water, and finally with a soft dry cloth ; wet only a small
place at once, and never use a brush if it can be avoided.
Keep oilcloths clean ordinarily by wiping them first with a
damp cloth and then with a dry one ; but do not apply
soap, or use a harsh brush or a mop. When the paint has
been scrubbed off oilcloths, and their texture is still un-
broken, they can be restored by having a coat of good oil
paint laid over them about once a year. Some durable
bright color is preferable ; and the eifect can be heightened
by having a solid color for the centre, and a contrasting hue
for the border. Rubbing with a few drops of ammonia on
a damp cloth, and subsequent polishing with dry cloth, will
clean windows easily and well. Kitchen-tables should be
cleaned every day, with hot water in which either borax or
washing-soda is dissolved. The sink should be flushed
every day with boiling water, and a handful of washing-soda
thrown upon the strainer over the drain-pipe before the
greasy water is poured down it after a meal is over. If
this point is attended to, and no scraps of refuse or grounds
of tea or coffee are allowed to pass into the drain-pipe,
housekeepers will escape that troublesome and expensive
plumber's job of cutting out the drain-pipe. Every week
in winter, and oftener in summer, a cupful of quicklime or
of chloride of lime, or a pailful of hot copperas-water,
should be thrown upon the drain. Copperas-water is a
valuable disinfectant, free from the objectionable odor and
physical effect of lime ; it is made by placing the copperas
in the bottom of a barrel, and covering it with water;
enough copperas should be used to be plainly seen always
upon the bottom of the barrel. The water, heated and
poured in drains, sinks, and water-closets, by the pailful,
once or twice a week, will keep them entirely free from dan-
gerous emanations : note this when there is a closet upon
the lower floor, or near the kitchen.
4 PRACTICAL AMERICAN COOKERY.
After every nieal the towels and dish-cloths should be
washed in hot water with soap and a little borax, and they
should then be well rinsed and dried in the sun or air before
using them again. Directions are given elsewhere for wash-
ing dishes.
If kitchen utensils are tarnished and discolored, put them
into a large boiler containing hot water and a handful of
washing-soda, and let them boil for a few moments ; then
scour them with any of the good kitchen soaps made of fine
white silicious matter. Very fine ashes, sand, or brick-dust
sifted, will answer for scouring iron or copper. For tin and
japanned or enamelled ware, use powdered whiting, applying
it with a wet cloth, and then poUshing with a dry one or
with chamois. Knives are cleaned with powdered bath-
brick.
Page 11
Presented as published in 1885. 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
water, and finally with a soft dry cloth ; wet only a small place at once, and never use a brush if it can be avoided. Keep oilcloths clean ordinarily by wiping them first with a damp cloth and then with a dry one ; but do not apply soap, or use a harsh brush or a mop. When the paint has been scrubbed off oilcloths, and their texture is still unbroken, they can be restored by having a coat of good oil paint laid over them about once a year. Some durable bright color is preferable ; and the effect can be heightened by having a solid color for the centre, and a contrasting hue for the border. Rubbing with a few drops of ammonia on a damp cloth, and subsequent polishing with dry cloth, will clean windows easily and well. Kitchen-tables should be cleaned every day, with hot water in which either borax or washing-soda is dissolved. The sink should be flushed every day with boiling water, and a handful of washing-soda thrown upon the strainer over the drain-pipe before the greasy water is poured down it after a meal is over. If this point is attended to, and no scraps of refuse or grounds of tea or coffee are allowed to pass into the drain-pipe, housekeepers will escape that troublesome and expensive plumber's job of cutting out the drain-pipe. Every week in winter, and oftener in summer, a cupful of quicklime or of chloride of lime, or a pailful of hot copperas-water, should be thrown upon the drain. Copperas-water is a valuable disinfectant, free from the objectionable odor and physical effect of lime ; it is made by placing the copperas in the bottom of a barrel, and covering it with water; enough copperas should be used to be plainly seen always upon the bottom of the barrel. The water, heated and poured in drains, sinks, and water-closets, by the pailful, once or twice a week, will keep them entirely free from dangerous emanations : note this when there is a closet upon the lower floor, or near the kitchen.
After every nieal the towels and dish-cloths should be washed in hot water with soap and a little borax, and they should then be well rinsed and dried in the sun or air before using them again. Directions are given elsewhere for washing dishes.
If kitchen utensils are tarnished and discolored, put them into a large boiler containing hot water and a handful of washing-soda, and let them boil for a few moments ; then scour them with any of the good kitchen soaps made of fine white silicious matter. Very fine ashes, sand, or brick-dust sifted, will answer for scouring iron or copper. For tin and japanned or enamelled ware, use powdered whiting, applying it with a wet cloth, and then poUshing with a dry one or with chamois. Knives are cleaned with powdered bathbrick.