The Washington times., 1922-06-12
MACHINES FOR
WASHING MAKE
!. CLOTHES WEAR
Life Is Added to Garments
Cleaned by Latest Soien-
tific Methods.

It has been abundantly proved
that by using proper methods with
the electric washing machine, the
housewife can make clothes wear
many times longer than was for.
merly possible with careless hand
washing. The old idea Of washing
clothes was chiefly a mechanical
Idea. You scrubbed the garments
as dirt. Or your careless laundress
sometimes used cheap washing
powders, containing caustic, sand.
and other injurious matter.
As one authority puts it, what We
call ''soil" in clothing, is made up
OF small particles Of dirt, held sus-
pended among the fibers OF the
cloth by the waste oil given off con-
stantly by the human body. This
oil or grease must first be cut so
that the dirt particles may be set
free from the fibres and carried
away IN the wash water. The first
part Of the washing process is chem.
ical, and consists in dissolving the
grease; the second stage is mechani'
cal, the washing away of the par
dole Of soil.
Hence, the housewife needs, first,
the right washing compound, and
second, an electric machine which
will take away the dirt by forcing
water back and forth through the
al hu r.
ing the fibers as the old custom.
was.
She should begin by soaking her
clothes q short time in a cold water
bath. It was always a mistake to
use hot water for soaking, inasmuch
as this causes the albuminous mat
ter and starch to coagulate and re-
suits in blotches. II the water Is
hard, 1t must be prepared by using
. small amount Of ammonia. borax,
soda-ash. or washing soda. Neutral
soap, which contains no free caus-
tic, with a mild alkali added, such
az washing soda, is the best wash
ing medium. Lack Of alkali, when
hard water is used, will cause
scum to form which settles on the
clothes and on the sides of the tub.
All bar soap should be shaved and
dissolved in boiling water before
being used in the washing machine.
Washing soda must not be used
carelessly, nor in large quantities,
but only according to directions.
II bluing Is used, II must be thor.
oughly mixed with the water. IL
It is in balls, or blocks, time is
saved by soaking them from one
wash day to the next. A test for
bluing Is that It must not turn vel
low II heated with washing soda.
Mix the bluing in half pail Of
water before putting II into the
washing machine, and have the
machine filled with the usual
amount of water. Bluing takes
more water than any other process.
1t Is important that rinsing be
thoroughly done after every process.
insufficient rinsing before bluing,
leaving some Of the alkaline proper
ties in the cloth, will cause the blue
70 set unevenly, and will also cause
the starch to decompose and make
yellow spots during the ironing.
Too much dampening as one irons
often yellows the fabric also.
The whole process, including soak
ing the clothes first for five min
utes, washing for ten minutes, rims
ing twice In hot water and once in
cold water, and bluing, means using
the washing machine for about forty
minutes. Housewives who have
done II for years, claim that the
clothes thus cleansed in an electric
washer wear fully six times as long
as they did when rubbed on the
washboard by laundress who knew
nothing Of careful laundering me.
thods.