Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-12-27
SPOTS. AND STAINS.

IIC 1CI1Of1IlS VI > pOOc ClI1O oGCt1IIo L .
quires, says the american Queen, a
good deal of sensible Judgment and q
slight knowledge of chemistry. Be
sides accidental spots, which are at
once noticed and attended to house
keeper should inspect her linen before
sending it to the wash for if she allows
any injurious stains to pass unnoticed
she will either have the ugly marks
left in with the added fixing of boiling,
or the fabric will be destroyed by the
almost reckless use of bleaching pow
| der. Again, in unripping any garment
it should be we'll examined to see
whether it is marked by spot or two
which may be easily removed, or by
! numerous lines that will need a thor
Ough cleaning. Therefore the renovat-
ing should be partial or entire, accord
ing to the degree of injury. AS to the
| spots themselves they are either super
| fetal, spreading, or caused by discolor-
| alton, and divided into simple or COM
| pound ones.
| The nature of a stain or spot once
| discovered, there remains but to study
| the texture and material which it blurs,
and with this information it will be
easy to decide which of the reagents or
renovators will be best to efface it with.
These reagents are really substances
| which must have some
AFFINITY WITH THE STAIN
to extract it from the material. Some
of them have to be used with great
care, as they are either poisonous,
burning, or infammable. Supposing
the operation to have been successful,
| it may happen that the colOrs have
| slightly faded which will cali for the
| cautious application of acids, alkalies,
or paints to revive the linen, or per-
| haps inferior colors may be so dam
aged that there is no reviving them.
! The only way, then, of utilizing the
material is to redip or dye it to another
| color.
To avoid any scientific classification,
we will roughly mark out into groups
| the three principal renOvators, heat,
| liquids and powders, meanwhile inn
| pressing on the mind that any liquid or
| powder, save turpentine, should be APP
| piled on damp surface. Further, the
article should be carefully washed
| directly the stain has been treated, as
| the pungency of the restorative is only
needed as a solvent or absorbent of the
| foreign matter; and when once this OBJ
| ject is attained, it must be removed
| Immediately or its action would con-
| tinuc to the destruction of the mate
rial
A very popular recipe for removing
| grease IS to lay the material over q
towel or hlotting paper, brown OF any
other porous paper, or a damp cloth.
On this surface rest q moderately warm
iron for a moment or so, when the
grease will Immediately
BEGIN TO BE SUCKED UP.
Quickly shift the paper or cloth to lay
a clean part over the stain, apply the
iron again, and repeat this rapidly I'M
til all the grease has been gradually
drawn out of the texture. The spots
generally removed in this way are par
tial ones, which have fallen accidentally
from a candle or a piece Of wax, and
have CONCEALED into sort of crust
easily eradicated by scraping and a
gentle heat.
Should the heat be too strong the
caked matter will liquify, and part
alone running into the paper, and the
other spreading through the tbres of
the material, which will need more
troublesome operation, to be explained
farther on. The italian poker, red-hOt,
and held at q safe distance, sometimes
replaces the iron; but, for delicate
materials, better plan is to put live
Goals in a silver spoon, which is slid
backward and forward so low over the
paper that it nearly touches it, and the
gentle warmth thus thrown out will
emelt the grease without in the least
altering either material or color.
Still another method can be followed,
which claims to be unfailing on any
material and color whatever. We will
give it in its entirety: Take a clean
piece of white cotton, dip it into water,
strain the superfiuous fluid, and lay
this damped rag on the material, which
has already been stretched on pad
ding formed by clean towel folded
four times. Take out of the fire five or
six red cinders about
THE SIZE OF A WALNUT,
and lay them on the damp cotton, the
ends of which gather up with string
like a blue-bag; then dab the little
bundle Of cinders from spot to spot ten
or twelve times, when the marks will
disappear in thick vapOr, bearing the
smell of the ingredient which composed
the STAIN From this it is inferred
that the heat of the cinders voIatilizes
the water Of the damp rag, which de-
composes the grease or oil and reduces
it to vapor. Should the spot be very
large some of the grease will probably
sink into the towel below, and hence it
is wise to lift the stuff occasionally and
shift the towel if need be.
As is well known, the vapor arising
from heated iron and damp cloth rem
ovates and raises the pile of velvet or
plush which has been matted by water,
etc. After being well brushed and