The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-08-27
Efficient Housekeeping
 By LAURA A. HERMAN.
LAUNDERING YOUR
 SUMMER EROCKS

I have received several letters this week asking help in laundering wash dresses I am answering these inquir- ieS by the following article:
 Organdie dresses seem to be a. prob lem to the majority of these readers Yet nothing is really as simple as the laundering of an organdie dress. If the organdie frock is colored and has never been washed before, let it soak in "pordant'' before washing it, to set the color- For delicate pinks, blues and lavendars, sugar-of-lead is the proper mordant to use; simply buy five cents worth of the Sugar-of-lead crystals from your druggist and dis solve this in a pail of cold water; put the soiled dress in this before attempt ing to wash the dirt out of it, and let dry in shade, and procede to wash in a suds of good white soap Sugar of-lead is poisonous and should not be left around where children or ami maIs might get hold for it.)
 If your dress is green, soak it in the following solution: add a large piece of alum to a bucketful of cold water and submerge the dress in this; l then take out; let it hang in the shade to drip dry. Now wash as usual. After the organdie frock is clean, take it out of the studs, rinse it twice, | then put it into third rinse water in | which has been dissolved a piece of gum arabic as large as nutmeg; this gum arabic takes the place of starch in stiffening a sheer dress. Or you may use the "cold water starch on any organdie, made by dissolving a large lump of starch in a basin of cold water. (No heating.)
 To launder muslins follow the above | directions for organdies.
 To Launder gingham dresses for the first time, follow above given instruc- tions for setting the colors, and use cold-water starch to stiffen them Gum arabic Is only for very sheer materials or for materials which arc l very dark in color (fgured voiles 1T deep blue, for instance, on whicf | white starch would show up white.
 But do not use hot boiled starch; or colored garments only the cold water starch is used. Also, take care not tc
 starch several dresses of differen
 colors in the same co1d-starch starcl
 basin. as a little of the dye from eacl
 always colors the starch slightly. ant
 the last dresses to go into such ;
 basin would absorb a hodge-podge O
 colors. Have a separate starch basir
 for each dress. Hang Scotch plaid | wPong-side out in the shade to dry.
 White dresses of linen, gabardine
 pique, and such heavy materials ar
 starched in the hot starch if like
 fairly stiff otherwise the cold wate
 starch may be used for them.
 The new surf-satin skirts are sup
 posed to be limp and soft rather thal
 stiff, and so should be starched in cold ! water starch.
 To freshen faded plain piQks am l blues soak piece of bright blue o , bright red cheesecloth in cold wate until the dye has colored the water tn
 desired strength (test with a corner O
 the garment of an odd piece of cloth)
 then dip the faded dress into this, le
 soak until your judgment tells yoI upon raising it, that it is as brigh |, as it was originally, and dry in tn shade.
 l All inquiries addressed to Mis ' 1<irkman in care of the ''EficieT e Housekeeping department will b t answered in these columns in the g turn. This requires considerable tim
 however. owing to the great numbe h received. So if a personal or quicke a reply is desired, a stamped and sell 2 addressed envelope must be enclose c with the questionable Editor.