The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1889-08-01
THE HOUSEHOLD.
Starching and Ironing.

Starching and Ironing.
The sticking of starch may be caused
by poor starching, Or it may be the fault
of the irons; SO both branches of the
| subject will be noticed. While cold
starch alone will answer very well in an
! emergency, two starchings are neces
sary, especially if the articles are to be
polished, as polishing takes from the
stiffness of the linen. The articles to
be starched having come from the rims
| ing water, they are thoroughly rubbed
in boiled starch on both sides, and then
rubbed in the hands, to insure it's even
distribution. The best starch should be
used. A handful is placed in dish,
and cold water is added sufficient to
make the starch smooth; piece of
white wax, tallow or butter half the size
of hickory nut is added, and boiling
! water stirred in gradually till the starch
is clear. Use it as hot as possible, and
dipping the hand in convenient basin
of cold water will make the process
comparatively easy. A little more wax
or other mentioned ingredient will
do no harm, but too much will not con-
duce to the best results; the quantity
mentioned or little more will add
much to the polish of the linen, and
make the iron move more easily.
When the articles are thoroughly dry
| they are ready for the second starching,
which should be just before they are to
be ironed. The cold starch is made
with handful of dry starch, with
| enough cold water added to free from
all Jumps. Take half teaspoonful of
powdered borax and put it in teacup,
the starch a little more with cold water,
add few drops of blueing, and then
dissolve borax. Last of all, rub in the
starch white soap till the who'll is foamy.
This starching is to be made like the
former, rubbing carefully that no spot
be neglected. The starch should be of
the consistency of good milk, and it
must be stirred often enough TO prevent
the sinking Of the solid portion. AS
each piece is starched it should be
| placed in a towel, stretched to remove
wrinkles, and when all are ready, roll
the towel, wiring it to remove extra
moisture, strike it two or three times
hard on the table, and you are ready to
begin the ironing.
! Have ready piece of wax-white pre-
| ferred-in q piece Of cloth, have the
iron thoroughly clean, rubbing on emery
paper, brick dust or powdered Bristol
brick, and wiping on cloth. If q very
hot iron is used, after a little practice
the result will be more easily attained
than with one more moderately heated.
l do not mean heat SO intense that
cloth will be scorched when it is touched,
| but that will scorch if the motions are
not quick.
Smooth the linen, lay it ON the right
side, rub the iron over the wax, then
wipe on clean cloth, rub quickly twice
over the article. then turn 1t and repeat
the process on the wrong side. Alter
nate in this way till no more steam rises.
The rest of the ironing is to be wholly
on the right side, and hard pressure
will do much for the beauty Of the linen.
For shirts, bosom board is necessary,
and it is more convenient to do all iron
ing on the right side. All linen should
be ironed dry, and then placed II spot
till there is no chance for moisture to
remain. For the laundry polish, a
special iron and smooth, hard board
are essential. A clean cloth is wrung
out of cold water, and the thoroughly
ironed linen is just moistened, the
| rounded part of the iron is rubbed on
the linen which rests on the bare board.
This gives a gloss not attainable by
IRONING alone, but if a common iron is
used, the result will be surprisingly
good if the final ironing is given on the
smooth board. [ do not know the best
polishing iron, but I think there are
better than the Mrs. Potts iron I have.
| This has some sharp edges that almost
always will make creases, in spite of my
greatest care, but the polish is fine.
| Mine is nickel-plated. Ny first attempt
with starching and ironing in this way
was perfect success. The irons moved
easily, there was no smut, and the linen
came out of the laundress's hands snow
white and stiff enough to satisfy the
most. exacting man. Correspondent
| Ladies' Home Journal.