does to buy the bleached. The Irish bleached linen is of a more snowy
whiteness than that of Germany. This is owing to the climate of Ireland,
which is particularly adapted by sunshine and rain for natural
bleaching.
_Table-Linen Most Important._
The table-linen is more important than the bed-linen, and should receive
the first consideration in the laundry.
It should be carefully counted and sorted by the linen-woman at night,
after dinner, and should be ready for the laundryman who must rise very
early in the morning in order to have the table-linen ready for the
laundry-maids that come on duty at seven o'clock.
A table-cloth should be folded lengthwise twice, then doubled, putting
both ends together, then folded, and it will be ready for the shelf.
Napkins should be put through the mangle three times and left without
folding, so the linen-woman can easily sort them.
_Removing Stains._
Fruit-stains in linen may be removed by pouring boiling water through
the stained spot. Lemon juice and salt will remove iron-rust.
Tea, coffee, chocolate, and fruit-stains should be removed as soon as
possible by pouring boiling water over them. After fruit-stains have
been washed a few times in soapsuds, they become as firmly fixed in the
linen as though they were dyed there, and can only be removed by a
bleaching process. A good bleach can be made by taking one pint of
boiling water to one teaspoonful of oxalic acid and one teaspoonful of
ammonia. One teacupful of ammonia to a wash will keep the table-linen
white.
The care of the table-linen is a very important feature of the
housekeeper's work. In many hotels, the housekeeper is required to
purchase the linen. Fashion changes in table-linen as in other things. A
careful study of facts and figures has proved that, in proportion to the
population, the United States of America consumes more linen than any
other country in the world. It is not, however, a leader in the
production of flax. Russia takes the lead in this industry. The United
States grows flax for the seed and not for the fibre; hence very little
weaving is done in this country.
_Kinds of Linen._
Linen has a variety of names, as Holland, damask, et cetera. Damask
linen was first made in Damascus--the oldest city in the world--and was
figured in fruit and flowers. A long time ago linen made in Scotland was
sent to Germany to be bleached; hence the name Holland.
The old-time way of bleaching was long and expensive, sometimes taking
an entire summer. After it was bleached by a natural process of open
air, dew, and sunshine, it was then treated with an alkaline, and then
buttermilk. It was left lying on the grass for a month, and sprinkled
frequently with water and sometimes sour milk.
At the present time, linen can be bleached in two weeks. The cost of
bleaching is much less and linen fabric is one-half cheaper than
formerly. The chemicals used in the modern process of bleaching greatly
injures the fibre, and linen is not so durable as it was under the
old-fashioned way of bleaching.
_How to Test Linen._
The housekeeper in selecting linen at the counter may test the linen by
ravelling out some of the threads. The threads that form the woof as
well as the warp should be strong, and long thread linen. Never buy
linen that is stiff and glossy, as it will be thin after it is
laundered. Linen should be substantial, but pliant when crushed in the
hand. Never buy a table-cloth that is part linen and part cotton, as the
shrinkage of linen and cotton fibre varies greatly, which causes the
threads to break, and the table-cloth will soon be full of holes.
LAUNDRY WORK.
"Order is Heaven's first law," sang the poet, and to keep order in a
hotel seems not such an Herculean task. System makes work easy, and the
superintendent of the laundry must insist on the work being
systematically performed.
Soap and water are the most important materials used in the laundry
work. To do good work with little or no damage to the linen, soft water
and good soap are absolutely necessary. In many parts of the United
States, the water is permanently hard, and is a perplexing question to
laundry workers. The first thing to do is to soften the water. It can
not be made soft by boiling, and must be treated with chemicals which
must be used before the soap is added. When soap is used in hard water
before it has been softened, the soap unites with the minerals in the
water, and clings to the linen like a greasy scum. Borax is the best
softening agent for hard water.
To soften water with borax, use one tablespoonful to each gallon of
water. A tablespoonful of ammonia and one tablespoonful of turpentine
to each washing will keep clothes white. Hard water may be softened with
potash or sal soda, which is much cheaper than borax and ammonia, but
potash and sal soda are both corrosive and very injurious to the linen.
Great care must be used in softening water with these alkalines. If they
are not thoroughly dissolved before using in the washer, little
particles are apt to escape the solvent action of the water and stick to
the linen and form brown spots which soon become holes.
_Good Soap a Necessity._
Soap is the next cleaning agent to be considered. You can not have
pretty, white linen without good soap. A good soft soap for use in hotel
laundries can be made from the refuse fat from the kitchen. This soap
will effect the cleaning of the hotel bed and table-linen, but for
bundle-washing, flannels, and prints, a milder soap is generally used. A
very good soap for washing flannels and prints may be made from the
pieces of soap that are collected from the rooms.
How linen is laundered and to be able to give a scientific reason for
each step are the very first things a housekeeper should learn. No
housekeeper is worthy of the title if she is unskilled in laundry
tactics. Yet how few housekeepers there are that could give even a
recipe for making bleach, to say nothing of the most effective way to
use it so as to cause the least injury to the fabric? Few housekeepers
know little or anything of the benefits of the scientific researches
that have been made to render laundering easy.
The linen must be carefully sorted and counted in the linen-room by the
linen-woman. In hotels where the houseman gathers the linen from the
different floors and carries it direct to the laundry, the laundryman
has been known to dump it in the washer without sorting it. This is the
source of many a lost pillow, blanket, nightshirt, and even pocketbooks
and jewelry. Guests often put their valuables under the pillow or in the
pillowslip and forget them. These valuables sometimes escape the
chambermaid's eyes in her haste to strip the beds. Sometimes a new
waiter in the dining-room will use a napkin to wipe his tray; these
greatly soiled napkins should be rinsed out before they are put in the
washer.
_Why the Hotel Laundry Work is Discolored._
Is it any wonder that the sheets and table-linen soon get that brown
color? All the soft water in the kingdom will not bring about the
desired results if the linen is not carefully sorted. The napkins should
be put in one pile, those that are badly soiled with mustard or gravy in
another pile, and the table-cloths in another. Napkins and table-cloths
that are stained with tea, coffee, chocolate, or fruit, should be laid
aside and boiling water should be poured through the stains before they
come in contact with soap, as the soap will help to set the stains
permanently.
The laundryman should rise early and have the first washing from the
extractor before the laundrygirls make their appearance, which is
usually at seven o 'clock.
The table-linen should receive the first attention. It is the least
soiled, the most expensive, and it may be needed before the bed-linen.
The napkins and table-cloths should not remain long after they are
shaken out. They will have a finer gloss if they are mangled immediately
after being taken from the extractor.
One reason that linen gets that dirty brown color is because it has not
been properly rinsed before adding the blueing. The soap should be
thoroughly rinsed from the linen before the blueing is put in the
washer. How many hotel laundries send the linen to the linen-room damp
and steaming and smelling of soap? Is it any wonder that the linen is
soon full of holes and worn out?
Two tablespoonfuls of kerosene in a washing will greatly aid in
cleansing, though more soap must be used in this case.
In many laundries, there is not sufficient help. There should be at
least two girls employed to shake out and two at the mangles, in a
200-room house. Where there is bundle-washing it will require even more
help than this.
The kitchen-linen should be washed by hand on the board and not put in
the washer.
The housekeeper should be allowed plenty of help to properly do the
work.
_Bleaching Linens._
When clothes have become yellow by the use of impure water or any other
cause, the snowy whiteness must be restored by a bleaching process.
Chloride of lime and oxalic acid are powerful agents, and, if not
quickly removed from the fabric, they will corrode and do much injury to
the linen. Turpentine has some power as a bleacher as also has borax.
Blueing will aid in keeping the clothes white, but do not use too much.
There are a variety of blueings to be had. The indigo blue is the best.
Starch will greatly aid in keeping clothes clean. It is made mostly from
rice, wheat, corn, or potatoes. Only a little starch should be used with
delicate fabrics. They should be no stiffer than when they are new. The
starch should be completely dissolved in cold water before adding the
boiling water. Stir the starch constantly while the boiling water is
being poured in. A few things may be put in to give a gloss, and to make
the iron run smooth; among them are paraffine, lard, kerosene, and gum
arabic.
_How to Iron._
Before commencing to iron, have ready a bowl of water and a cloth for
smoothing wrinkles and rubbing away any soot or spots that may get on
the garment. Have a piece of paraffine tied in a cloth to rub over the
iron, and a knife for scraping any starch from the iron that may stick
to it in the process of ironing.
Put much weight on the iron and do not raise it from the garment but
move it quickly over the surface. When a wrinkle is made, dampen it
again with a wet cloth and smooth again with the iron. Always iron in a
good light so that scorching may be avoided. A garment should be ironed
quickly; otherwise it will dry out and much time will be wasted in going
over it with the damp cloth and changing the irons.
In ironing a white duck skirt, stretch it in shape quickly while it is
damp and iron it into shape, else it will be long here and short there.
When ironing a ruffled skirt, always iron the bottom ruffle first and
turn it back while ironing the others. Iron around hooks and eyes and
not over them. Never iron a crease in a garment unless it is necessary.
A crease will mar the effect of the garment and also cause the threads
to break sooner, thereby making holes.
_Recipe for Making Bleach._
An inexpensive recipe for making a good bleach to be used every day will
be found in the following:
Fill a clean barrel half full of boiling water and put into it ten
pounds of chloride of lime and stir until well dissolved. Dissolve ten
pounds of caustic soda in boiling water and stir in the barrel. Fill the
barrel with boiling water and stir. Let it settle and skim the little
white particles from the surface, as these are what rot the clothes. Use
one gallon of the bleach in a washing.
Although laundering is one of the last kinds of work to receive the
benefits of scientific research, much effort has recently been made to
present easy and effective ways of laundering. The "how" and "why" has
been learned. It is no difficulty for the housekeeper to hire a
laundryman and to install him in his work with the words: "This is the
laundry; you will meet with many difficulties in your line, but you must
work out your own salvation."
_How Curtains are Washed and Mended._
Take down the lace curtains that you are going to wash and shake them
well so as to get all of the dust from them. Put them in cold water to
soak. Then wash by hand in warm suds, to which has been added one
teaspoonful of ammonia. Do not rub them, squeeze dry and rinse through
two waters. Do not blue them. If they are of an ecru shade, put a little
coffee in the water and they will look like new. Starch and stretch
loosely on the curtain frames while they are wet. The holes can be drawn
together while on the bars so they will never be noticed after they are
dry, and it is a far better way to mend curtains than darning them on
the machine after they have dried. Cream-colored curtains may be washed
in the same way. Colored madras and silk curtains can be cleansed in
gasoline. Great care must be taken, as gasoline is explosive. The
curtains should be taken to the bathroom, and the door should be bolted
and kept bolted until the curtains are cleaned and the gasoline is
washed down the sewer. The curtains are then taken to the roof and aired
for half a day.
Embroidered and lace-trimmed pieces should be taken from the line while
only half dry and immediately ironed, to secure the best result. To
raise the embroidery, iron on the wrong side over several layers of
flannel covered with a sheet of old linen.
Never iron lace with the point of the iron, if you would have it look
like new. Pull and pat it into place, picking out the loops with a
hairpin, or with a pointless darning-needle or bodkin. Dampen it with a
wet cloth and press with the reverse iron, using its "heel" only.
When ironing circular centerpieces and table-cloths, see that the iron
moves with the straight grain of the cloth. If this method is followed,
the circular edge will take its true line. Guard against ironing on the
bias or on a curve, lest the linen stretch hopelessly out of shape.
Never fold a piece of this character after ironing it.
THE HOUSEKEEPER'S RULES.
If the management does not provide the housekeeper with rules, she is
safe in formulating the following:
1. Maids must report for duty at 7:00 a.m.
2. Maids must lock all doors when leaving rooms.
3. No maid is allowed to transfer chairs or furniture from one room to
another by order of the guests, unless they have an order from the
office.
4. Maids must report at once any articles which are misplaced or taken
from the rooms.
5. Keep all soiled linen in closets.
6. Maids must not leave any article of soiled linen lying in the halls.
7. Maids must not leave their brooms, feather dusters, dust-cloths, or
sweepers, in the halls at any time during the day.
8. Any article found in the rooms must be brought to the linen-room,
with the number of the room and date when found.
9. All keys found left in rooms and doors must be sent to the office.
10. When a tray of dishes is left in a room, the maid must ring for a
bell-boy and have him notify the headwaiter or report it to the
housekeeper who will telephone the headwaiter.
11. All ink, paper, and pens left in the rooms must be put in the wire
ink and stationery-receiver.
12. The watch-girls must report at 6 p.m. and remain until 10 p.m. or
later, if required.
13. All torn blankets and spreads must be brought to the linen-room for
repairs.
14. Maids must not receive men friends in their rooms.
15. The housekeeper will relieve the linen-woman while she goes to her
meals.
_Sunday._
1. Maids must report at 8 a.m. and remain until 1 p.m.
2. Watch-girls must report for duty at 1 p.m. and remain until 9 p.m.
All of these rules can not be, at all times, strictly enforced by the
housekeeper. She will make such modifications as are made necessary by
circumstances. But rules she must have, and she must insist on their
being observed.
THE PARLOR MAID.
Excepting the linen-room position, that of parlor maid is the most
desirable situation that the hotel housekeeper can offer a girl. The
wages are usually better than those of a chambermaid, and her work is
not near so laborious. At all times, the parlor-maid is neatly dressed,
suave, serene, and courteous. A quiet and unobtrusive manner is
absolutely essential. She needs to take many steps during the day, and
thus youth and a slender figure are the first qualities in one who
wishes to make a success of the position. She meets people of wealth and
refinement and the ultra fastidious, hence her position is a responsible
one and requires a dignified appearance and demeanor. She must have
self-respect and must claim the respect of others. None of the
moralities must be omitted nor must she forget the daily bath, clean
underwear, and clean hosiery every day. The morning is the time for the
parlor-maid to do the cleaning, and she should wear about her work a
washable dress of percale or dimity, with a white apron. In the
afternoon and evening, this should be exchanged for a black skirt,
white waist, and white apron.
_Where Work Is Diversified._
She is expected to render quite diversified services. Her duties vary
with the mode of life of those by whom she is employed. She will
scarcely be called on to do all the work that is herein enumerated; but
the success of any hotel employe is largely due to the number of things
he or she is able to do well. A parlor-maid may raise her occupation to
a level with that of millinery or dress-making. There is room at the top
of the ladder for the expert parlor-maid just the same as there is for
any other person in any other calling.
In the small hotels, the parlor-maid usually cares for the proprietor's
private apartments. In addition to these, a suite next to the parlor may
be given her to keep in order. She can easily look after these rooms
where she has only one parlor. The cleaning of the ladies' toilet-room
and reception-hall and the ladies' entrance-stairs usually falls to the
parlor-maid. She must look after the writing-rooms, do the high dusting,
clean the tiles, clean the mirrors, polish the brass trays, clean the
cuspidors, wash the lace curtains, and sweep and dust. In washing
windows and mirrors, she should use warm water to which a little ammonia
has been added. She should not use soap, as the grease in the soap makes
the polishing difficult. Wipe with a dry cotton cloth and polish with a
chamois skin.
_Keeping Parlor in Order._
As the parlor must always be in readiness for the reception of guests,
it is thoroughly cleaned early in the morning. Once a week is often
enough for a thorough cleaning. Monday is the best day for it. The
furniture is moved into the hallway or into one corner of the parlor,
the parlor is swept and dusted and every article replaced before
breakfast. On week days, the corners are dug out with a whisk-broom and
the dirt taken up with the sweeper. The parlor is dusted frequently and
the cuspidors washed at least four times a day. She should wash the
cuspidors inside and out, using soap and water; then wipe with a dry
cloth. Leave a little clean water in the cuspidors, as this will make
the vessels easier to clean next time.
_Cleaning Brass Trays._
If the brass trays under the cuspidors are very badly stained, the
stains may be easily removed with a solution of vinegar and salt, to
which has been added a little flour. Have the mixture boiling hot; rub
the tray with the mixture with a flannel cloth, then wash the tray with
hot water and wipe dry with a cloth. After this, it may be polished with
a good mineral paste or some of the special preparations made for the
purpose, using a flannel cloth for polishing.
The high dusting is done with a long handled broom. Tie a bag made of
cotton flannel over the broom and brush the walls downward. Brush the
dust off the cornice and over the doors and windows. Then, using a clean
cheesecloth duster, go over the doors, window sills, mantles, and
furniture, changing the soiled dust-cloth frequently for a clean one.
The housekeeper must see that the parlor-maid is supplied with plenty of
clean dust-cloths.
_The Maid's Many Duties._
If the fireplace is finished with tile, the parlor-maid should wash
these with soap and water. She should polish the brass and replace it.
The curtains and silk draperies should be taken down and hung in the
open air and brushed with a whisk-broom. The rugs should be rolled up
and the houseman should take them to a flat roof where they should be
laid flat and swept. They should not be whipped or beaten, as "whipping"
will ruin an expensive rug. When sweeping the stairs of the ladies'
entrance, the parlor-maid should use the whisk-broom and dust-pan. The
ladies' toilet-room requires some care to keep it always neat and clean.
After sweeping the floor and dusting the doors, the bowls should be
washed inside and out with the toilet-brush and a disinfectant put in.
The stationary wash-basins should be scrubbed with sapolio and the
faucets polished. There should be kept always on hand clean towels and
soap, a comb and brush, a box of face-powder--the English prepared chalk
is the best for toilet-rooms. The public baths on the parlor floor come
under the parlor-maid's charge. She should keep the tubs and the floor
clean, and see that soap and towels are supplied.
The writing rooms should be cleaned before breakfast. The sweeping
should be done the first thing in the morning. The desks should be
supplied with fresh pen points, paper and ink once a day. The waste
paper baskets should be emptied as often as is necessary, and the
cuspidors should be cleaned at least four times a day.
_Keeps Assembly-Room in Order._
It is usually the parlor maid's duty to take care of the casino, more
familiarly called the assembly-hall. The casino floor requires very
careful cleaning. No scrubbing or sweeping with ordinary brooms is
permissible on a polished hardwood floor. It should be carefully swept
with a bristle broom and the dust taken up on the dust-pan. The floor
should then be dusted with a broom, over which has been tied the
cotton-flannel bag made for the purpose. If there are any spots on the
floor, they will have to be washed up, but this will take off the
polish; therefore, it must be restored by the weighted brush or weighted
box with Brussels carpet tacked on the bottom of it. The original polish
is restored by pulling the box back and forth over the floor. A
housekeeper will make a sad mistake if she attempts to scrub the
ballroom floor.
_Waxing the Ballroom Floor._
In most every hotel, it is left to the housekeeper to wax the ballroom
floor before the opening of the "hop." The wax is sprinkled over the
floor.
In very large hotels in large cities where there are three or four
public parlors, and where three or four parlor-maids are employed, their
work is confined to the parlors. The parlor-maid waits on the ladies,
helps them on and off with their wraps, and caters to their comfort both
physically and mentally; keeps the parlor clean, and does many little
acts which go to make a great big hotel seem like home.
_The Card and Wine-Rooms._
No drinks are served in the public parlors, public halls, or
cosy-corners. The wine-rooms are usually kept in order by the
parlor-maid. The bar-porter should come for the bottles and remove the
dishes. The parlor-maid should sweep and dust the wine rooms and wipe
the tables, if they are polished wood. If they are ordinary dining-room
tables, she should put clean table-cloths on them twice a day. The
wine-rooms are usually named for the cities: Chicago, New York,
Binghamton, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Denver, and New Orleans.
The card-rooms are kept in order by the parlor-maid. There is seldom
much furniture in a card-room, only chairs and tables. Sweeping and
dusting once a day and a clean cover for the table is all that is
required.
To make a muslin cover for a poker-table, take a piece of muslin and cut
it round to fit the table, allowing six inches to hang down. Run a
casing on the edge of it, with a bias piece two inches wide. Run in the
casing, a drawing-string of common wrapping-twine. The drawing-string
must be as long as the muslin is around so it will not have to be
removed when laundered. After it is laundered, put it on the table and
pull the drawing-string, and tie under the table.
In small hotels where the parlor-maid is called on to perform all of
these manifold duties, she is assisted by the houseman.
ABOUT CHAMBERMAIDS.