Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1906-01-20
In the Laundry-Washday

In the Laundry-Washday.
Said a down east woman to me. with
energy that was almost vicious,
Il hev' washed and / hey' ironod. but
as | tell my husband TIERS one thing
won't never do, and that is keep boa d.
in house!'
Unless am mistaken in my estima-
ton of the makeup of our constituency.
a majority of my readers would reverse
the order in which she set the least de-
srable branches of womans work.
A wit of the Eighteenth century de-
ciared that washday was instituted in
commemoration of the day on which
Job was born, the date of which he
said-"Let it perish: let darkness and
the shadow OF death stain it; let it not
be joined unto the days of the year,
\ atter-day writer has given us
gloomy statistics as to the proportion of
human life spent in cleansing the house.
clothing and person. in fouling which
the remaining time has been employed.
Our optimistic housewife does not
waste time and lower her spirit-level in
bemoaning the ineXorable fact that
clothes get dirty and must be ceansed.
She brings to the tasks that fail to hobs
birthday cheerful philosophy and such
knowledge of the best methods of doing
the work as will achieve satisfactory re,
suits with the least expenditure of time
and labor.
Let us reason together today concern
ing some of these.
The best excuse | know of for tho
appointment of Monday as washday is
that mind and body have been invigo-
rated by Sundays rest and comparative
freedom from worldly cares. If our
householder be truly wise, she will fore
cast the morrow's duties, so far as to
put the clothes (all-embra cling tprmg
in soak over night. In one household. at
least, the bulk of this preparatory task
is done on Saturday night. leaving ONLY
the body linen, laid aside on Sunday. to
be added that evening.
Sort the various articles in making
ready for soaking. Put table and bed
linen in separate tubs, and keen soilpd
undcrgarmentS apart from both. You
will save Yourself much subsequent
worry if you would treat" stains before
washing. Fruit, ink. coffee, chocolate
and ten stains may be wet with iayelle
water, or with Il weak infusion of chic
ride Of lime; left in this for five minutes
and then rlnSed III pure water. Rub
chalk upon grease spots and butter upon
stains left by machine oil or axle grease
washing out the butter half an hour lat
er with warm suds. When all are ready.
Pat into the tubs and cover with tppid
water-ncver h. but just lukewarm.
If the water he 7rd, stir handful of
powdered bon ; each tubful.
On the mo aw off the soaking
water, wiring article hard; return
each kind to il respective tub, and wash
IN warm suds, made with plenty of really
good soap. Unless the water be soft,
add boraX again. 1t is perfectly harm
less, softens the water and tends TO
ri th 4 /, ~
soda and all its works. The average
iaundrcss is so weeded to it that, if it
hc denied to her by employers, she will
bring Surreptitiously parcels of the draS-
tic destroyer into the laundry and add
secretly. The owner of the maltreated
linen never suspects the outrage until
she finds it eaten into tiny holes as if
peppered with hirdshot. There are other
laundresses' allies and housekeepers' foes
which have the same effect They save
the muscles Of one class, rasp the SEN
Sihlities and deplete the pockets of the
other. BoraX is safe and efficient. One
pound powdered will soften twenty gal
Ions of water,
When the clothes are cIean-the soiled
places rubbed out, and all of uniform
Whiteness-rinse in clean. hot water. and
put into boiler half filled with tepid
water, to which you have added
shredded soap and tablespoonful of
htfuSene, Stlrr@J ~ well before the
clothes are put in. Never forget that
boiling water sets" dirt. and that dirt
VIII make the contents of your boiler
IopeleSSly dingy. DO not have the boiler
So full that the water. i'll heating, can-
not bubble freely between the clothes.
Boil gently for an hour lift out the wet
linen with a wooden clothcs-stick upon
" wooden tray, or into a clean tub; again
halt Till the boiler. as before, and put in
2 second supply OF clothes Wash table
Hnca first. and. as In soaking, do not
my 1t with bed or body linen. BE ScTu-
puIouSly particular in this separation,
even after hoth kinds seem 10 hr clean.
Now comes the final rinSing. Have an
abundance cf clean. warm water. Souse
each artici, several times, shake hard.
TWIST with pair uf strong hands, and
put through the Wringcr, If there are
button. upon any article, turn them in
~l3" with "a fold or two over them, that
lhey may not be broken or torn off in
the Wringer.
Much Of the good color" of wash
ing depends upon wringing. Clothes
should never drip when hung on the
me. They dry more evenly and quickly
ana are much winter if every drop Of
water that can come away is wrung out
before they are pronounced ready for
me line |1r bleaching ground.
Our talk next week will be upon
Tr,l"rthinG. Bluing and Decentralization
l"Fiand i'll PittsbTg Dispatch.
Lhli5Ten'g Letters