Evening star., 1903-09-19
WASHDAY WORRIES
How a Large Part Of Them
May Be Avoided.
SHIRT-IRONING LESSON
TAKES PATIENCE AND CoNsID-
ERABLE SKILL
Clothes Should Be Looked Over Before
Being Put in the
Tub.
SHIRT-IRONING LESSON
Written for The Evening Star.

from the calendar. But We fear that tnls
may only be looked for about the same time
as that other blissful state of things Wheh
"every dayu be Sunday by and by. But
to make washing day as easy as possible
go about it in the right way, and the work
will be much lessened.
In the first place, don't wash on Monday,
but on Tuesday. This will give you time to
look over the clothes, remove stains and
put them in soak. Nobody wants to do this
on Sunday, so generally the clothes are
thrown into the tub, and the stains, coming
in contact with the soapsuds, become in
delibly set, Scalding with hot water be-
fore washing will remove many stain, and
soaking in sour milk or lemon juice will do
much for those which appear almost hope
less If an ink stain is plunged into sour
milk at once or rinsed in clear water and
then allowed to stand in lemon juice ana
salt the spot will often disappear. VI
course. this applies only to white clothes,
and must be done Immediately, before the
ink has had time to dry.
White clothes should be put to soak over
night in cold water. The addition Of
little kerosene to this water helps wonder
fully to loosen the dirt and, everything
having been prepared the day before, the
washing will be easier. FlannelS should
not be soaked. but washed in warm-not
hot-water with the best white Laundry
soap. Care should be taken to have the
rinse water of the same temperature as the
wash water, as sudden changes from warm
to cold shrink the fiannels They should
be wrung very dry and then shaken and
pulled out and dried in a warm place as
quickly as possible. Woolens, moreover,
should not be scrubbed on a board but
rubbed with the hands and drawn through
them. If these rules are observed woolen
underwear will shrink very little in wash
ing.
Flannels Come First.
Having disposed of the nannels, wash
the white clothes next and the colorSd
things last of all. Have the water hot
as the hands will bear. The addition Of a
tablespoonful of sene good washing pow
der or soap jelly makes the process easier.
To make a satisfactory soap jelly shave up
a pound bar of laundry soap, put it IN q
large pan or pot together with half a pound
of washing soda and pour over it gallon
of cold water. Allow it to come to a boil,
then turn into stone jar to cool. This
keeps and will last some time. A good
handful of 1t in the wash water will make
a fine lather, and the washing goes beaut-
fully. Old-faShiOned housekeepers boil
their white clothes, while others claim that
this Is not necessary. However, good
stirring about in boiler of hot water, l
think, saves many a hard rub on the board,
and you are the best judge Of which plan
low certainly needs scalding and further
bleaching on the grass exposed to the hot
sun. A slight scorch will entirely disappear
urder the influence of the SUMS rays.
How to Proceed.
Few people outside of a laundry know
how to starch and iron a shirt easily and
properly Boiled starch is used. 1t is hard
ly necessary to give instructions for making
starch; every housekeeper knows how.
would only say that it should be very thick
for shirts, collars and cuffs. After 1t is
clear do not add any more water, as it
Should be almost a jelly. tiny bit of wax
or paraffin candle dissolved in it makes the
iron run smoothly. Shirts should be starch
ed wet after good wringing. Remove
eny skin which may have formed on top
OF the starch in the process of coOling-it
should still be warm-sO there will be no
Jumps. Have table with clean white
cloth spread smoothly over it and tackled
under the edges. Of course the shirt is In
side out Holding 1t under the left arm,
take the sleeves in the hand and, gathering
up the cuffs, plunge them in the starch,
rinse about and squeeze them out. Rub
them between the hands so that the starch
will be we'll worked in then, spreading
them on the table, fatten them out with
the hand and rub in more starch. Bear on
heavily with the palm of the hand, rubbing
from left to right with smooth stroke.
To Iron Shirt.
When the wrong sides have been rubbed
this way turn them over and repeat the
process on the right side, after which wipe
off with clean white cloth. Next fold the
bosom down the center and, gathering it in
the hands, proceed to starch it in the same
way as the cuffs. Spread on the table and
rub in the starch being careful to wipe the
right side free from any superf1uous starch.
Hang on line near enough to the stove to
dry quickly. After the shirts, collars and
cuffs are done the starch may be thinned
out for the other clothes Remember that
garments which should be stiffest must be
starched first, aprons and dark-colored
clothes being left till the last.
Starched clothes should be thoroughly
dried before dampening down, or else the
starch will stick to the iron. When dry
fold shirts down in this way: Dip the body
in water nearly up to the bosom; then lay
the shirt on the starching table bosom up.
Lay the cuffs on top of the bosom and fold
the damp body over both. Spread the next
shirt on top Of this and proceed In the same
way until all are folded down; then place
clean piece of wrapping paper over them
and lay board on top, weighing 1t with
heavy stones. When the shirts have be-
come thoroughly dampened turn them right
side out and, with the cuffs still folded in
with the bosom. roll them up tightly and
leave fifteen minutes more before iron
ing.
Must Have "Duck."
Shirts cannot be ironed properly with a
common fiatiron. 1t Is better to purchase
what Is called duck" This is a small
iron with blunt point, the underside of
which instead Of being smooth is scored
off in little diamonds, much the same as
rubber tennis shoe. The irons should
be very clean. 1t is better to rub them
with sifted ashes or bath brick dust to
remove any possible rust, taking care to
clean the sides well, then wash and
heat on clean stove. Have a piece of
cloth on the ironing board to try the iron
on. as well as cloth with a small piece Of
wax to rub the iron on occasionally and
bowl of water with a small piece of clean
soft rag to wipe off the shirt. Iron the
neckband first. shaping it nicely to fit the
neck; then iron the cuffs. Stretch and pull
them out SO that no shrunken lining or
stitching will cause them to pucker. Then,
laying them on the board, smooth out with
the damp cloth, after which begin to iron
with a quick steady stroke, bearing on
with all the strength you possess. Do not
rest the iron on the shirt minute or the
starch will be apt to stick to 1T and make
streak. Ie this should happen wash off
with the clean cloth, and If it does not dis
appear scratch with the finger nail in addi-
ton.
Look After the Buttons.
When the cuffs are ironed draw the bosom