Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 4 October 1906, Page 33

Domestic

By ''Alaiireen* -«•

v How to Clean an Enamelled Bath. An enamelled bath is apt to get spottdd arid ' stained with rust and ingrained marks. - A - good:, method of remedying these" is with dry salt applied with a flannel. Sweeping Carpets. Persons who are accustomed to use tea leaves for sweeping their carpets and find they leave- stains, will do well to .employ fresh-cut 'grass ' instead.Sprinkling salt over Hie carpet is also much better than tea leaves. Stitching Thin Materials. Such thin materials as chiffon, gauze, net, or fine lace, should be tacked on to a piece of paper, and the whole run through the machine, when the business of stitching will be rendered quite- easy, and the shape of the article will not be distorted. The paper . can be easily torn off afterwards. To Renovate Black Ribbon. Black coffee, that has been strained until it is quite clear and free from grounds, is a splendid thing for renovating black silk or ribbon. The riWbon ' should be well brushed, gently sponged with the coffee, and ironed carefully on the wrong side till dry, and then treated in the above manner. How to Imitate Ground Glass. If you have any view you wish to shut off you can do it cheaply and effectively in the following manner :— Dissolve in a little hot water as much .bpsom Salts as the water will absorb, and paint this over the inside of the glass. You will then have a very fair imitation of ground glass. To Efface Mildew. Mildew on good linen is always a great source of annoyance to householders, and how to efface it is a desirable thing to know. A very simple means is to make a mixture of moistened soap and chalk, rub it well on to the mildewed spots, and expose to the strong rays of the sun ; repeat if necessary and the spots will -disappear. To Wash Ribbons. There are always plenty of soiled ribbons about which are too good to throw away, and which, with a -ul iUle eare> can bo ma(le e °' ual to new. Get the ribbons together and wash in the ordinary way, then iron when wet on the wrong side with a hot iron, when 'q^ntedry rub and knead all the stiffness out of them between the fingers, and iron a^ain to take out the creases. The ribbons will then look almost equal lo new ones. New Brooms. New brooms, they say, sweep clean, but they also " snap clean owing to the brittleness of t-he dry fibres. To avoid' this new brooms should always besteep'ed m warm water for a few minutes before using This renders the fibres less brittle and unlikely to snap Por this reason it is advisable to repeat the pro^ cess about once a week. Always keen brushes and brooms hanging up, they soon spoil if left standing" on the floor. *

Grease Marks on Books. If the leaves of a book have become stained with grease, the spots should be damped with a little benzine. A sheet of -Mot ting-paper should then be placed on either side of the page and a hot iron passed over the top. If necessary, Ihis should be re- , peated once more till the stains have disappeared. It is well to • remember that benzine is highly inflammable, consequently this operation should be done 'in the -day-time, and -the iron should not be very hot Though constantly warned about the imflammability ofbenzine, people either for-get or neglect the warning consequently t many serious accidents result from going near the candle or fire' with articles steeped " in ben- ■ zinc, even using too hot an iron on one of these' • articles has had serious results, so it is wise to be carefur when handling benzine, which" is really a very Useful thing for cleansing purposes.