Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-05-03
How to DO q Washing.

use, out In more tnan nall OF the faml-
lies throughout the country, no machine
is used. The old-fashioned dashboard
is the main reliance. Perhaps washing
does not come under the head of Skill
ed labor it is generally supposed that
any one who has strong arms and back
can do this work; but certainly some
thing mor than mere strength is re-
quired to do a washing meU. There is a
great difference in washings, as | can
see in comparing my present task with
ten years ago. | not only have more
pieces in the wash now, but the majori-
ty of them are much harder to cleanse;
this is because there are children in the
family, who play outdoors in all kinds
of weather. Knowing this, | am not
likely to be deceived by any advertise
ments of machines, or soaps, OR washing
fluids, which promise to do the family
washing" in an hour or two without any
hard rubbing. 1t may all be true about
some washings, but not about mine.
Many advise that the white clothes be
always put in soak overnight before
washing. | have not found enough help
in this to pay for the trouble. l almost
always use some kind of washing-fuid,
or chemical soap, especially in summer,
when most white clothes are used. In
winter, a free use of %1annels, which are
easily washed, makes the work lighter.
Clothes that are much soiled should not
have hot water poured upon them, or be
put into clear hot water, which sets
the dirt. A hot soap-suds does not have
the same effect. Yet | should prefer to
wash stained articles in warm suds, be-
fore putting them into hot suds. Many
fruit stains are removed by pouring
boiling water through the spots, but
other stains cannot bear this treatment.
Make, then, a good strong suds, as hot
as the hand can bear. Add washing
fluid if you can, unless you have some
kind of electric" or 'detersive" soap.
Put in pieces to the amount of three or
four or FIVE shirts, according to the size
OF the tub, and amount OF water. Of
course, we wash first the finest, or least
soiled articles. Let them soak in the
strong suds a little, from five to fifteen
or twenty minutes. Keep plenty of hot
water in the boiler, and, to this end, fill
it up whenever we take any out, keep
ing it somewhere neal half full. If we
use hard soap, it is best to shave up
two-thirds of II bar (or less, if the wash
ing is smalD. and dissolve it in a quart
or more of hot water, upon the stove.
Make the suds of this. With a good
suds, and with a short soaking, the
shirts. pillow-cases, fine shirts, and the
under-garments of clearly people, ought
not to need much rubbing. After the
first lot of pieces has been washed,
wrung out, and dropped into the basket,
put another lot in, adding more of the
dissolved soap, or more hot water if
needed. Some of the suds from the tub
may be taken out first, in which to soak
the especially soilcd garments. When
the suds in the tub become considerably
dirty, prepare a clean suds, and in this
begin with the white table-clothes, nap
kins and ~dish-towels, if it is desired to
keep these separate from articles of
clothing, as some do. Many do not care
about this, aiming to have everything so
clean when it has been washed, boiled,
sun-dried and ironed, that 1t may be put
to almost any purpose. Each house
keeper must use her W Judgment
about what to put in first, or into the
suds when it is clean. If white f%lannels
are to be kept clear and white, they
must be washed in clean suds, and rinsed
in clean warm water; so new put them
in at random among other clothes. AS
soon as you have taken out the last hot
water needed for washing the white
clothes, put more cold wather into the
boiler, and put into it the finest and
whitest part of the white clothes. If
you have used very strong suds in the
washing, it is not necessary to put more
soap into the boiler, but most house
keepers do add soap, or soap and fluid.
A thorough scalding is the main thing
now. The water should be heated to
boiling, and should boil from five to
twenty minutes. according to the guam
tity of clothes in the boiler. Long boil
ing in suds makes clothes yellow. After
the clothes are thoroughly scalded thro'
the mass, | see no benefit in continued
boiling. Stir them about (or poke them
DOWN with a clothes-stick. Set an emp
ty tub near the stove, and take clothes
from the boiler into this with the stick.
When the tub is again on it's bench
pour into it two or three pailfuls of cold
water. Put another lot of clothes into
the boiler, and proceed to "suds" the
first lot. That is, rinse them well-rub-
bling wrists or childrens' drawers, if not
yet clean, and wiring them. Take the
others from the boiler and suds them in
the same tub. The sudsing water is
then warm enough and clean enough for
washing the colored clothes. There is
probably too much of it, and you can
put some Of it back into the boiler. If
you have many clothes, you will need
more than one suds for them. They
should not lie in soak. White calico,
with black figures, may be washed and
boiled with the white clothes. Colored
cotton or linen articles may be rinsed in
the water which has rinsed the white
clothes, unless they are very dark color
ed or black, so as to show white lint, in
which ease they need clear water. They
should be starched at once, and hung in
the shade, if convenient.-Americam Ag-
riculturi;st.