A manual of home-making

In wai^hing colored clothing, the factors just enumerated ehould \ye kept in mind. Colored clothing should not be soaked for any length of time unless its color is known to be veiy stable. Any soap used in the washing process should be a mild soap in solution, or if the color of the goods to be washed is very delicate the soap solution should be replaced by soaji- bark, liran, rice water, potato water, or cooked-starch water. The washing process should Ix* conducted quirkl}^ and in water not very hot. After washing, colored garments fihould be turned inside out and hung in a very shady or dark place, and should be taken in as t^oon as dr>\ Fading is more often due to careless drying than to any fault in washing. Washing powders and strong alkalis should never Ix* used with coloi-ed clothing. If the water nee<ls softening, borax should be used* If starch, bran, rice water, and tlie like, are 5ul>stituLed for soap, the mixture should l>c employed as if it were soai)- suds. In starching colored clothes, the starch should be rubbed in thoroughly, and any excess of it wijjed oti; no difficulty will then l>e experienced with white starch spots. Sometimes a fabric shows a decided tendency to fade even under the best washing conditions. It is alwa3^s well if them is any doubt aliout fading, to test a small piece of the cloth before washing it. If the color fades, an attempt should be made to set it. With most colors, the dyer uses chemical substances which cause a firmer union Ix'twecn the color and the cloth. Such substances arc called intjrdanls. The process of making a color fast may sometimes satisfactorily be used by the housekeeper to strengthen weak colors. The household mordants are vinegar, brine, and sugar of lead, used in the fol- lowing proportions: To 1 gidlon water add: H cup mild vinegar; most effective for blues 2 cups salt; mcwt effective for hmwrna, blacks, and pinks 1 tftbleapoon «igar of kad (poison); most effective for lavenders. THE LAUNDRY Small pieeas of cloth siiould be tasted in e-ach of the above ■ solutionis and a choi(*e made after the te.st. The cloth of which the color h to be made fast should Ix^ k-ft in tlie mordant solu- tion overnight and may be left in for several days with good results. It should be thoroughly chied before lieing washe^l Even with relatively strong coloi-s, soakinLC a fabric overnight in a brine sohition before washing it for the first time may render it far less susceptible to fading infiuences than it other- wise would be. The effect of brine, however, is said not to be lasting, Coloreti goods are often rinsed in a dilute salt solu tion just before being dried. I I Washing woolens. Strong soaps should never be used in washing woolens, nor should soap be applied directly to the garment. The soap should be used in solution. A great d<*al of stress is laid on having the water used in wasliing flannels not much more than lukewarm, for at a lukewarm temperature soap ami water have a less detrimental action on wool. It is even more im- portant tha!i the lukewarm water to have all the waters used of the same temperature^ in order to avoid changes from hot t-o cold water, or vice versa, as sudden changes in temperature cause shrinkage.