To Make Gum-Starch.— Pound two ounces of fine white
gum arabic to powder, put it into a jug and pour on it a
pint of boiling, water, according to the tenacity required ;
cover the jug and let it remain for the night. Next day
pour the liquid carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle,
cork it, and keep it for use. A tablespoonful of this✪ Gum-Starch stirred
into a pint of starch will give a fine gloss to collars, cuffs,
and shirt fronts.
To Wash Woollen Socks. — Have ready a bowl of
warm soapsuds, into which press and squeeze the socks
gently till they look clean. Then they can be rinsed in
other light suds and hung up to dry without wringing.
THE LAUNDRY
61
Merely the slightest squeezing and rinsing up and down in
the suds are all that is required ; they should never be
wrung. Then they should be hung up by the tops and
allowed to drip till almost dry, when they may be taken
down and gently pulled with the hands and shaped, care
being taken not to stretch them out of form.
To Clean Lace. — Fill a bottle with cold water, draw a
stocking tightly over it, securing both ends firmly. Place
the lace smoothly over the stocking and tack closely, put
the bottle in a kettle of cold water containing a few
shavings of soap, and place over the fire to boil ; rinse in
^several waters, and then drain and dry. When dry,
remove and place smoothly in a large book, and press with
weights. Black lace, which has become rusty, may be
restored by soaking in ammonia and water, or by washing
in milk and water, or gin.
It is a good plan to use gum arabic for stifiening all laces
and fine muslins, as it leaves no smeared surfaces and makes
the articles look like new.
To Wash Lace Curtains. — They should soak for twenty-
four hours in cold water ; then press the water from them,
and, if very much soiled, repeat the soaking with several
changes of water. They can then be washed in the usual
way — gently pressed and rubbed with hands, then boiled.
They must be thoroughly dry before starching. Clear,
well-boiled starch should be used. They should be rather
limp than stiff. After starching they must be hung care-
fully over the line and should remain there till a little more
than half dry. Place a sheet on the floor and tack it
down carefully, with no wrinkles in it ; when the curtains
are nearly dry lay each one on the sheet and pin the
hemmed ends carefully to one end of the sheet : leave no
wrinkles, and pin down the sides first, going from those
to the centre, keeping an even line : all this must be most
carefully and very evenly manipulated, and they then must
be left to dry. Lace curtains should never be ironed.
Mildew on Linen. — E.ub soap on the mildewed spots,
scrape chalk over it thickly, and lay in the sun ; repeat this
till the spots disappear. Most stains will disappear if the
cloth is held in milk that is boiling over the fire.
62
THE housewife's REFEREE
LAUNDHY HINTS
A teaspoonful of kerosene in a quart of starch will
prevent irons sticking. Equal parts of ammonia and
turpentine will remove paint marks, if it is often applied.
To set delicate colours in embroidered handkerchiefs soak
them ten minutes before washing in a pail of water, in
which a dessertspoonful of turpentine has been stirred.
Page 41 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
To Make Gum-Starch.— Pound two ounces of fine white gum arabic to powder, put it into a jug and pour on it a pint of boiling, water, according to the tenacity required ; cover the jug and let it remain for the night. Next day pour the liquid carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork it, and keep it for use. A tablespoonful of this stirred into a pint of starch will give a fine gloss to collars, cuffs, and shirt fronts.
To Wash Woollen Socks. — Have ready a bowl of warm soapsuds, into which press and squeeze the socks gently till they look clean. Then they can be rinsed in other light suds and hung up to dry without wringing.
Merely the slightest squeezing and rinsing up and down in the suds are all that is required ; they should never be wrung. Then they should be hung up by the tops and allowed to drip till almost dry, when they may be taken down and gently pulled with the hands and shaped, care being taken not to stretch them out of form.
To Clean Lace. — Fill a bottle with cold water, draw a stocking tightly over it, securing both ends firmly. Place the lace smoothly over the stocking and tack closely, put the bottle in a kettle of cold water containing a few shavings of soap, and place over the fire to boil ; rinse in several waters, and then drain and dry. When dry, remove and place smoothly in a large book, and press with weights. Black lace, which has become rusty, may be restored by soaking in ammonia and water, or by washing in milk and water, or gin.
It is a good plan to use gum arabic for stiffening all laces and fine muslins, as it leaves no smeared surfaces and makes the articles look like new.
To Wash Lace Curtains. — They should soak for twentyfour hours in cold water ; then press the water from them, and, if very much soiled, repeat the soaking with several changes of water. They can then be washed in the usual way — gently pressed and rubbed with hands, then boiled. They must be thoroughly dry before starching. Clear, well-boiled starch should be used. They should be rather limp than stiff. After starching they must be hung carefully over the line and should remain there till a little more than half dry. Place a sheet on the floor and tack it down carefully, with no wrinkles in it ; when the curtains are nearly dry lay each one on the sheet and pin the hemmed ends carefully to one end of the sheet : leave no wrinkles, and pin down the sides first, going from those to the centre, keeping an even line : all this must be most carefully and very evenly manipulated, and they then must be left to dry. Lace curtains should never be ironed.
Mildew on Linen. — E.ub soap on the mildewed spots, scrape chalk over it thickly, and lay in the sun ; repeat this till the spots disappear. Most stains will disappear if the cloth is held in milk that is boiling over the fire.
THE HOUSEWIFE'S REFEREE
LAUNDHY HINTS
A teaspoonful of kerosene in a quart of starch will prevent irons sticking. Equal parts of ammonia and turpentine will remove paint marks, if it is often applied.
To set delicate colours in embroidered handkerchiefs soak them ten minutes before washing in a pail of water, in which a dessertspoonful of turpentine has been stirred.
Records on this page
Gum-Starch