Household Hints.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 699, 29 August 1914, Page 2

Household Hints.

Never leave a spoon in anything that is required to boil quickly. The spoon conducts the heat away from the liquid., An empty cotton-reel, covered with serge or cloth and nailed on to -fhr floor, makes an excellent door-stoj to"protect the wall. To render boots and sh,ocs waterproof in damp weather, rub a littb mutton-suet round the edges of ths soles. Beeswax is just as efficacious.

Always keep cheese well covered in a cheese dish, or it will ' become dry and tasteless. If the cheese is wrapped in a cloth moistensd with vinegar it will remain beautifully moist and retain its flavour a long time.

If not in use, scrubbing-brushes should be turned bristle downward. Thus the water will run out of them and they will dry, whereas if thay are placed on their tacks the water will soak into tha wood and loosen the bristles.

To wash glass warm water i~> letter than cold. It imparts to it a clearer; and brighter look. When the glass is.washed in warm water it should be afterwards rinsed out in cold.

• It is much better to use cold water than hot for scrubbing lioors, as it does, not soak into the' wood to readily, and consequently dries sooner. The scrubbing-brush should always be moved up and down ths boards with the grain of the wood, and not across it.

Should an egg have been boiled too long it can be softened again by lifting the saucepan off the fire, quickly placing it under the tap, and allowing a good stream of cold water to run into it. The sudden shock in changing from hot to cold' water has the curious effect of softening the egg.

Whrn washing silk bandken hue's a littlo care is required to prevent them turning ycllo'.v, and to a.okl this they should never he boiled' or have any soap rubbed on them. I.lako a lather ,of finely-shredded white sea? and lukewarm. water, ' wash an I squeeze the handkerchiefs in it ; press out all the.-moisture .pes: i Jc, and dry them quickly." ' Iron while they are still damp, though not wet.

Before removing a new gas mantle from the box, pass a thr-ad through the loop at I lis top. Withdraw the mantle carefully, &nd then immerse it entirely in a glass of vinegar for a minute or two, leaving outside only the thread, the two ends of which should be tied together. Lift out and hang ' to dry ;. place en the burner" fork, and burn oli in ordinary way. Gas mantles treated in Ih'.s manner will not only last longer, but will give a more brilliant light.

When steaming dumplings or puddings, put a cloth over the steamer before putting on the l'id. This will prevent the moisture settling and rendering the pudding heavy.

To prevent potatoes becoming bla.ck when cooked, put them into cold water, and when brought, to the boil squeeze, a little lemon juice in. ; They will then'keep a go»d colour and-be-of good flavour.

To clean a* porcelain kettle, fill it half full of hot water and put in a tablespoonful ol 1 powdered bora* ; let it boil. If this does- not remove all the stains, scour with a cloth rubbed with soap and borax.

New leather boots, are sometimes difficult to polish successfully. When this is the case it is a good plan to rub over the leather with a cut lemon. Allow the juic.e-.to dry thoroughly. Apply blasting in the usual way, and .polish with a. good hard brush.