muslin, and wind the blond round it (securing the ends with a needle
and thread), not leaving the edge outward, but covering it as you
proceed. Set the bottle upright in a strong cold lather of white soap
and very clear soft water, and place it in the sun, having gently
with your hand rubbed the suds up and down on the lace. Keep it in
the sun every day for a week, changing the lather daily, and always
rubbing it slightly when you renew the suds. At the end of the week,
take the blond off the bottle, and (without rinsing) pin it backward
and forward on a large pillow covered with a clean tight case. Every
scallop must have a separate pin; or more, if the scallops are not
very small. The plain edge must be pinned down also, so as to make
it straight and even. The pins should be of the smallest size. When
quite dry, take it off, but do not starch, iron, or press it. Lay it
in long loose folds, and put it away in a pasteboard box.
(_e_) Thread Lace.--As in (_d_).
(_f_) Ditto.--When it has been tacked to the bottle, take some of
the best sweet oil and saturate the lace thoroughly. Have ready in a
wash-kettle, a strong cold lather of clear water and white Castile
soap. Fill the bottle with cold water, to prevent its bursting,
cork it well and stand it upright in the suds, with a string round
the neck secured to the ears or handle of the kettle, to prevent
its shifting about and breaking while over the fire. Let it boil in
the suds for an hour or more, till the lace is clean and white all
through. Drain off the suds and dry it on the bottle in the sun.
When dry, remove the lace from the bottle and roll it round a white
ribbon-block; or lay it in long folds, place it within a sheet of
smooth white paper, and press it in a large book for a few days.
(_g_) Starching Lace.--Use a very thin boiled starch or the liquor in
which rice has been boiled. Dip the lace in the starch, and squeeze
out. Clap between the folds of a towel to partially dry it. Lay wrong
side up on the table, slightly picked out, and place a piece of
muslin over. Rub a cool iron over several times, till a little dry.
Take up, and with the fingers pick it out to show the pattern and the
edge. Iron again. Pick out once more, carefully draw to each side,
and give a final ironing. The iron must be very cool, or the lace
will be stiff; moving it about in the hands, and drawing it out tends
to make it flexible.
Loose Colours.--As black.
Silk Goods.--(_a_) Silk scarfs and stockings are best washed in tepid
water, with white soap dissolved in it, then rinsed quite free from
soap, wrung dry in a towel, and ironed dry on the wrong side with a
muslin cloth between the iron and the silk.
(_b_) Heat some rain or soft water, and while on the fire cut into
it slices of good yellow soap, to make a lather; put the stockings
in while the lather is warm, but not scalding, and wash in two such
waters (a wineglassful of gin in the first water is an improvement);
rinse well in lukewarm water, having ready a second rinsing water,
in which is mixed a little blue (not the common kind, but such as is
used for muslins and laces), or rose pink, which can be procured at
a chemist’s, and is used in the same way as the blue, by tying it up
in a piece of flannel and squeezing it into the water. After rinsing,
put the stockings between towels and let them get almost dry;
place on a small sheet, lay out quite flat, as they are when first
purchased, tack to the sheet with a needle and thread, turn the sheet
over them, and mangle. If it is not convenient to mangle them, the
next best plan is to put 4 or 6 stockings one upon the other between
muslin, lay them on a stone doorstep, and beat them with the rolling
pin. They must not be mangled or beaten in towels, as the pattern of
the towels would be impressed on them. If the stockings have lace
fronts they will more particularly require the tacking mentioned
above to make them look nice. No soda or washing powder of any kind
must be put to them. They must be done quickly.
Stains, Removing.--The great difficulty in eradicating stains is
to do so without damaging the often delicate tints of the fabric.
Following is a synopsis of the best plans in use, arranged according
to the nature of the substance causing the stain.
Acids.--Nearly all acids produce a red discoloration on goods dyed
black or blue with vegetable dyes. If the acid is strong, the fabric
will probably be locally destroyed as well as stained. The best
treatment for all acids is the _immediate_ application of a strong
alkali, either ammonia, potash, or soda, but ammonia is the most
satisfactory. When once the stain is old nothing will efface it.
Nitric acid stains are the most troublesome, as the acid bleaches
away the original colour. Repeated moistening with a very strong
solution of potash permanganate (Condy’s fluid may be used as a weak
substitute) followed by rinsing with water, is said to be effective.
Anilines.--(_a_) Wash out in alcohol containing some acetic acid,
unless the colours of the fabric would be damaged by acetic acid, in
which case use alcohol alone. (_b_) Try a solution of sodium sulphite.
Coffee, Chocolate, &c.--Apply a mixture of glycerine and egg-yolk;
wash out with warm water, while still damp iron on the reverse side
with a moderately hot iron.
Dust.--White and cotton coloured goods only require beating and
brushing. For old dry stains on coloured silk and woollen goods,
apply alcohol mixed with yolk of egg, let dry, and scrape off; wipe
away remaining traces of the egg by means of a linen rag dipped in
warm water.
Fruits, Red Wine, Vegetable Dyes.--The greater part may be removed
without leaving a stain, if the spot be rinsed in cold water in which
a few drops of aqua ammoniæ have been placed, _before the spot has
dried_. Wine stains on white materials may be removed by rinsing
with cold water, applying locally a weak solution of chloride of
lime or dilute chlorine water, or eau de javelle (potash or soda
hypochlorite), and again rinsing in an abundance of water. Some fruit
stains yield only to soaping with the hand, followed by fumigation
with sulphurous acid (fumes of burning sulphur); but the latter
process is inadmissible with certain coloured stuffs. If delicate
colours are injured by soapy or alkaline matters, the dye must be
renewed by applying colourless vinegar of moderate strength. For
coloured cotton and woollen materials, the stain is washed with hot
soapy water (to which more or less chlorine water has been added,
according to the fastness of the dyes), rinsed in water containing a
little ammonia, dipped in a solution of soda hyposulphite and then
in a solution of tartaric acid, and finally washed in hot water. For
silk and satin goods the same programme must be followed but with
very dilute solutions. Another plan is to treat with salts of sorrel
(hydrogen potassium oxalate) or with solution of soda hypochlorite.
The latter especially must be carefully removed when the object is
attained. Another well-tried plan, when space is available, is to
spread the stained fabrics on the ground in the open air, smear the
spots with soap, and sprinkle ground potash or common salt upon them.
Water is added and replaced when lost by evaporation. After 2 or 3
hours’ exposure the whole fabric may be washed, and will usually be
found freed from its stains.
Grass.--White goods need only be washed in boiling water. Coloured
goods, whether cotton, woollen, silk, or satin, are damped with a
solution of tin chloride and immediately washed out in abundance of
water.
Grease.--(_a_) Simple washing in soap and water. (_b_) Stains from
oil colours will yield to a mixture of soap and caustic potash. (_c_)
Chalk, fullers’ earth, or steatite (French chalk) diffused through a
little water to form a thin paste, spread upon the spot, allowed to
dry, and then brushed out. (_d_) Ox-gall and yolk of egg. The ox-gall
should be purified, to prevent its greenish tint from degrading the
brilliancy of dyes or the purity of whites. Thus prepared it is most
effective, especially for woollens. It is diffused through its own
bulk of water, applied to the spots, and rubbed well in with the
hands till the stains disappear, after which the stuff is washed with
soft water. (_e_) Volatile oil of turpentine will take out _recent_
stains, for which purpose it ought to be previously purified by
distillation over quicklime. Wipe the stain with a sponge dipped in
oil of turpentine, cover with filter paper (blotting-paper) and pass
a hot iron over several times; finally wash out in warm soapy water.
(_f_) Benzine or essence of petroleum is commonly used for removing
grease spots; but these liquids present the inconvenience of leaving,
in most cases, a brownish ring. To prevent this, the garments, &c.,
should be laid out flat, _in daylight_, upon a cake of plaster of
Paris, or upon some folds of blotting-paper, moistened with sulphuric
ether, otherwise known as rectified ether, and rubbed gently with
a soft brush or clean linen rag. This process, if necessary, may
be repeated. It neither injures the colour nor the material, and
evaporates completely on exposure to the air. Another remedy is to
scatter powdered gypsum or lycopodium on the moist surface, brushing
the powder away when dry. (_g_) Equal parts strong ammonia water,
ether, and alcohol form a valuable cleaning compound. Pass a piece of
blotting-paper under the grease spot, moisten a sponge, first with
water to render it “greedy,” then with the mixture, and rub with it
the spot. In a moment it is dissolved, saponified, and absorbed by
the sponge and blotter.
Gelatine, Glue, Blood, Sugar.--Wash in clean warm water.
Green nuts, Tanning Juices.--Wash white goods in weak eau de javelle
or chlorine water. For coloured goods, first damp, and then touch the
spot with more or less dilute chlorine water, afterwards rinsing in
clean water.
Ink, Ironmould.--For ink stains, dilute hydrochloric acid, which
must subsequently be carefully washed out, will mostly be found
effectual. For the same purpose oxalic acid or salts of sorrel
(hydrogen potassium oxalate) may also be employed, and that most
economically, in fine powder to be sprinkled over the stains and
moistened with boiling water. The action of these solvents may be
hastened by gentle rubbing, or still better by placing the stained
portion of the fabric in contact with metallic tin. If there is much
ironmould to be removed, dyers’ tin salt (stannous chloride) will
perform the same work at less expense than the oxalic acid compounds.
Another solvent for such stains consists of a mixture of 2 parts
argol with 1 of powdered alum. On coloured cotton and woollen goods
let a drop from a burning tallow candle fall on the stain, and then
wash out in a concentrated solution of pyrophosphate of soda. On fast
dyes, lime chloride or tartaric acid may be used. On fine silk or
satin goods damp with strong vinegar and leave covered for some time
with beechwood ashes, washing finally in strong soapy water. Some
iron stains submit to a washing in a solution of yellow prussiate of
potash with addition of sulphuric acid; the blue colour thus produced
is removed by rinsing in a solution of potash carbonate. One of the
simplest and most efficacious removers of ink stains is milk, applied
_instantly_.
Lime and other Alkalis.--If white goods, wash out in clean water.
For coloured cottons or woollens, silk or satin, wet the stuff, and
apply successive drops of dilute citric acid; when the stain has
disappeared, wash thoroughly in clean water.
Mildew.--(_a_) Dip the spot into a strained weak solution of lime
chloride (2 teaspoonfuls to 1 qt. water) for a moment and expose
to the sun for a few minutes; repeat till gone, and then rinse
thoroughly in clean water. (_b_) Soak in water for an hour and then
sun. (_c_) Moisten with lemon juice and lay in the sun. (_d_) Moisten
with lemon juice, cover with a paste of soft-soap and chalk, and sun
for ½ hour; repeat till gone.
Milk, Soup.--For white goods, wash thoroughly in soapy or lye
water; for coloured cottons and woollens, wipe the stain with a
sponge dipped in pure turpentine-oil or benzine, remove excess with
blotting-paper, and wash out in warm soapy water. For silks and
satins use purest benzine ether.
Nitrate of Silver.--(_a_) Dip in a neutral solution of copper
chloride and touch the spot with a crystal of soda hyposulphite
dipped in ammonia. (_b_) Damp with solution of potash hypermanganate
and dip into solution of potash bisulphite. (_c_) Moisten with
solution of mercury bichloride (a deadly poison). (_d_) Moisten
repeatedly with very weak solution of potassium cyanide and rinse
thoroughly in clean water.
Oil, Paint, Varnish.--(_a_) New stains will submit to carbon
bisulphide, or spirits of turpentine. (_b_) Cover old stains with
butter or olive oil, and when softened apply first spirits of
turpentine and then benzine. (_c_) For white goods, and coloured
cottons and woollens, damp the patch, and pass a sponge dipped in
turpentine-oil or benzine repeatedly over the stain, then lay on a
sheet of blotting-paper and pass a hot iron over; finally wash out in
warm soapy water. (_d_) For silks and satins spread on a thin paste
of ether and magnesia carbonate; when the ether has volatilised,
brush away the magnesia, or rub with crumb of bread.
Perspiration.--Wash in a solution of soda hyposulphite, and then
bleach if the goods are white.
Stearine, Wax.--Remove with a knife; place a piece of wet linen
beneath, cover the stain with several layers of blotting-paper, and
pass a hot iron over. Any remaining trace can be removed by a sponge
dipped in benzine.
Tar, Pitch, Resin.--For coloured cottons and woollens the stuff
is damped, and fat is applied to the stain, on which soap is well
rubbed. The soap is allowed to act for a few minutes, and is washed
out alternately with oil of turpentine and hot water. If this has not
succeeded, the yellow of egg mixed with some oil of turpentine is
applied, and when this has dried it is scratched away, and thorough
washing out in hot water ensues. The last method is the washing of
the stuff in water mixed with a little muriatic acid, and thorough
rinsing out in pure river water. For silk and satin, the stuff is
wetted, and a sponge dipped in a solution of ether and chloroform
is rubbed over the stain. If the stain is no longer noticeable,
white clay is strewn over it, over which blotting-paper is placed,
and the stain is extracted by passing a hot smoothing iron over. If
this process has not been successful, the yellow of egg mixed with
chloroform is used in the same manner.
Unknown origin.--(_a_) For white goods, and coloured cotton goods, a
small quantity of soap is dissolved in lukewarm water, and for each
pint is added a coffee spoonful of ammonia. The stain is wiped with
a sponge steeped in this fluid, and the material is finally washed
out in water. (_b_) For coloured woollen stuffs, dissolve 20 parts
ox-gall, 40 of borax, 500 of spirit, and 200 of ammonia, adding 30
of glycerine and the yellow of two eggs. The stuff is washed in this
boiling solution. It is subsequently rinsed in clean warm water,
and dried in the air, but not in the sun. (_c_) For silk and satin,
dissolve 40 parts borax and 10 of soap in 70 of diluted spirit and
30 of ether, adding 10 of magnesia carbonate and the yellow of two
eggs. The mixture is applied to the stain, and the stuff is washed in
lukewarm water, rinsed in cold water, and dried at a moderate warmth,
being subsequently ironed with a moderately hot iron.
Urine.--Wash in alcohol or very weak solution of citric acid.
Vinegar, Wine, Acid Fruits.--For white goods, wash out in clean
water, to which ammonia has been added. For coloured cotton and
woollen materials, silk, and satin, diluted ammonia is spread over
the satin, and when it has disappeared a thorough washing in water
ensues.
Wine, Beer, Punch.--Wash in soapy and then clean hot water.
_Tobacco Pipes._--A very simple and effective plan. Cut ½ in. from
the end of an ordinary cork, and fit it tightly into the bowl of the
pipe. Then with a knife cut a hole through the cork wide enough to
admit the nozzle of a water tap with a little pressure, turn on the
water gently until the flow through the stem is sufficiently strong,
and let it run until the pipe is clean.
_Violin._--(_a_) Use soap and water, but avoid its running through
the “_f_” holes. Clean the interior with _dry_ rice.
(_b_) Moisten the solid parts with salad oil, then mix same oil and
spirits of wine together in a basin, trying its strength first on a
part of the neck or scroll, then with a piece of white linen rag,
dipped in the oil and spirit, rub the soiled parts, keep shifting the
rag as it gets dirty: it will take several days to do, but keep the
parts well soaked, where dirty, with oil after every rubbing; but by
no means scrape it.
(_c_) Ordinary paraffin oil. _Slightly_ saturate a rag of soft silk,
and proceed to wash your violin therewith. The effect is almost
magical; the paraffin dissolves the crust of dirt and resin and
cleans the varnish without injuring.
(_d_) For the outside, a strongish solution of washing-soda, applied
with piece of flannel. If you find the soda remove the varnish (as it
does with some oil-varnishes), use soap-and-water, and then paraffin.
When clean, rub with linseed-oil; spirits of wine removes the old
resin at once, but sometimes takes the varnish with it. For the
inside, get a handful of rice, steep in solution of sugar and water 5
minutes, strain off, and nearly dry the rice till just sticky. Put in
at sound-holes and shake till tired. This will pick up all dirt, then
turn out.
_Violin Bows._--(_a_) Take a small piece of flannel, wet it (cold
process), well rub it with best yellow soap, double it, holding the
hair gently between the finger and thumb, rub gently till clean,
using plenty of soap; rinse flannel, wipe off, then wipe dry with a
piece of calico or linen; in an hour afterwards it will be ready for
the resin. (_b_) A solution of borax-and-water.
_Wall-papers._--To remove oil stains or marks where people have
rested their heads, from wall-papers, mix pipeclay with water to the
consistency of cream, lay it on the spot and allow it to remain till
the following day, when it may be easily removed with a penknife or
brush.
_Watches._--A correspondent of the _Watchmaker and Metal-worker_
tells how he cleans watches with benzine. The method may be useful
for other fine work. He says: I immerse the parts in benzine and dry
in boxwood sawdust. This gives the gilding a fresh, new look, which
I have not been able to get by any other process. The movement must
be entirely taken down. The dial screws may be screwed down tightly
and left, but all parts united with screws must be separated, so
that there will be no places where the benzine can remain and not
be at once absorbed by the sawdust. I have a large alcohol cup,
which I fill about half full of benzine, taking down my movement and
putting the larger pieces in the fluid. The scape wheel, balance,
and delicate parts I treat separately, that they may not be injured
by contact with the heavier pieces. I then take the pieces one at a
time, and tumble them into the sawdust. In a few seconds they will be
dry, when I pick them out and lay in a tray, using brass tweezers,
which do not scratch. I treat all the parts in this way except
the mainspring, when a slight use of the brush and clean chamois
will remove all dust. Of course, the holes must be cleaned with a
pointed peg; and I wipe out the oil sinks with chamois over the end
of a blunt peg, but it is not often necessary to clean the pinions
with a peg; they will come out of the sawdust bright and clean. The
mainspring must not be put in benzine unless you want it to break
soon after. The fluid seems to remove the fine oily surface which a
spring gets after working for a time, and which is very desirable to
retain; so I clean my springs by wiping with soft tissue paper. If
they are gummy, I put on a little fresh oil to soften, and wipe off,
being careful not to straighten out the springs.
=Vermin, Destroying.=--Before proceeding to classify the various
kinds of noxious creatures whose presence is objectionable to man,
and giving hints for their destruction or removal, it will be well
to put forward a word of caution _against_ using any substance
which will _poison the vermin_ in situations where their bodies can
putrefy unseen and produce unpleasant and injurious odours. Wherever
poisons are mentioned in the following recipes their use is intended
exclusively away from the dwelling, and there are many sound reasons
why poisons should be avoided on all occasions.
_Insects._--As this word is commonly used in the household it
embraces a considerable number of small creatures outside the class
known as insects to naturalists, and may be regarded as including all
winged and creeping vermin.
Before descending to special remedies against different insects a
few lines may be devoted to that universal insecticide the so-called
“Persian insect powder.” This is of two kinds, one produced in the
Transcaucasian region and another in Dalmatia. The first is the
produce of _Pyrethrum roseum_ and _P. carneum_, and the last of _P.
cinerariæfolium_ [_Chrysanthemum turreanum_], all common wild flowers
in their special districts. The useful part of the plants is their
flowers, which are gathered when half developed, in dry weather,
dried in the shade under cover, ground to powder, and stored in
air-tight vessels. The plants can be cultivated in warm climates. The
Dalmatian gives the stronger powder, or perhaps the powder sold there
is less adulterated. Experiments have conclusively proved that while
these powders are perfectly harmless to human beings and domestic
animals, they are distinctly poisonous to all insects having open
mouth parts, such as bees, wasps, ants, mosquitoes, flies, fleas,
bugs, dragon-flies, spiders, carpet-beetles, &c.
Ants.--(_a_) White ants will eat the whole timber work of a house
without noise. They bore close to the surface of the wood, but
without destroying it, so that there is no visible indication of
what they are doing. They will even bore through the boards of a
floor and up the legs of a table, leaving the latter a mere shell.
The principal woods used in this country which are said to resist
the white ant are cedar, greenheart, ebony, and lignum vitæ, and the
heartwood of jarrah. Pitch pine is sometimes attacked. White ants
will not attack new teak, but will bore through teak to get at yellow
pine. Arsenic seems to prevent the attack of these insects, and is
sometimes used for this purpose in the concrete, mortar, paint, and
plaster of buildings. Arsenic is also mixed with aloes, soap, &c., to
form a wash to exterminate these insects. Creosoting is an effectual
preservative against white ants, but on account of its smell is only
adapted for out-door work, and can hardly be applied to very dense
tropical timbers. A cheap source of arsenic for this purpose is the
lime arsenite residue from aniline dyeworks.
(_b_) Black Ants.--Scatter a few leaves of green wormwood about their
haunts. (_c_) To clear them from pantries, chalk the shelves upon
which the provisions are put, so that the ants cannot move about; or
apply moistened fly-paper and lay about the pantry; or apply quassia
tincture, and soak crumbs of bread with it, and lay it about the
pantry. (_d_) Leave a vessel, such as a butter-crock, containing at
the bottom a few stewed prunes, or a little water in which prunes
have been stewed, uncovered in the places frequented by the ants; it
will attract them, and thousands will drown in it. (_e_) Boil pieces
of string in beer and sugar, and lay them in the ants’ way; collect
once in 24 hours, when they will be found covered with ants, and drop
into boiling water. (_f_) Pour benzoline down the holes. (_g_) Pour
boiling water down the holes. (_h_) Rooms on a ground floor may be
cleared by carefully pouring some strong oil of vitriol down each
hole. This will be fatal to the living insects and all their eggs,
but will destroy flooring, plaster, and bricks wherever it touches.