Household Hints.

Matamata Record, Volume II, Issue 96, 5 September 1918, Page 3

Household Hints.

When washing worn oilcloth, add a tablespoonful of painters sizo to a pailful of water. This will give tho worn surface a fine gloss.

If when boiling jam or jolly the contents of the pan boil over, drop a small piece of butter into the pan. This will stop tho boiling over immediately.

After washing hair-brushes dip the bristles in milk, and they will bo found quite stiff when dry instead of soft, as is the case when they aro only rinsed in water.

When making- pastry melt the lard or dripping slightly and beat to a cream before adding the flour. Onfy half the usual quantity of shortening \vill be required if this is done

Potato peelings should be saved, placed in a cool oven to dry, and used to light the fires. They will effect an economy in wood, and will light the fire very quickly.

When slicing bacon place it with the rind sido down, and do not cut through the li«id. When the slices are cut, slip tho knifo under them as near the rind as possible.

A teaspoonful of eau-dc-cologne in a warm bath is most refreshing, while scent placed on tho forehead of anyone who suffers from headache generally gives relief.

To clean windows and mirrors quickly and easily, sprinkle a little brass polish on a rag and apply it to the glass. Allow to dry, and then rub off with a dry duster and polish.

To clean a rusty spring mattress, make a paste of whitening and water, apply to the springs with a brush, and, when dry, rub off, using dry whitening. Polish with a soft duster.

Eggs covered with boiling water and allowed to stand for five minutes are more nourishing and easily digested than eggs placed in boiling water tmd allowed to boil quickly for three minutes.

If you have any palms, remember that the leaves ought to be sponged once, a week with luke-warm water, to which is added a little milk. After this let the palm stand in slightly warm water for two hours.

A bottle of linseed oil should be kept in a convenient place in every house, and should be applied to scalds or burns at once to relieve the pain. If a little lime-water is added to the linseed-oil it will he more efficacious.

To clean brass fire-irons which have become' blackened, rub with a little spirits of salts, wash with warm water and polish in tho usual way. This treatment must not be given to lacquered articles.

When blankets are being washed remember that the rinsing water must be soapy, in order to make the blankets light and fluffy, Another ooiat to be remembered is that all the waters in which the blankets are washed should be of the same temperature.

A large safety-pin is a useful holder for old buttons or loose hooks and eyes. Slip on the buttons, etc., close the safety-pin, and you have everything handy, easily seen, and always in order, whereas these small articles get quite lost when loose in a workbasket.

If cooked meat is ready for table before it is required, place it on a dish ready to be served, and set this over a pan of boiling water. Put a dish over me meat and a cloth over all. The steam will keep the meat hot for a long time, and does not draw the gravy Put or dry it up.

Badly-scorched linen may be improved by following these directions —Boil well half a pint of vinegar, half an ounce of soap, two ounces of fuller's earth, and the juice of several onions; spread this over the linen wherever it is scorched, and leav? it to dry. When dry wash the garment, and the scorch will have disappeared.

To clean and brighten oil-paintings sponge the painting very carefully with a pure soap and lukewarm water and dry thoroughly with a soft cloth. With a piece of chamois-skin dipped in sweet oil rub all over the surface of the picture. The result will be a pleasant surprise. This cannot injure the finest work of art.

When doors do not close properlv, | but leave cracks through which 'draughts enter, place a strip of putty along the jambs, cover the edge with chalk, and shut it. The putty will then fill up all spaces. Chalk rubbed on the edges prevents adhesion. The putty is left in places where*it soon 'dries and leaves a perfectly-fitting jamb. Coffee-stains on a cloth or on any material are most difficult to eradicate !unless treated immediately. Boiling iwater will remove them if the coffee has not had time to be thoroughly absorbed by the fibres of the material; but if the stain is of long standing, equal parts of yolk of egg and glycerine applied to the spot and allowed lo dry on is practically the only me* thod of removing them so as to leave no stain.