When boiled enough, take them out of the boiler ; add
more water and soap, and put in the next quantity
ready, always remembering the finest are done first.
Now pour some cold water on the boiled clothes, wash
them out, and rinse them once or twice. The water
they are first rinsed in had better be hot, as it extracts
the soap much better than cold water ever will. Let
them be well wrung out of the last rinsing. They must
now be blued, that is, put in water tinged with blue.
Put in a tub a small quantity of water, and tinge it
well with blue. Dip each article in and wring it out;
shake, fold, and set it aside. Never allow clothes to
lie in blue water, or put more than one in at a time; but
just dip once or twice, and wring out, repeating till all
are finished. Add a little blue from time to time to
keep up the shade. Repeat this process with the bed
and table linen till all are finished, then hang them out
to dry. Use up the soapy water in the tubs to wash
kitchen towels, dusters, etc.
This process keeps linen white and clean, but in the
country, or wherever possible, after boiling, let the
clothes be spread out on the grass to bleach. The
sun and air have a magical effect in whitening linen,
and they impart to it a sweetness and perfume which
WASHING AND IRONING.
131
dwellers in towns can only envy. After bleaching, rinse
and blue as described above. Plenty of clear water, the
sun and air, are the best and cheapest of all devices for
making linen white and sweet, combined, of course, with
the use of an active pair of hands.
Fine muslins and laces must not be rubbed, but
squeezed between the hands in melted soap and warm
water, until they are clean. When to be boiled, they
should be put into a little bag or bundle by themselves, to
prevent them getting torn, and afterwards rinsed in the
usual way. They do not require to be hung up to dry.
They are just folded, rolled up in a clean towel, and put
aside to be starched.
The clothes already neatly hung out to dry must be
attended to. Remember to have them folded before they
are hung out, to remove the creases of the wringing, and
they will dry much better. Pocket-handkei’chiefs should
be folded double and hung up, three or four above each
other, taken down when half dry, rolled up tightly,
clapped, and they are ready to iron.
Table-linen is treated in the same manner, taken down
when very damp, very carefully folded, ready to mangle
first, to give it a fine gloss, and afterwards ironed dry.
Body-linen is dried much more ; if too dry, it must be
sprinkled with clean water to damp it very slightly, and
rolled up for ironing or starching.
Before finishing up this part of our washing, we must
repeat that the linen must be washed perfectly clean ; all
the soap rinsed thoroughly out, and when blued wrung
very tightly, then folded and clapped before hanging up
to dry. It may be as well to remark here, that unless
a very clean apron and dress are worn, it is nearly
impossible that the linen will be spotless.
The flannels come next, and require great care to pre-
132
WASHING AND IRONING.
Page 55
Presented as published in 1882. 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
When boiled enough, take them out of the boiler ; add more water and soap, and put in the next quantity ready, always remembering the finest are done first. Now pour some cold water on the boiled clothes, wash them out, and rinse them once or twice. The water they are first rinsed in had better be hot, as it extracts the soap much better than cold water ever will. Let them be well wrung out of the last rinsing. They must now be blued, that is, put in water tinged with blue. Put in a tub a small quantity of water, and tinge it well with blue. Dip each article in and wring it out; shake, fold, and set it aside. Never allow clothes to lie in blue water, or put more than one in at a time; but just dip once or twice, and wring out, repeating till all are finished. Add a little blue from time to time to keep up the shade. Repeat this process with the bed and table linen till all are finished, then hang them out to dry. Use up the soapy water in the tubs to wash kitchen towels, dusters, etc.
This process keeps linen white and clean, but in the country, or wherever possible, after boiling, let the clothes be spread out on the grass to bleach. The sun and air have a magical effect in whitening linen, and they impart to it a sweetness and perfume which
dwellers in towns can only envy. After bleaching, rinse and blue as described above. Plenty of clear water, the sun and air, are the best and cheapest of all devices for making linen white and sweet, combined, of course, with the use of an active pair of hands.
Fine muslins and laces must not be rubbed, but squeezed between the hands in melted soap and warm water, until they are clean. When to be boiled, they should be put into a little bag or bundle by themselves, to prevent them getting torn, and afterwards rinsed in the usual way. They do not require to be hung up to dry. They are just folded, rolled up in a clean towel, and put aside to be starched.
The clothes already neatly hung out to dry must be attended to. Remember to have them folded before they are hung out, to remove the creases of the wringing, and they will dry much better. Pocket-handkei’chiefs should be folded double and hung up, three or four above each other, taken down when half dry, rolled up tightly, clapped, and they are ready to iron.
Table-linen is treated in the same manner, taken down when very damp, very carefully folded, ready to mangle first, to give it a fine gloss, and afterwards ironed dry. Body-linen is dried much more ; if too dry, it must be sprinkled with clean water to damp it very slightly, and rolled up for ironing or starching.
Before finishing up this part of our washing, we must repeat that the linen must be washed perfectly clean ; all the soap rinsed thoroughly out, and when blued wrung very tightly, then folded and clapped before hanging up to dry. It may be as well to remark here, that unless a very clean apron and dress are worn, it is nearly impossible that the linen will be spotless.
The flannels come next, and require great care to pre-