glycerine, dip a cut lemon into this, and rub the face with it. After it dries, rub with cold cream. For the hair, add the juice of a lemon to the last rinsing water of a shampoo. To Whiten At Kitchen T ahle-L of Every careful housewife is proud of a well-scrubbed table-top, and is always willing to expend any amount of “elbow-grease” to produce the necessary whiteness. To ensure a maximum of whiteness with a minimum of effort, add a few drops of ammonia very small quantity will suffice — the hot water you use when scrubbing. This will be very effective in removing any suggestion of yellowness.

Uses For Used Tea Leaves T~\o not throw away tea leaves. Collect them for a week in a pail. Pour over them a quart of boiling water and leave for an hour. Then strain the liquid into a bottle. It is splendid for cleaning glasses, windows, or mirrors ; it is also good for varnished wood doors or windows, and also for linoleum, using a little on a flannel. It cleans linoleum better than water, and after rubbing with a soft duster gives a polish like beeswax. Scotch Way Of Washing Flannels In the Shetland Isles, the beautiful -*■ woollen goods are all washed in this manner: Make a lather in the usual way; the water should he

soft, and as hot as can he borne — this is most important. Put in one article at a time, draw it through the hands repeatedly. Do not rub soap on, and do not wring. Just squeeze out, then put into second water, same temperature of first, into which a little soap has been dissolved. Proceed as before, squeeze and shake, dry quickly, and if the above way is strictly followed, flannels keep beautifully soft and never shrink. Drying Clothes During Had Weather Wien the weather is wet and the ’ ’ drying of clothes outdoors is impossible, an easy way to overcome the difficulty is by the following means: In most houses nowadays the scullery or kitchenette usually

contains a gas cooking stove; arrange several lines on which to hang the clothes, then light the oven of the gas cooking stove to heat the scullery; leave the window open one inch for the moisture to escape, then close the scullery door, and you will find that you will be able to dry your clothes very quickly, and at a very low cost, the scullery making a splendid drying room. Value Of Soda, Ho rax Find mrnonia In Washing Soda is an alkali. Its chief properties in washing are that it softens the water, causes the soap to lather more freely, and greatly aids in eradicating the dirt. Delicate articles and baby’s linen should not be washed in water containing soda.

Borax is a deodoriser ; used in washing clothes, Joz. to the gallon of water renders them beautifully sweet. If boiled with the clothes it bleaches to snow-whiteness; if used when washing flannels it prevents shrinkage. Ammonia: 2 tablcspoonfuls to a gallon of water will generally prevent colour running; and in washing coloured silks, when rinsed in a strong solution will revive the colour as new. Let 1n or r nho p'ygch U Vy/V r D 'o keep a cake from getting dry and stale put an orange with it in a closed tin box. This is far better than the old plan of putting an apple, as the orange gives out more moisture and also imparts a delicious flavour.