All housekeepers should keep a bottle of liquid ammonia, as it is
the most powerful and useful agent for cleaning silks, stuffs
and hats, in fact cleans everything it touches. A few drops of
ammonia in water will take off grease from dishes, pans, etc.,
and does not injure the hands as much as the use of soda and strong
chemical soaps. A spoonful in a quart of warm water for cleaning paint
makes it look like new, and so with everything that needs cleaning.
Spots on towels and hosiery will disappear with little trouble if a little
ammonia is put into enough water to soak the articles, and they are left
in it an hour or two before washing ; and if a cupful is put into the water
in which clothes are soaked the night before washing, the ease with which
the articles can be washed, and their great whiteness and clearness when
dried, will be very gratifying. Eemembering the small sum paid .for three
quarts of ammonia of common strength, one can easily see that no bleach-
ing preparation can be more cheaply obtained.
No articles in kitchen use are so likely to be neglected and abused as
the dish-cloths and dish-towels ; and in washing these, ammonia, if prop-
erly used, is a greater comfort than anywher^e else. Put a teaspoonful into
the water in which these cloths are, or should be, washed everyday ; rub
soap on the towels. Put them in the water ; let them stand half an hour
or so ; then rub them out thoroughly, rinse faithfully, and dry outdoors
in clear air and sun, and dish-cloths and towels need never look gray and
dingy — a perpetual discomfort to all housekeepers.
A dark carpet often looks dusty soon after it has been swept, and you
know it does not need sweeping again ; so wet a cloth or a sponge, wring
it almost dry, and wipe off the dust. A few drops of ammonia in the
water will brighten the colors.
For cleaning hair-brushes it is excellent ; put a tablespoonful into the
water, having it only tepid, and dip up and down until clean ; then dry
with the brushes down and they will be like new ones.
(618)
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.
519
When employed in washing anything that is not especially soiled, use
the waste water afterward for the house plants that are taken down from
their usual position and immersed in the tub of water. Ammonia is a
fertilizer, and helps to keep healthy the plants it nourishes. In every way,
in fact, ammonia is the housekeeper’s friend.
Ammonia is not only useful for cleaning, but as a household medicine.
Half a teaspoonful taken in half a tumbler of water is far better for faint-
ness than alcoholic stimulants. In the Temperance Hospital, in London,
it is used with the best results. It was used freely by Lieutenant Greely’s
Arctic party for keeping up circulation. It is a relief in nervousness, head-
ache and heart disturbances.
TO DESTROY INSECTS AND VERMIN.
Dissolve two pounds of alum in three or four quarts of water✪ Insect and Vermin Destroyer. Let it
remain over night till all the alum is dissolved. Then with a brush, apply
boiling hot to every joint or crevice in the closet or shelves where croton,
bugs, ants, cockroaches, etc., intrude ; also to the joints and crevices of bed-
steads, as bed bugs dislike it as much as croton bugs, roaches, or ants.
Brush all the cracks in the floor and mopboards. Keep it boiling hot
while using.
Page 345 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1887. 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
All housekeepers should keep a bottle of liquid ammonia, as it is the most powerful and useful agent for cleaning silks, stuffs and hats, in fact cleans everything it touches. A few drops of ammonia in water will take off grease from dishes, pans, etc., and does not injure the hands as much as the use of soda and strong chemical soaps. A spoonful in a quart of warm water for cleaning paint makes it look like new, and so with everything that needs cleaning.
Spots on towels and hosiery will disappear with little trouble if a little ammonia is put into enough water to soak the articles, and they are left in it an hour or two before washing ; and if a cupful is put into the water in which clothes are soaked the night before washing, the ease with which the articles can be washed, and their great whiteness and clearness when dried, will be very gratifying. Remembering the small sum paid .for three quarts of ammonia of common strength, one can easily see that no bleaching preparation can be more cheaply obtained.
No articles in kitchen use are so likely to be neglected and abused as the dish-cloths and dish-towels ; and in washing these, ammonia, if properly used, is a greater comfort than anywhere else. Put a teaspoonful into the water in which these cloths are, or should be, washed everyday ; rub soap on the towels. Put them in the water ; let them stand half an hour or so ; then rub them out thoroughly, rinse faithfully, and dry outdoors in clear air and sun, and dish-cloths and towels need never look gray and dingy — a perpetual discomfort to all housekeepers.
A dark carpet often looks dusty soon after it has been swept, and you know it does not need sweeping again ; so wet a cloth or a sponge, wring it almost dry, and wipe off the dust. A few drops of ammonia in the water will brighten the colors.
For cleaning hair-brushes it is excellent ; put a tablespoonful into the water, having it only tepid, and dip up and down until clean ; then dry
with the brushes down and they will be like new ones.
(618)
When employed in washing anything that is not especially soiled, use the waste water afterward for the house plants that are taken down from their usual position and immersed in the tub of water. Ammonia is a fertilizer, and helps to keep healthy the plants it nourishes. In every way, in fact, ammonia is the housekeeper’s friend.
Ammonia is not only useful for cleaning, but as a household medicine. Half a teaspoonful taken in half a tumbler of water is far better for faintness than alcoholic stimulants. In the Temperance Hospital, in London, it is used with the best results. It was used freely by Lieutenant Greely’s Arctic party for keeping up circulation. It is a relief in nervousness, headache and heart disturbances.
TO DESTROY INSECTS AND VERMIN.
Dissolve two pounds of alum in three or four quarts of water. Let it remain over night till all the alum is dissolved. Then with a brush, apply boiling hot to every joint or crevice in the closet or shelves where croton, bugs, ants, cockroaches, etc., intrude ; also to the joints and crevices of bedsteads, as bed bugs dislike it as much as croton bugs, roaches, or ants. Brush all the cracks in the floor and mopboards. Keep it boiling hot while using.
Records on this page
Insect and Vermin Destroyer