HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Motueka Star, Volume II, Issue 73, 25 April 1902, Page 4

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

To Keep the Colour of Vegetables.— A pinch of carbonate of soda in the water for boiliDg preserves the colour of vegetables and prevents the ociour of cabbage. A Cheap rolling-pin.—A 'glass rolling pin is certainly very nice to use in making dainty pastry, but a claret bottle answers the purpose very well. An Economical .Way of Cleaning Brown Boots.—Rub the inside skin of a banana all over the leather, then polish with a soft cloth, and the result will t>el excellent. To Keep Greens a Good Colour.— Pour a little boiling or hot water over them just before you put them in the saucepan, then the water does not stop boiling, and the greens keep, a nice bright green. To Polish a Firegrate.—lnstead of using the usual polishing brush, try a piece of old silk velvet the size of an ordinary duster, and rub well. In this way you will obtain a far better polish than with a brush.

Marks on Mahogany.—Mahogany tables are often very much disfigured by white marks caused by standing hot dishes upon them without a mat between. To remove the stains, rub on a few drops of sweet oil, and afterwards polish with a little spirits of wine and a soft cloth.

Iron Rust Stains.—Lemon juice and salt will remove ordinary iron rust from articles of cotton and linen.

How to Wash a Sbamny: Wash chamois leathers in lukewarm water and borax, rinse in water, and when partly dry rub them well, and they will become soft as when new. Leather Covered Chair’s : To freshen leather covered chairs, mb with a little of the following mixture, and afterwards polish with soft dry dusters--one part vinegar and two parts boiled lin-sied-oil. This should be kept in a bottle arid .veil shaken before using. Removing Spots and stains : Grease spots should be rubbed with strong pearlash and water, and oil-paint with turpentine, afterwards washing the spot with soap and water. Wax, if moistened repeatedly, with spirits of wine, may be brushed off.

Removing Tea Stains. —Tea stains in a white tablecloth may be prevented from spreading by pouring boiling water through the stain immediately after the tea is spilled. This will render the stains the more easily removable by washing. Potatoes as Cleansers.—The potato possesses great cleansing properties. Cold potatoes, used instead of soap, cleans the hands well and keep the skin soft. The water in which the potatoes have been boiled is excellent for sponging out the dirt from silk. To Wash Bed Furniture.— Shake off as much dust as possible before soaking or you will greatly increase your labor. Use no soda or pearlash, or the articles will lose their colour ; use plenty of soft, warm water, and wash with mottled soap. On wringing out the second liquor, dip each piece into cold, hard water, for finishing, shake out well, and dry quickly. Stir your starch, if you use it, in the rinsing water. Cleaning Painted Walls.—When washing painted walls or wood, if three pennyworth of painters’ size (previously dissolved in hot water*) is added to a pail of wate”, and applied with a soft cloth, the dirt will be very quickly removed; and the paint improved in appearance.

Cold in the Head and Chest. —If you have a severe cold do not-spend Is l|d on patent medicine. Get twopenny worth of terebine, and take three to five drops on sugar. A few doses will effect a cure, and is far cheaper and lasts longer than patent medicines.