C\J LO DQ APPROVED METHODS for HOME LAUNDERING By MARY BEALS VAIL Of two countries t with an equal amount of population, we may declare with positive certainty that the wealthiest and most highly civilized is that which consumes the greatest weight of soap. LIEBIG. PUBLISHED BY THE PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. <> COPYRIGHT 1906 THE PROCTER & GAMBLE CO., CINCINNATI, TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY VALUE OF LAUNDRY WORK, - - 7 PURIFIERS SUN, - - 7 Am, - 8 WATER, - 8 CHEMICAL, 9 MECHANICAL, 9 STAINS INSTRUCTIONS FOR TAKING OUT, --.... 11-15 FABRICS COTTON, 16 LINEN, 16 WOOL, - ...... 17 SILK, - 17 SOAPS IVORY, 19 LENOX, ... 19 P. & G. NAPHTHA, 19 SOAP SOLUTION, - ... 2 o LAUNDRY AIDS STARCH, - 21 BLUING, .... 23 WAX, - 25 REAGENTS, ------ - 25 EQUIPMENT FOR HOME LAUNDRY LIST OF ARTICLES NEEDED, WITH PRICES, 26-37 PRACTICAL LAUNDRY WORK PLAN OF WEEK'S WORK, - - 38-39 ORDER OF DAY'S WORK, 39-4 WHITE CLOTHES, - - 41-56 THICK STARCHING, 57~6i CLEAR STARCHING, 61 COLORED CLOTHES, 62 HOSIERY, - 63 WOOL, - - - 63-66 SILK, - 66 LACES AND CURTAINS, - 67-68 25681 & PUBLISHER'S PREFACE THIS booklet is published by The Procter & Gamble Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is believed to be the most complete as well as the most reliable publication ever issued dealing with the problems of home laundering. The information it contains is of value to experienced as well as inexperienced housewives. The firm of Procter & Gamble was established in 1837. The Procter & Gamble Co. was incorporated in 1890. Its Ivorydale, Ohio, plant is the largest soap factory in the United States. Branch factories are located at Kansas City, Kan., and at Arlington, Staten Island, N. Y. Of the many brands of soap made by The Procter & Gamble Co., at least three are known from one end of the country to the other "Ivory," "Lenox" and "Procter & Gamble (P. & G.) Naphtha Soap." Each of these soaps has a field of its own. Ivory is used for the bath and toilet as well as for such other purposes as require a mild, neutral and absolutely pure soap a soap which, because it contains no "free" (uncom- bined) alkali, can be used without hesitation for cleansing articles for which ordinary laundry soaps are unsafe and unsatisfactory. Lenox is one of the best and, at the same time, one of the cheapest of laundry soaps. It can be used for every pur- pose for which a high grade, well made, laundry soap should (5) Approved Methods for Home Laundering be used. There are cheaper laundry soaps than Lenox. But it does not pay to use them. Many of them are badly made. Some of them are positively harmful. None of them is as good as Lenox. For every day use around the house, it is without an equal. P. & G. Naphtha Soap simplifies the work of laundering to an extent that is almost beyond belief. Use it and you will have no more " Blue Mondays," no more hot kitchens, no more backaches from bending over tubs of steaming water, no more hard rubbing of clothes up and down the washboard. Time, labor, fuel and money saved and cleaner clothes than you have ever had before. THE VALUE OF LAUNDRY WORK -PURIFIERS THE one great privilege of rich and poor alike is the possession of clean clothes. Water is free, soap is cheap, and sunshine and fresh air are everywhere. For centuries we have been training ourselves to like the "feel" of clean, smooth garments, the odor of freshly laun- dered linen, and the appearance of clothes clean and uni- form in color, free from wrinkles, and straight as to threads of material. We may not have known that this very clean- liness is the strongest supporter of good health, but it is. The skin is made more active by the fresh clothing, which, in turn, absorbs the impurities thrown off by the skin. Moreover, clean, boiled clothes never carry disease germs. In discussing any subject, we must first learn of the ma- terials to be handled. With the knowledge of these, intel- ligent work and satisfactory results are sure to follow. In our special subject, HOME LAUNDERING, the information side will be discussed under the several heads : Purifiers, Soil, Fabrics, and Laundry Aids. Sun, air, and water Nature's purifiers stand first and are indispensable. The sun's rays have wonderful proper- ties, direct and indirect, in the form of heat. Nothing can compare with them. Many forms of minute plant life, moulds, and certain bacteria, will not grow in the sunshine; and sun and air, together with moisture, break up harmful (7) 8 Approved Methods for Home Laundering compounds, rendering them harmless. Moist heat at boil- ing temperature or higher kills all life if kept at that tem- perature long enough. The lower the form of life, the longer will it withstand heat. So, in order that clothes may be sterile, that is, free from life, they must be boiled at least ten minutes, and preferably twenty. Dry heat kept at a higher temperature for a longer time acts in the same way, but if not controlled, it may injure the fabric. Ironing applies heat for so short a time that it cannot be depended on to purify clothes. Air, being one-fifth oxygen, aids in the breaking up of harmful compounds and, when in motion, scatters dirt. Water is our chief dirt carrier. When in motion, water holds in suspension particles of dirt, which float away. Much of the soil of clothes may be dissolved in water, or, by the aid of soap, an emulsion is formed and the dirt is carried off. Friniitive methods of washing depended almost entirely upon flowing water to cleanse clothes, and washing in streams is still the method of cleansing used among people of simple habits to-day, a flat stone, upon which to rub or pound the clothes, being the only aid, unless soap is used. More depends upon the kind of water we have for laun- dry work than upon anything else. Soft water is best, but it may absorb many things in its journey from the clouds. After air and roofs are washed, rain water may be stored for use, but if we get water from a stream or lake, it may bring with it particles of plants or soil. These may be strained out, or the water may be allowed to settle, the clear water being then carefully poured off. Water which has soaked into the ground and appeared again in stream, Approved Methods for Home Laundering lake, spring, or well, may have absorbed some mineral matter that may make it undesirable for laundry purposes. The most common mineral found in water is lime, which makes water hard. Temporary hardness of water is most common. It is due to a soluble lime compound which will combine with soap to form a greasy scum. To overcome this difficulty water should be boiled. In case the hardness is not removable by boiling it is called permanently hard water. To overcome this add lime water or weak carbonat- ed alkali before boiling. In softening water with an alkali, only as much as is necessary to do the work is desirable. More acts upon clothing and hands, weakening fabric and skin. The larger the amount and the greater the strength of the alkali, the worse the effect. The alkalies commonly known and used in the household are: AMMONIA, a gas dissolved in water, and mild in its action if diluted; it readily evaporates if heated. It is comparatively expensive. BORAX, a powder, mild and expensive. SAI< SODA, OR CARBONATED AI^KAI,!, a crystal or powder, stronger and cheaper than borax. POTASH, OR LYE, a liquid or solid, strong but little used in modern times. It is derived from wood ashes by a process of leeching; is used in making "soft soap." CAUSTIC POTASH AND CAUSTIC SODA are very strong and not expensive, but are rarely known in the household. One or the other is almost invariably used in the manufacture of laundry soaps. SOAP, a very essential purifier, is discussed in a separate chapter. RUBBING, POUNDING AND RINSING are valuable mechanical aids in purifying clothes. SOIL THE soil in clothing may be of two kinds. If it is the product of life organic it may be perspiration, oily secretions or dead skin, food material or stains, and usually bacteria of some kind. The disease bacteria are few in number; the harmless, helpful kinds are many. When organic material of any kind begins to give off an odor, we know that bacteria are at work. This is especially true of clothes that have been next to the body. All bacteria can be killed by boiling. Of inorganic soil we have dust, ground up rock, which is usually mixed with organic material, and stains. Stains must have special consideration. They will often come out with cold water alone, and this should first be tried. Stains must be removed before the garment is washed. They come out most easily when fresh and moist. Stains will usually be set, that is, partake of the nature of dyes, when acted upon by soap and heat. To remove stains after they have been washed, without doing serious injury to the fabric, is almost impossible. We discussed alkalies in their relation to hard water. Now we want to consider acids known to us ordinarily as sour- tasting materials, for example, vinegar and lemon juice. In removing stains they are often used. Acids and alkalies act quite differently they neutralize each other, that is, one destroys the characteristic properties of the other when they are brought together in the right proportions. Acids are of many kinds and varying strengths, and should be carefully used. (10) STAINS. WE will consider stains individually, but first let us take up the methods of removing them, whether we use boiling water, an acid, an alkali, a bleach- ing agent, or a volatile liquid. If boiling water is to be used, stretch the stained part over a large bowl or saucepan, have a teakettle full of absolutely boiling water and pour water through the stain until it disappears. Hold the kettle high so that the water may fall with force upon the stain. If an acid is necessary, stretch the stained part over a bowl of boiling water and with a medicine dropper or an old tooth-brush apply very dilute muriatic acid (i%) to the wet stain; occasionally dip the stain into the water and use acid again. When the stain disappears, rinse well in clear water and then in tepid or cold water in which a little ammonia has been poured just enough to give a slight odor. Ammonia will overcome any bad effect the acid might have upon the cloth and will itself evaporate. Oxalic acid may be used in the same way if the stain will not yield readily. Oxalic acid comes in crystals and muriatic acid in liquid form. Both can be purchased at the drug store and are violent poisons, but in the i % strength mentioned muri- atic acid is harmless. Strong muriatic acid should be kept in a glass-stoppered bottle. If an alkali is required, dilute ammonia is to be preferred, the method of procedure being the same as in the case of an acid. 12 Approved Methods for Home Laundering If a bleach is desired, one of several methods may be used. The sun bleaches by oxidation in presence of moisture; the efficiency is increased by green vegetable coloring matter. All colors are affected. Wet cloth or stain and lay it upon the grass in strong sunshine. Keep it moist. The process is a slow one but it does not injure the fabric. Sulphur fumes bleach by deoxidation and are applicable to few kinds of stains, but most fruit stains will yield to them. Results are not permanent. Place a lump of sulphur on an old dish, have a funnel ready to confine the fumes; put a live coal or a match on the sulphur, invert the funnel over it, and hold the moist stain in the fumes. Sometimes a sul- phur match will furnish gas enough. Do not get the burn- ing sulphur on the skin nor breathe the fumes. The pres- ence of moisture is absolutely necessary. Peroxide of hydrogen and dilute ammonia will bleach by oxidation. The results are permanent, and particularly ap- plicable to woolen fabrics. The ammonia must be diluted in the proportions of one teaspoonful of household ammonia to one pint of water. Use equal parts of fresh peroxide of hydrogen and dilute ammonia. Moisten the stain in this liquid until it disappears. Chloride of lime bleaches by oxidation; the results are permanent, but unless the bleach is thoroughly washed out the fabric will be injured. A more desirable form of this bleach is as follows : JAVELLE WATER. 1 lb. sal soda, or preferably pearl ash, >(lb. chloride of lime, 2 qts. cold water. Approved Methods for Home Laundering 13 Mix thoroughly, let it stand several hours. Pour off clear liquid and bottle for use. Keep in a dark, cool place. To use Javelle water, stretch the stained article and rub the liquid into it, rinse quickly in clear water, and brush again if necessary. Always rinse in ammonia water at last. Ether, gasoline, benzine, alcohol, and chloroform, or in fact any liquid material that vaporizes easily, must always be used in daylight, and preferably in the open air. If in the house, no lamp or fire of any kind can be in the room, and the windows or doors must be open to carry off the vapors. Never put one of these materials on a wet cloth. The fumes are very inflammable, and serious damages would be done were these precautions not borne in mind. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR TAKING OUT STAINS BLOOD If fresh or recently dried, soak in cold or tepid water, rub out; when stain is brown and nearly gone, use soap and warm water. If very dry, soak and wash out; use Javelle water or peroxide of hydrogen. BRASS Rub with rancid lard or butter before washing. Warm white wine vinegar is a solvent for brass or copper, but must not be used on colored goods. COCOA Wash in cold water first, then rinse and pour boiling water through it. If resistant, try a bleaching agent. COFFEE Pour boiling water through it from a height. If resist- ant, try a bleaching agent. FRUIT Alcohol softens and dissolves many fruit stains. If the alco- hol is warmed over hot water it will be more efficient ; later, use boiling water poured from a height. If resistant, try sulphur fumes, dilute muriatic acid, or a bleaching agent. (4 Approved Methods for Home Laundering GRASS Alcohol will dissolve the green coloring matter of plants and is recommended when the material cannot be washed. GREASE or OIL Wash with cold water and soap first, and use solvents after drying, if necessary. Axle grease, rub with lard and let it stand to soften, then wash out. For fabrics that cannot be washed, the material may be treated with gasoline. Rub alw r ays toward the centre of the stain, and have several folds of clean cloth under the spot. Use always by daylight and in a draft. Ether is better than gasoline and is used in the same way. Powdered chalk or blotting paper may be used to absorb the oil. Kerosene will evaporate. Vaseline stains should be soaked in kerosene before washing. Chloroform, or preferably carbona, is a better solvent than gasoline, and with either there is no danger of flame or explosion. INK Place stained portion in sweet or sour milk and allow it to stand several days. Change milk, wash out in clear water, and try again, if necessary. Unless you know the character of the ink, it is hard to know what to recommend. Try peroxide of hydro- gen and dilute ammonia if the stain is fresh, lemon and salt, acid oxalate of potash, known as salts of lemon, or oxalic acid, and lastly Javelle water. Red Ink Wash with cold water or water and ammonia. If fit does not come out, use Javelle water. IRON RUST Lemon juice, salt, and hot sunshine may dissolve the stain, but more often muriatic acid is necessary. Oxalic acid may be tried, acid oxalate of potash, "known as salts of lemon, or oxalic acid and dilute muriatic acid. If available, ox-gall will remove iron stain. MEDICINE Alcohol usually dissolves medicines. For iodine, use hyposulphite of soda or chloroform. MILDEW Is really a plant, a mould growing on the fibre. It shows itself in warm weather when clothes are kept damp for a day or two. If fresh it may be removed, but if old it will not come out. Approved Methods for Home Laundering 15 Wet in strong soap suds, cover with a paste of soap and powdered chalk, or chalk and salt, and put in the strong sun- light for hours. If it does not yield to these, Javelle water or bleaching agents may be used, but the fibre is liable to suffer. MILK OR CREAM Wash out with cold water, and later use soap and cold water. MUCUS, as in handkerchiefs, should be washed in ammonia and water before using soap. In case of a heavy cold it is best to soak all handkerchiefs in a strong solution of boracic acid for several hours. PAINT OR TAR If fresh and washable, use soap and water; if not washable, use gasoline. If dry and washable, soften with lard or oil and then use soap and water; if not washable, soften and wash in gasoline. If color is delicate, soften with oil and rub out with ether or chloroform. The most effectual remedy for dry paint or varnish is amyl acetate or resin spirits; soften stain with one of them and wash out with gasoline. PERSPIRATION Use strong soap solution and let the garment lie in the sunshine. The perspiration under the arms is different from that of the rest of the body and requires an acid to neutral- ize it. Use dilute muriatic acid. SUGAR OR GUM Dissolve with warm water if washable ; with dilute alcohol if not washable. TEA Rub out in cold water first, then pour boiling water through it. Glycerine may be used to soak the stain. WAX Cover the spot, both sides, with brown or blotting paper and apply a warm (not hot) iron. It may be dissolved by hot alcohol. WINE If a red wine, cover with a layer of salt while fresh, then use boiling water. Moist salt and sunshine may be used if it does not come out easily. If a yellow wine, wash first with cold water, then with soap and water. FABRICS THE fabrics that we deal with ordinarily are of both vegetable and animal origin. The vegetable fibres, cotton and linen, are of a cellulose, woody nature, and do not readily combine with other materials. Their resistance makes them tough, strong, and not as easily dyed as animal fibres. Under the microscope the cotton fibre is ribbon-like, somewhat thickened at the edges, tapering toward the end, and slightly twisted. The fibres come from the fruit pod of the plant, are from one to t\vo and a third inches long, and seem like a flattened tube, probably a plant cell. Linen comes from the stem of the flax plant. The fibres are from ten to twelve inches long and under the microscope are apparently straight, transparent tubes. Cold dilute acids, or alkalies, will gradually weaken both cotton and linen fibres. Concentrated acids and alkalies act upon both according to concentration and time allowed. Linen is more strongly affected by alkalies than cotton. With concentrated acids cotton is converted into parchment- like material first, then gradually falls to pieces. With concentrated alkalies cotton becomes thicker, transparent, lustrous, is in fact mercerized, then decomposes. Sal soda (Sodium carbonate) acts but mildly on either cotton or linen. Moist chloride of lime and sunlight weaken both fibres, and if boiled with a weak solution of chloride of lime, the fibres grow weaker the longer the contact. This material is used in bleaching both fibres, and the fact that unbleached ma- terials are stronger than bleached is thus accounted for. The animal fibres ordinarily used are wool and silk. Both (16) Approved Methods for Home Laundering J7 are nitrogenous in character, one wool being hair-like, the other silk being gum-like. Both are more easily in- jured than vegetable fibres, silk being more delicate than wool. Wool is composed of numberless sections or sheaths, one growing out of the next, and each sheath with more or less jagged edges. They form a tube with from one thousand to three thousand sections to the inch. These ragged-edged sheaths explain what is known as shrinking. When we think how closely the fibres lie in cloth, we can under- stand^how the jagged edges may interlock with rubbing or with the expansion and contraction of heat and cold in the water with which we wash flannels. The wool fibres are from one to eleven inches long. All alkalies act on wool. The effect depending upon the kind, concentration, temperature of solution, and duration of contact. Cold dilute caustic alkalies are destructive, but if hot they will dissolve the wool fibre. Sal soda makes the color yellow, the fibre harsh and less elastic. Ammonia has the least action. Dilute acids roughen the fibre but concentrated acids disintegrate it. Chloride of lime injures the fibre and, if hot, destroys it. Silk, the product of the silk-worm just as it enters the chrysalis state, is a lustrous, strong, elastic fibre. The fibre is double, coming from two glands in the head through one opening, and is from nj/2 to 41^2 feet long. All alkalies act upon silk according to kind, concentra- tion, temperature of solution, and duration of contact. The lustre is first impaired and then the fibre is finally dissolved. Dilute acids roughen the fibre but concentrated acids dis- integrate it. Both silk and wool are readily affected by dry heat; silk first stiffens, then breaks. SOAP IN very early times soap was unknown. Clothes were rubbed and beaten in running water to loosen the dirt. The oily dirt in the clothes is insoluble, that is, it is not removable by water. As a consequence the labor of re- moving it is so great that the fabric is liable to be injured. Later it was discovered that wood ashes would lighten the labor of washing, but if they were used too freely not only the dirt but the hands and the fabric itself were injured. Soap is a combination of a caustic alkali with a fat or, more properly speaking, with a fatty acid. The fat is broken up into two parts fatty acid and glycerine by means of alkali and heat. The fatty acid combines with alkali and the glycerine is left free; glycerine is a by-product of every soap factory. Potash, soda ash, and caustic soda are the alkalies most frequently used in soap making. Pot- ash produces a soft soap, while the soda, which is used ex- clusively in the soap factories in the United States, produces a good, hard soap. Among other materials used in soap are tallow, grease, cottonseed oil, cocoanut oil, cottonseed foots, corn oil, olive oil, olive oil foots, palm oil, castor oil, and resin. One or more of these products are used at will. A fixed amount of alkali is required to saponify a definite- quantity of fat or oil; when the proper proportions are adhered to the result is a "neutral" soap. A neutral soap is one in which there is no "free" (uncombined) alkali or fat: Resin is used in yellow laundry soaps. A small percentage of high-grade resin does not injure the quality of the soap. (18) Approved Methods for Home Laundering 19 Iii fact, it aids in forming suds, which carries off the dirt; but resin in excess or of a low grade makes undesirable soap. Soap owes its cleansing power to its solubility and its at- traction for "dirt." In hot water soap dissolves perfectly, but as the water cools it seems to separate, especially if there is much water present. Hot soap solution does the best work. The most plausible explanation of the detergent value of soap is that it is an excellent emulsifying agent: the dirt in clothes is largely of an oily nature, and oil. is easily emulsified. In choosing soap, the use to which it is to be put must be considered. A white, neutral, floating soap, like Ivory, can be used for all toilet purposes, and is also the best soap for silks, woolens, laces, and fine muslins. It will affect the fa- bric less than any other kind and, being white, leaves no color to be rinsed out or removed later. The light brown soap, like L,enox, is the universal laundry soap. The small amount of resin in it gives the color (as well perhaps as the darker fats used). The resin helps to form the suds, which acts as a dirt carrier. As a rule, naphtha soaps are lighter in color than ordinary laundry soaps and contain no resin. Naphtha or a petroleum product akin to naphtha but less volatile is incorporated in the soap. The petroleum oil is a valuable solvent and adds to the effectiveness of the soap. The Procter & Gamble (P. & G.) Naphtha Soap is white; showing the high grade of materials that are used to form the neutral soap which is its foundation. A good naphtha soap lessens the work of rubbing and for that reason is popular with housewives who do their own washing. It also does away with boiling if plenty of water, sunshine and fresh air are used but an 20 Approved Methods for Home Laundering occasional boiling is even then necessary to make clothes pure and sweet smelling. To use Naphtha soap, shave it into warm (not hot) water / and soak the clothes in it for one hour, or better still, over night. Very dirty clothes should have soap rubbed into V them before soaking. Rinse clothes out of water in which they have been soaked, look them over for soiled spots which may need rubbing, rinse, blue, and hang out. Soap powders are powdered soap, to which has been added more or less washing soda and, sometimes, a scourer. Home-made soap is unsatisfactory. Kven with the great- est of care in making, soap made by what is known as the cold process is not perfectly combined, and it contains all the impurities in the original fat. It would be far better for housekeepers to sell the fats and get a good soap for use. Soap Solution. For laundry purposes one bar of ordinary laundry soap may be cut up and dissolved in three or four quarts of hot water; this can be used at once while hot, or kept in a glass or china jar until needed. Ivory soap solution, if sufficiently concentrated, will form a jelly on cooling; it is valuable in cleaning material for which you would not use soap and water gloves, leather, and things of a similar nature. The proportions are one small cake of Ivory soap to two quarts of water. Shave the soap into the water and cook about ten minutes, or until perfectly dissolved. Use hot for any purpose, but only when cold and with a dry cloth for cleaning gloves, etc. The best results are obtained .if the glove is kept on the hand during the process of cleaning. LAUNDRY AIDS MOST important of the little extras in a laundry is starch. It is of vegetable origin, and found in many parts of the plant, but principally in the seed, root, or tuber, where it is stored as food for the germ when it begins to sprout. The tiny starch granules, known to us as a tasteless, odorless, white powder, cannot be distinguished one from the other except by the microscope, when their shape, size, and markings are recognized. When subjected to heat and moisture these granules absorb moisture, burst their envelopes and combine with the water to form a gelatinous mass, more or less thick, according to the amount of water used. It is this peculiarity of starch which makes it valu- able in the laundry. The threads of the cloth are coated with starch, and the spaces between the threads are filled. This gives stiffness to the material when dry, and prevents its mussing, soiling, or staining easily. The usual sources of starch are corn, wheat, rice, and potato. Sago and. tapio- ca both furnish excellent starch, similar in its qualities to rice starch. Rice starch is capable of great dilution, the granule being one of the smallest; it is used for fine muslins. It is manu- factured and used very largely in Europe, and is little known here. Corn starch is cheap and in general use; its stiffening quality is high. Wheat starch is used in public laundries because its results (2T) 22 Approved Methods for Home Laundering are satisfactory, the material being not only stiff but more flexible than when corn starch is used. Potato starch is little used except for the filling of cloth in factories. GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING STARCH Mix starch with a small quantity of cold water to a creamy consistency, add a little more cold water, and then the de- sired amount of absolutely boiling water, stirring constantly. Put the starch over the fire and boil it for several minutes, to insure complete cooking, and stir it all the time it is cooking. Cool or dilute for use. If oil, borax, or wax are used, they should be cooked with the starch, but bluing is added later. The proportions for cooked starch are one measurement of starch to eight of boiling water, for thick starch; and one measurement of starch to sixteen of boiling water, for thin starch. Uncooked or partly cooked starch will stick and make trouble for the ironer. (Irons must always be hot for starched clothes.) The amount of starch needed is regu- lated by the number of clothes to be starched. Starch can be made thinner by adding water, and it always grows thin- ner with use. Starched clothes must never be stiff enough to rattle. THICK STARCH Mix l / 2 cup starch and % cup cold water, add } level teaspoonful shaven white wax or lard and 4 cups (1 qt. ) boiling water. Let it boil up several times, to be sure that wax is melted and mixed and starch cooked. Add a little bluing and Approved Methods for Home Laundering 23 set dish in a pan of cold water until it is cool enough to handle. THIN STARCH In a clean granite kettle put Yz cup starch, ^ level teaspoonful lard or twice as much borax, stir smooth with y 2 cup of cold water, then, stirring rapidly, add 3 pints of boiling water and continue stirring until it boils thoroughly. Have holder ready to lift it from the fire, or it will boil over. Add i pint of cold water to thin it and reduce the heat, and enough bluing to counteract the yellow color of the starch. Turn starch into a large dish. If carefully made, it need not be strained. RICE STARCH Wash ^ cup rice, put into i quart water, boil it slowly, stir often at first, keep up the quantity of water, and cook until the rice is a pulp. Add i quart boiling water, and strain through a flannel bag (without pressing). If too thick, dilute it with cold water, and use while hot. RAW STARCH 'To 3 tablespoonsful of the plain starch, add i teaspoonful borax and i pint of tepid water. Stir well and use at once. If prepared starch is used, make in the same way, but do not add borax. After using, allow the starch, if clean, to stand and set- tle, pour the water off, and dry the starch. It may be used again as raw starch, or, better, may be made into cooked starch. BLUING Sunshine, moisture, and fresh air are the greatest bleach- ers. Could we command a clean grass plot, pure air, and 24 Approved Methods for Home Laundering sunshine, there would be no need of bluing. Clothes be- come yellow from careless washing, dark colored soaps, stains, or impure water. To cover up this telltale color, we use bluing. Bluing is sold in solid or liquid form. The solid is usually insoluble, and is much used. It never dis- solves, but the fine particles of blue are all through the water while it is in motion, and will settle when the water is undisturbed. These particles lodge in the cloth and give it a bluish-white color. Indigo, a solid blue, was originally a vegetable product, but is now manufactured chemically. It was the first bluing known. It varies greatly in quality, and is little used at present. Ultramarine bhie was originally the stone lapis lazuli, ground fine, but is now manufactured chemically and sold in little blue balls. Aniline blue, either solid or liquid, is a product of coal tar, and is a strong dye. This blue is used almost exclu- sively by the public laundries. It will not set in an alkaline medium, therefore the clothes must be rinsed free from soap before using it. To make sure of the color, a little acid is added to the water before the clothes are put in. Being a dye, it is not easy to wash out if too much is used. Prussian blue is usually sold in liquid form. It was first manufactured at Berlin, hence its name. Being soluble, it is easy to use, and gives a bright blue to the clothes. Prus- sian blue is a salt of iron, and, with an alkali, changes to iron rust. If the clothes are rinsed free of soap, it may be used with good results. If careless work is done, you may find the clothes yellow or rusted in fine spots, and be unable to account for it. You can assure yourself that the liquid Approved Methods for Home Laundering 25 is Prussian blue by heating a little of it with a strong solu- tion of sal soda. The mixture will turn yellowish red and precipitate what is known as iron rust. Every laundry cupboard would be more complete if sup- plied with the following materials: BEESWAX or PARAFFINE, used to fill up and make smooth sad irons. It should be tied in a cloth for easier handling. COMMON SALT, a neutral compound, used as a scourer for soiled irons, or to set colors. AMMONIA, in liquid form (household ammonia), and BORAX, a white powder. Both being mild alkalies, they are used where soaking rather than rubbing is desirable to loosen the dirt, and the color is not to be considered. SAL SODA, or washing soda, is used for testing, and to "break " hard water. JAVELLE WATER is used to take out stains, and to bleach. MURIATIC ACID, dilute, a liquid, and OXALIC ACID, in crystal form, are used to take out stains. A medi- cine dropper is desirable to use with these, as the skin is easily roughened by them. VINEGAR, used to set colors. It should be colorless. GRAIN ALCOHOL, used to dissolve sugar, some medicine, and grass stains. ETHER will dissolve fat or oil from the more delicate fabrics. KEROSENE is a solvent, used in washing and cleaning rubber. GASOLINE is used to take out stains and clean gloves and ribbons. Being very inflammable, it must be used with great care and where there is no flame. SULPHUR is used as a bleacher. When burned, the fumes must be brought in contact with a moist stain. POWDERED CHALK or FULLER'S EARTH is used to absorb stains. SOAP should be bought in quantity and kept in a clean, dry place. If allowed to harden, there is less waste in using. EQUIPMENT FOR HOME LAUNDRY THE ROOM, used for laundry work, should be light and airy. The STOVE, if for laundry work exclusively, should be one made for the purpose. It need never be blacked. Cost, $6.50. TUBS, if stationary, should be porcelain lined. Slate is next best, but has seams, which are undesirable. Tubs are also made of cement. Wood is too absorptive to be clean. The height of stationary tubs from the floor is rarely right for the average woman. This should be considered when they are set. Portable tubs are made of fibre, galvanized iron, enamel, or wood. The wooden ones are best if made of cedar and brass-bound, but all wooden tubs are heavy, and will warp and leak if not kept in a damp place or with water in them. Tubs of all kinds must be kept clean, but Sapolio must not be used. A scourer of any kind roughens the surface and makes it easier for the dirt to lodge. A strong soap or sal soda will keep the galvanized tub bright, but at the expense of the plate. When that is off, the sheet iron foundation will rust. Cost. No estimate can be given for stationary tubs. They are usually, put in when the house is built, and the local plumber can be consulted. Fibre Tub, $1.35; Galvan- ized Iron Tub, 85 c.; Wooden Tub, $1.25. Three tubs are necessary for good work. A WASH BENCH should be of the right height for the (26) Approved Methods for Home Laundering 27 LAUNDRY STOVE 28 Approved Methods for Home Laundering user. Thirty-six inches or less from top of tub to floor is considered right. The bench may have pegs to hold the tubs in place, and often has a support for the wringer set between the tubs. Cost, $1.05 to $1.25. A RUBBING BOARD is often moulded into the stationary tub, bttt this is rarely used, probably because it is not of the right height or slant. Portable boards are made of brass, zinc, or glass, and as long as they are not broken or ragged, there seems to be little choice in them, except that the rougher ones are better for dirty clothes. Cost, 35c. to J5c. WASHING MACHINES are very helpful for heavy clothes and where large washings are the rule. Many washing machines are wood-lined, have a kneading motion, and are worked by a lever or crank. Others have an inverted cone, worked by a lever, which presses down into the wet clothes and sucks the dirt up. The clothes may have to be looked over for soiled spots, which must be rubbed. The machine must be kept clean, free from dust and rust, and out of the weather. Cost, $3.95 up. A WRINGER saves not only time and strength but the clothes as well. A good one will last for years if well cared for. Always clean and dry it after using. A little kerosene will brighten the rubber when it becomes dull or stained, but remember that kerosene cleans by eating off a thin layer of rubber every time it is used. Oil the wringer occasionally and, when not in use, leave the screws loose, Approved Methods for Home Laundering 29 that the rolls may not become flat. Cover the wringer with a cloth to keep it clean. Cost, $2.50 to $6.00. The BOILER may be round or oblong, stationary or port- able, but should be very largely of copper, not only for the sake of greater durability but also because copper transmits heat more readily than almost any other metal. Cost, $2.00 to $7.00. A CLOTHES STICK may be made of an old broomstick, or can be bought with a metal-pronged end. Cost, 5 to i$c. A PAIL, of enameled ware, galvanized iron, tin, fibre, or wood is necessary for changing waters. Cost, Fibre, o8c.; Enamel, $1.05; Wood, joe. to 500.; Galvanized Iron, i$c. to 230.; Tin, 55^:. A DIPPER, of enameled ware or tin, is also necessary. Tin is so thinly coated on the iron that it soon wears off and rust appears. Cost, Enamel, 380.; Tin, 236. A DISH PAN, of enameled ware, is desirable to hold clothes when being carried to and from the boiler. Cost, $1.00. to $1.25. A SAUCE PAN, of 5 or 6-qt. capacity, is necessary for making starch, and this should be of enameled ware, made with a bail. Cost, 3$c. up. A SAUCE PAN or PAIL is needed in which to make soap solution. Cost, 250. up. A TEAKETTLE, of enameled ware or tin, for heating starch water. Cost, 85 c. up. 30 Approved Methods for Home Laundering i CASE KNIFE, for shaving soap, wax, etc., and for clean- ing irons. Cost, I2C. i L/ARGE WOODEN SPOON, for starch making. Cost, 5 \ ;>'& When clean, rinse without squeezing, and draw through the hands, and while quite wet, spread straight and true upon a clean, smooth surface to dry or iron when nearly dry under a cloth. Wash Chiffon in soapy water, rinse carefully, clap dry, stretch into shape, and iron on the wrong side with a cool iron. Wash Silk-embroidered Linen in Ivory Soap solution and water, rubbing soiled parts with a brush. Rinse till clear. If color is inclined to run, do not wring but lay between dry cloths and iron immediately. Always iron wrong side up over several thicknesses of flannel, to make the embroidery stand out. When dry, turn it onto the right side and iron the linen between the embroidery. Silk-ribbed Underwear must be washed in warm Ivory Soap and water, to which a tablespoonful of household ammonia for each gallon of water has been added. It may be soaked for ten minutes, then quickly washed, rinsed, and dried. Do not iron it, but stretch it until it is soft. Velvet to be renewed must be passed over steam and brushed lightly against the nap meanwhile. A device can be bought to attach to the nose of the teakettle, or steam can be produced by covering an inverted hot flatiron with several thicknesses of wet cloth over which the velvet is drawn. LACES Real laces are rarely washed, because they thicken slight- ly, and require very careful handling to make them appear like new. Wash White Lace in \varm water with Ivory Soap and a little ammonia. Soak it for an hour, then use fresh water. 68 /,\ t>p,'cn>ed Methods for Home Laundering Do not rub, but squeeze the dirt out. If the lace is very yellow, put soapy water over it and set it in the sun for a day or two. When it is clean, rinse well. If you wish the lace cream color, add strong coffee to the last rinsing water. If you wish it white, add a little bluing. To give lace the body it had when new, stiffen it in gum arabic water, made by dissolving a piece of gum arabic the size of a pea in one half pint of boiling water. I^ay the lace between cloths to absorb the moisture, clap it until nearly dry, pull it into shape, and pin it onto flannel straight and true. Be sure that each point is in shape and that every loop of the pearl edge has a pin to hold it in place. Wash Black Lace in one cup of strong coffee to which one tablespoonful of ammonia has been added. Rinse it in gum arabic water, clap until nearly dry, and pin it into shape on flannel or iron under black muslin with a warm (not hot) iron. Shake and brush Lace Curtains to remove the dust, soak them in soapy water over night. Work the curtains gently up and down in the water and squeeze them between the hands to get the dirt out. Put them into clean warm suds with ammonia added, and keep changing the water until the curtains are clean. Never wring curtains by hand; lay them on a strip of cloth and put carefully through the wringer. Rinse well in several waters, and put through hot, moderate- ly thick starch. If the curtains are white, the starch should be blued; if cream color, strong coffee should be added to it. Pin each point carefully to the drying frame and set in the air to dry. Two or three curtains may be dried at the same time on one frame. If you have no frame, lay clean sheets over the floor of an unused room, stretch the curtains into shape, square and true, and pin each point so that it will not slip. If points are out of shape when dry, they may be dampened with a cloth and ironed. THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. "AY 04 v IW JM 1956 LD 21-100m-8,'34 YB cosaoiitoa UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY