FoodNet

Household cookery and laundry work

1882

Page 54

Presented as published in 1882. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Chloride of lime will remove all marks and stains, but requires to be very carefully used, as it is of an exces- sively burning nature, and the stain may be replaced by a hole. There is little danger, however, if the part is wet, and the chloride of lime diluted a little. Ink stains should not be touched with soap or soda, as that immediately changes the ink stain into one of iron- mould. Wet ink stains, and rub them over with some acid, or wash in butter milk — the stronger the' acid the more quickly the stain is removed. Stains of mildew are difficult to remove. Rub with soap, wet well, and expose to the sun and air for WASHING AND IRONING. 129 several days, always keeping the stains wet and soaped. A little fine chalk rubbed over the place while wet and in the air sometimes removes the stains, but chloride of lime, applied in the manner previously described, is the easiest way. MODEL WASHING. The day before the washing, look out all the articles that require to be washed, and arrange them in lots ; mend what requires to be mended, and soak what should be soaked. Mix hot water and soap, in the proportion of a quarter of an inch from a bar of soap to a gallon of water, and a full dessert-spoonful of washing powder. (The soap is better to be melted beforehand.) Into this put body linen, shirts, and linen collars to soak all night. The bed linen may be soaked in cold water, or just put aside dry, waiting till its turn comes ; the laces and fine muslins tied up by themselves ; flannels shaken well, and put together by themselves ; and window blinds and curtains put in cold water, to draw out the smoke that has gathered on them. Begin work early on the washing day. The best part of the day is the forenoon, and an hour gained in the morning is worth two later in the day. The first thing to do is to light the boiler-fire, and have plenty of hot water; add some of it to the soaked clothes. Wash them out carefully, removing all stains. The soaking will have rendered hard rubbing almost unnecessary. Put them into a second tub with warm water, and wash again, always beginning with the finest articles. Then have a tub with plenty of cold water in it; drop them into this, and let them lie in it a short time. 130 WASHING AND IRONING. Fill up the boiler with cold water ; put into it a quarter of an inch of soap to each gallon of water, and a dessert- spoonful of washing powder (soda is not nearly so nice, as it gives linen a greyish colour) ; wring the clothes roughly out of the cold water, and put them in the boiler; cover with the lid, and let them boil gently for about ten or fifteen minutes. The rinsing in cold water before they are boiled has the great advantage of removing all the dirty water from the clothes, otherwise it gets boiled into them, and injures the colour.