Table-cloths, or any white clothes that have coffee or fruit stains on
them, before being put into soap-suds, should have boiling water turned
on them, and remain in it till the water is cold--the spots should be
then rubbed out in it. If they are put into soap-suds with the stains
in, they will be set by it, so that no subsequent washing will remove
them. Table-cloths will be less likely to get stained up, if they are
always rinsed in thin starch water, as it tends to keep coffee and fruit
from sinking into the texture of the cloth. White clothes that are very
dirty, will come clean easily if put into strong, cool suds and hung on
the fire the night previous to the day in which they are to be washed.
If they get to boiling, it will not do them any harm, provided the suds
is cool when they are put in; if it is hot at first, it will set the
dirt in. The following method of washing clothes is a saving of a great
deal of labor: Soak the clothes in lukewarm soap-suds; if they are quite
dirty, soak them over night. To every three pails of water put a pint of
soft soap, and a table-spoonful of the salts of soda. Heat it till
mildly warm, then put in the clothes without any rubbing, and boil them
an hour. Drain the suds out of them as much as possible, as it is bad
for the hands; then add water till cool enough for the hands. The dirt
will be loose, so that they will require but a little rubbing. Rinse
them thoroughly in clear water, then in indigo water. The soda can be
procured cheap, by purchasing it in large quantities--soda is an
excellent thing to soften hard water. The soda suds will not do to wash
calicoes in. It is a good plan to save your suds, after washing, to
water your garden, if you have one, or to harden cellars and yards, when
sandy.