Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-04

using plenty of hot suds Take all the
| shelves from the inside rinse with soda
| water. wipe dry and put out OF doors in
! me sun for an hour to dry. Scrub the re-
| irigerator itself, using skewers 70 get at
| the corners and a flexible wire for the drain
pipe. Pour warm water in the waste pipe
| 20 remove the slime that accumulates from
| the Ice. Leave the refrigerator open until
| perfectly dry and cool before replacing ice
| and foods ia II.
1t goes without saying that in case Of
| any accidental upsetting of foods n must
/ Immediately be cleaned up. The ice box
should be kept where Il can be well
hghted and drained. In the large cities
the board of health regulations do not
| allow the outlet pipe 70 connect with the
sewer as formerly many of them did.
but In some towns this IL still allowed,
though distinct menace to health Re-
| frigersSors are now arranged with sep
| arate chambers for milk, meats and mis-
| cellaneous foods. This is to prevent the
oaor from one article affecting another
III there is but one compartment IN an Ice
| box, then the milk and butter should be
| Kept covered as they are more liable to
| absorb odors than any%hing else Bananas,
| eanteioupesf cabbage, onions and such
| strong favored foods should either be kept
In separate compartments or left out alto
| gether. Hot foods should never be put IN a
refrigerator as 1t not only wastes the Ice
but the steam creates an odor that is ex-
eeedingly unpleasant. communicating other
food. If Ice is dirty (and some of Il Is hlthy)
4 shoa!d be rtnsed of In cold water before
putting In the box Where there is any
doubt about the purity OF the ice IL should
not be used In the water or in direct con-
tact with foods themselves. Water may
De cooled to refreshing temperature by
standing IN bottles against the ice.
The ice compartment should be kept pack
ed with ice If possible. II ls poor economy
TO buy in small quantities, for the ice melts
more rapidly and allows the tempera tUre
to rise so that 1t takes much longer time
TO cool the ice chamber again. When the
blk Is kept thoroughly chilled, the ice itself
does not get a chance to melt The ice
compartment should never be opened unless
absolutely necessary. Wrapping the ice IN
paper as many housewives do tends TO keep
the Ice, but does not let the cold air circu-
late about the contents of the box as we'll
A double thickness of old carpet laid over
the outside top of the refrigerator assists
| in keeping the heat out and the cold In.
Care of the Garbage.-Wher the collec-
tons OF garbage are frequent, as In a large
city, the problem is confined to keeping tho
garbage receptacles scalded and dried out
each time they are enptied. teaspoonful
OF carbolie acid TO a pint of water is a good
cleansing solution. In other cases where
coal range is employed during the sum-
mer much of the garbage can Noe burned.
Incarceration Is indeed the most sanitary
way Of disposing of all garbage whether
in individual homes or municipalities. In
the range, precautions must be taken not
to burn out the fire box. To prevent this
all pea pods, corn hlskS Feelings and the
dried out In closely-covered dish before
burning. When ready to burn, put in the
center OF the fire box. that 1t VIII not
touch the sides, and open the draughts
SO as to let the odor up the chimney. In
suburban homes where there Is more refuse
than can be disposed of by burning, put
into a trench and cover with earth and
etuicklime or air~slaked lime.
Care of the Cellar.-The cellar must be
kept well aired and thoroughly clean and
dry. Twice a year It should be white
xrrac aeSf7 h1rf hp ant eel IL
you are to be away from home for the
summer, leave the windows open. but pro-
tected with two sets of screens-a fine wire
for flies and insects and a strong iron
grating as a discourager of thieves. II you
remain at home leave the windows open at
night and early IN the morning. then close,
Leave neither vegetable nor animal product
to decay. Decaying fruit and vegetables
are as poisonous as meat; though not so
noticeable. A pan OF unslaked lime in the
cellar lie a good thing. If there is laun-
dry or servants closet IN the basement.
personal supervision is essential to see
that the set tubs are kept dry when not in
use, and the latter is properly flushed and
frequently disinfected. One-haf-pint Of
washing soda dissolved In six quarts boD-
Ing water makes an excellent wash for
household pipes. Wash pipes by pouring
hot water through them, follow with two
quarts of the solution, and flush again.
Beware Iinty Dishcloths and Cleaning
Rags.-It is shortsighted policy 70 use old
rags for dish or cleaning cloths. The lint and
thread shed clog up waste pipes IN short
order. They cling and twist about the joints
In their passage through the pipes, and
then plumbers bill is in prospect For
the dishcloth there Is nothing better than
two three thicknesses OF cheesecloth or
old muslin sewed together then quilted
diagonally from corner to corner. These
soft and shed no frazzles." Old sheets
are fine for this purpose when properly
quilted There should be a good supply OF
these, and they should be rfnsed and scald-
ed daily. 1t has been said that dishcloth
,gertaf cd Ia obi 20 call
sufficient germs to kill an entire family.
This statement carries it's own moral.
The Deadly Ptomaine Poson.-It is at
this season also that the deadly ptomaine
has frequently to be taken into account.
There is hardly a paper that does not con-
tain one or more accounts Of people made
deadly III by eating salad at a reception,
drinking lemonade that has been left in
some improper receptacle or eating canned
goods improperly preserved. The names OF
such victims are legion.
Ptomaines defined are poisonous products
formed In fish, meat, milk and other aru-
cles of food by process OF decomposition
that leaves little visible trace OF Its action.
Milk improperly cooled at the dairy farm
often comes TO the consumer in a danger
Gus condition; but when sickness results 1t
rs usually too late to trace II to the orig
inal source and fix the responsibility Many
cases of Ice cream poisoning may be traced
TO this cause. though sometimes 1t comes
from the action of the lemon with which IL
is favored in the freezer can. Lemonade
or cold tea allowed to stand In tin or
granite or galvanized iron soon develops a
deadly poison from the action OF the acid
or tannin of the tea on the metal Mayor
naise should never be allowed to stand In
q tin pail or basin. A recent case of whole
sale poisoning at lawn fete showed
enough poison at the bottom of the vessel
in which the mayonnaise had been kept to
XIII forty persons.
Poisoning cases from timed goods are
frequent II can bulges IL ia proof posi-
tive that decomposition has set In In
opening any can of meat fruit, fish or veg
etables the contents should be at once
turned out into an earthen bowl or crock,
never left for even half an hour in the
opened tin.
In case OF poisoning, empty the stom-
ach at once using emetfc mustard In
Iukewarrn water tablespoonful of mus
tard to a cup Of water, salt and water. same
proportions or cold water ad libitum- The
me ohanical resource would be thrusting
the finger In the throat or tickling 1t with
a feather. An enema frequently acts quick
err than an emetic in enptying the stom-
ach and bowels. The next thing is TO give
antidotes, lime water scraped from the
walls IL you can't get hold of any other
form quickly; magnesia, whiting, rice
water wood ashes. all are effective. but
get your doctor on the spot as quickly as
- ~ 4l-..@a Tox~T1