HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Shannon News, 25 March 1924, Page 3

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

■ Milk will keep swept longer in a shallow pan than in a jug.

Rub a mud-stained umbrella with a rag dipped in methylated spirits, and the stains will disappear. Stains made by medicine and liniment may often be removed with strong ammonia. .

A milk-bottle should always bp washed on the outside before any milk is poured from it.

When bamboo furniture becomes dingy, wash with water that contains a great deal of salt. When iodine, after bping applied to the skin, sAarts too much, it can be removed with ammonia.

A pleasant disinfectant for the sickroom is essence of cinnamon, allowed to evaporate in a shallow dish. A teasponful of pulverispd alum mixed in a cup of stove polish will cause it to give a brilliant finish. Ammonia water, a|ter it is used for washing, may be used to water house plants, as it is a good fertiliser. When cooking greens boil a pipce of parsley in with them. This prevents any disagreeable smell. When soaking , a cauliflower don’t add salt to the water. It kills the insects, and they arp left in the vegetable. To remove fruit-stains from linen, stretch the fabric over the mouth of a basin and pour boiling water on the stain.

Fatigue that prevents sleep may often be rplieved by rubbing the body gently with a towel wrung out in hot salt water.

Wet paint on white goods can often easily be removed by simply soaping it well and then pouring boiling water over it.

To mend a torn unbrella, stick black court plastpr inside the tear. This will show less than a darn and will last for some time.

Water in which green vegetables have been boiled should never be poured down the indoor sink. It should bja emptied out of doors. Peach leaves make a delicious flavouring for custards *and milk puddings. Stains on cricket flannels will generally yield to applications of yolk of egg and warm water. Do this before washing. It is most important that the larder should always be kept well aired, so that the contents may be quite fresh and sweet.

When making up cheap satin, line it with very thin flannelett|s, as this gives it a much, richer appearance and prevents it from creasing. To lighten the colour of the. hair, apply each night and morning a wash made by infusing an ounce of. dry camamile flowers in a pint of boiling watisr.

If milk is heated until lukewarm, then chilled suddenly, there will bo much more cream; the' skin which will form should be removed by straining through muslin. To clean a slender flowjsr vase, fasten a piece of old sponge on to a stick and push this down the vase; this will also bo useful for cleaning decanters and water-bottles.

After an unbrella has bisen in ure for a short time, put a drop of oil in the centre of the top about once a month. This prevents the ribs from rusting. To, prevent dust and smuts getting in through the open window, cover it with a pieefe of butter muslin. This lets the air penetrate, and at the same time keeps everything spotless. Egg-stain on table linen should-bc soaked in cold water before being sent to the laundry. The stains come out quite easily if treated in this way; but hot water “sets” them, and makes them doubly difficult to remove. When purchasing a new kettle for the kitchen range choose a round shape rather than an oval, so that it fits right in on the coal. Oval ones are so difficult to fix securely in the round opening. When washing anything woollen, to prevent shrinking, avoid sudden changes in the temperature of the water and the use of strong soaps. Wash and rinse in water of the same temperature. .

In order to economise gas, roast a small joint of meat over a gas-ring instead of lighting the oven to do it. Well grease a saucepan or casserole and put the meat into it (with plenty of extra dripping, so that there shall be no hislc-of burning), put it over a gas-jet turned very low, and let it cook. Turn and baste the meat often and it gets beauti fully brown and tender.