A manual of home-making

3 gallons water }4to 1 tablespoon turpentivud J io S tMblespoons amrnoma. ^ THE LAUNDRY Alkalis are often used in connection with soap, in excess of the amount needed to soften hard water, to facilitate the re- moval of dirt by their direct action on it. In many cases it {< a mistake to pursue such a course if the alkali used is lye. The sinie objections may hold with washing-soda, but in lesser (Ic^ee. li the fabric is of such natui^ that limited amounts of lye or washing-soda will not seriously injure it, a strong soap will contain all the free lye that is safe to use- Borax and am- monia are mild alkalis and may be very useful when the pres- cnre of some free alkali is needed and the effect of a strong soap tt-ould be injurious. They are often utilized in connection with a neutral or mild soap for washing flannels and delicately colored fabrics. Turpentine, paraffin, kerosene, and benzine are all valuable aids to the laundress^ for they exert a solvent action on matter of a fatty nature and thus soften and loosen dirt, materially facilitating the washing process* The disadvantage in the use of tliese substances is, that clothing in the washing of which they have been imed may be insufficiently rinsed afterward and retain the odor of them. Benzine is dangerous to handle because of its inflammability, and cannot be used with very hot water because it evaporatea. FuUer's earth is a valuable adjunct in cleaning^ and is some- times used partly to replace soap in the washing process when the articles to be washed are in a very greasy condition and the use of a strong soap is not sufficient, and when the use of a strong alkali is not advisable, Manufacturers have put on the market various soaps and powders that have incorporated with them some one or more of the above substances. Naphtha and borax soaps and soaps con* taining fuller's earth give satisfaction. Good results may be obtained at less cost by the use of soap and the accessory ma- terial uncombined, though it may often be more convenient to use the manufactured article that is a combination of the two. Washing powdera are mixtures of soap and some alkali such a<? lye, washing-soda, and borax, and may have incorporated with them some one or more of the substance of the nature of I L THE LAUNDRY 253 .o^+^Tir.^ Qf thuf. time nreveiita thp flTitJan nf tJlfi lllBfl A MANUAL OF HOME-MAKING home-made Boaps are generally poorly made and of inferior quality. The inferiority of home-made soaps may have several causes. The so-called cold process is usually followed in making these soaps, and rarely is the union of the fat with the lye com. plete. The fat used in home-made soap m often filled with impurities and they are not always removed before the soap is made. As the fat in kitchen waste varies greatly in composition, it is impossible to give the exact amount of alkaE required for home-made soap. It is evident, then, that home-niade soap is likely to be filled with impurities and to be both greasy and excessively caustic, "eating," because of the presence of free fat and an undue amount of free alkali* For the benefit of those housekeepers who wish to try its manufacture, however, a formula is given on page 256- Soap sfubsiiixdeB and accessories.