Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1907-08-03
FEW LAUNDRY HINTS
WORK THAT CAN EASILY BE
DONE AT HOME.
Not Necessary to Pay High Prices to
Expert Cleaners-Proper Care OF
the Finer Grades of Summer
Materials.


Many garments are beginning to
show rather dingy, so that few hints
on the doing up of fine materials may
not come amiss.
Nothing looks 50 dainty and fresh,
summer or winter, as white, but the
charges for laundering or French
cleaning are prohibitive Most people
are afraid to undertake the washing
of silks, cashmeres, and the like at
home, but really, with a little care,
they are not nearly so difficult as they
look.
Very fine muslins should be soaked
in tepid water in which borax has
been dissolved; one teaspoonful borax
to gallon of water being sufficient.
After half an hour they can be rubbed
gently in soap suds made of fine,
white curd soap and boiling water
then poured over them and left to
COOL They should be well rinsed and
squeezed rather than wrung out
In washing silk handkerchiefs care
should be taken to prevent their turn
ing yellow. A silk handkerchief
should never be boiled nor have any
soap rubbed upon it.
Make a lather of finely shredded
white soap and water, wash, and
squeeze the handkerchiefs in 1t, press
out all the moisture possible, and
dry quickly in the sun; ironing them
while they are still damp, but not
wet
White silk handkerchiefs used as
neckties are sometimes cleaned very
we'll with dried and powdered starch
in which little powdered blue has
been mixed
The handkerchief Is spread over a
clean linen cloth and with pad of
clean white linen the powder is rub
bed over the silk, then busted out,
after which, with a moderately hot
iron and two folds of slightly damped
linen laid over the silk on the right
side, the handkerchief is ironed, which
brightens it considerably.
A good merino or cashmere Is al
ways worth the trouble of cleaning
and remaking Take three table
spoonfuls extract of soap and two OF
OK gall; add to this about two quarts
of warm water, and wash the cash.
mere in it: then rinse and wiring it
in cold water. If the material is OF
a very beautiful black 1t is better to
add small quantity of dissolved alum
for rinsing purposes, and other color
washed by this process is rendered
fast by the alum.
To clean black silk from mud stains
the following recipe will be found
good one. Peel and cut into small
pieces a moderate sized potato. Pour
on it half a pint of boiling water;
cover and allow to stand for IL hours.
Then add pure spirits of wine suffi-
cient to give the feel of very thin
starch Sponge the spotted silk rap
idly with this liquid, and rub each
spot carefully, thoroughly wetting the
material.
Turn the silk face downward and
press the wrong side with a cold iron,
passing it always lengthways of the
material.
To iron a silk waist, commence
lIOhluS Will lllC COlidl Dtllu anu yOhC,
then the wristbands and sleeves. Use
a sleeve board for ironing the sleeves.
After ironing all the small parts, be-
gin with one side of the waist and
iron the whole of it. Silk should be
ironed quickly and carefully, so as
not to make creases, as it is almost
impossible to get them out.
If the waist is trimmed with lace
and lace insertions. gather up the lace
in the hand, dip the fingers in some
starch and put it on the lace Squeeze
out the starch, being very careful that
it does not touch the silk.
For the insertion, spread it out fiat
on the hand and put the starch on it
evenly with the fingers. Put the
starched parts carefully on each other
when rolling the waist up In n cloth.
Ironing the silk gives it a smooth
and glossy appearance, but should
the waist get dry before it is ironed,
dip it into clean cold water and roll
in a cloth. Do not sprinkle water
over 1t, as that would make it look
rough and blotchy when ironed When
the waist is finished fold it neatly
without creasing and air it.-Marion
Harris Neil in Chicago Inter Ocean.