Housewife's Diary

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 2, 18 January 1937, Page 11

Housewife's Diary

i Hints about the Home Cottonwool. If cottonwool is warmed before use it will puff up to twice its original size. Black Mats. Black rubber mats can be made to look like new by painting them over with olive oil.. Iron. Testing heat on newspaper eleans and smooths the iron at the same time. Grate Cleaning. 6est results are obtained by cleaning grate when it is still slightly warm. Fire Logs. A brightly painted basket with a handle is a handy and attractive way of keeping logs by tbe fireside. Clothes Horse. Use drawing pins to fasten lengths of tape between wooden rcds to incr'ease hanging capacity. Worn Towels. Two face towels tbat have worn thin can be placecl together and maehined all round; similarly, reuse can be made of worn teacloths. Pram'-Cqver. One can be made from odd lengths of wool- knitted into sis> inch squares and then sewh together and a crochet border added. Paintings. Clean an oil painting by rubbing with half a freshly cut potato, wipe with soft rag and repeat with other half of potato. Finally wipe with damp rag and polish with silk duster. Mending China. A thick paste made from finely .powdered egg-shell and then unbeaten white of an egg is excellent for mending china. Repairs made with this paste will nofc be affected by hot water. Good Varnish. Half fill a jam-jar with orange shellac and fill-up with methylated spirit. Leave in a cool and - dry place for a day or two nntil the shellac dissolves. Apply rapidly with brush as the varnish dries quickly. Laundry Hint. The fashionable draperies for windows and dressing tables present a problem when the time comes'for a journey to the washtub. Even dry cleaners prefer to receive goods that are fairly flat and will take no responsibility . for damage to shirrin'gs and gatherings.