Means for Facilitating the Use of the same.
Year: 1886

page_text: Means for Facilitating the Use of the same.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to provide improved means for preparing
bluing and applying it for laundry purposes, whereby the bluing can be con-
veniently employed to give the required tint to the water for bluing clothes and
other articles.
Heretofore it has been customary to employ the bluing in the form of lumps
or powder, or in solution; but in each case serious inconveniences have been
encountered. When in the form of lumps, the process of dissolving the bluing is
slow and tedious, involving delay and loss of time. When in the form of powder,
great waste occurs, as the powder is liable to be scattered in using the bluing, and
besides, is liable to discolor and injure surrounding objects with which it may come
in contact. When in solution, it requires to be kept in bottles, which are liable to
accidental breakage, especially in cold weather, when the solution freezes. More-
over, when employed either in powder or solution, enclosing packages or receptacles
are required, which are a considerable item of expense. Heretofore paper has been
impregnated or coated with bluing and employed in pieces of suitable size to
impart the desired tint to the water; and coloring-matter has been packed in a
recess formed in the end of a handle, the coloring-matter being housed therein by
a covering of textile material; but such means differ from my invention as will
hereinafter appear.
My invention is designed to improve upon the above enumerated means of
putting up bluing, and to provide means whereby the bluing can be put up in such
form as to be readily applied to the water with perfect uniformity and in the exact
quantities necessary to give any tint or depth of color thereto.
To this end my invention consists in applying the bluing upon the surface of a
strip or blade of rigid material such as wood, leaving a portion thereof free to serve
as a handle, by means of which the blade may be manipulated; and in a solution
well adapted to be readily applied to the strip or blade.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is an elevation of a strip or blade shewing my invention applied
thereto.

page_text: A indicates a strip or blade constructed preferably of soft wood and provided
with a handle B, by which it may be manipulated. The said handle may be
provided with an aperture C, by which the device may be suspended from a
suitable support. The blade is coated with bluing D by placing it in a solution
of the same until coated or saturated, and then removing it and allowing it
to dry.
When an additional quantity of bluing is required upon the blade, it may be
redipped after drying, so as to allow the coloring matter to form an additional
coating thereon.
In order to prevent the coating from cracking and chipping off, some nucilaginous
material is dissolved in the solution previous to applying it to the blade. I have
found, in practice, that dextrine answers well for the purpose. A solution, for the
above purpose, that will give excellent results consists of about one hundred
pounds of bluing, ten pounds of dextrine, one hundred and twenty five pounds of
grape-sugar, twenty pounds of China clay and two hundred gallons of water. The
grape-sugar and China clay give a body to the solution, and enable a thick layer
or coating of the solution to be applied without liability of cracking or scaling off
when dry. This grape-sugar is to be melted and mixed with the solution when in
a melted state.
The bluing material used is to be first dissolved in water only, after which the
other ingredients, which have been previously dissolved in water, are to be incor-
porated to produce the complete mixture. Prussian blue or any other coloring
matter employed for bluing purposes may be used in connection with my invention
and hence I do not limit myself to any particular bluing material.
In using my improved device the water is simply stirred by the blade, which
gives off its color quickly and with perfect uniformity, and to any desired depth,
depending upon the length of time the stirring is continued.
When the proper
tint is obtained the blade may be hung up to dry, after which it is ready for use
again.
The blade may be used again and again until the coloring matter is completely
exhausted, there being thus no waste of any consequence.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is:-
First. A strip or blade having a portion of its surface coated with bluing,
substantially as, and for the purpose, specified.
Second. A solution consisting of bluing, dextrine, grape-sugar, and water mixed
together in about the proportions hereinabove specified, substantially as, and for
the purpose, described.
Third. A solution consisting of bluing, dextrine, grape-sugar, China clay and
water, mixed together in about the proportions hereinabove specified, substantially
as, and for the purpose, described.
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