FEMININE REFLECTIONS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 55, 27 May 1927, Page 5

FEMININE REFLECTIONS

GETTING KID OF GREASE The old-fashioned remedy of brown paper and a hot iron for getting rid of grease spots is a great help in time of trouble, but there are times when something else is needed. Suppose, for instance, you get grease on your smart brown leather sports brogues .. . not much help to be hoped for from a hot iron then, is there? As a matter of fact, it’s difficult to get the grease out of leather, but the very best thing to try is French chalk. Rub and rub it into the spot, then leave it for 24 hours well coated with the stuff. At the end of that time, brush it all off, and clean the shoes with a good brown wax polish, or a cream. Suppose a polished table becomes greasy, so that it can’t be polished nicely, wash it thoroughly with a warm, soap-flake lather, using a sponge. Dry with f equal thorough-

ness, then polish in the usual way. Don’t touch it with the polish until it is perfectly dry, though. Grease Spots on Carpet For grease on a carpet, try the brown paper and iron remedy first. Have really absorbent paper; the very thin or shiny kind isn’t much use. Clean blotting paper absorbs grease well, too. Place a double layer both underneath the spot and on top of it, then press with a very warm iron. As the grease soaks through, move the paper to get a clean place over the spot. Should there be a greasy mark that the ironing process doesn’t move, rub it well with ammonia, putting a dessertspoonful of this into a generous half-pint of hot water. Dry this by more rubbing, this time with a dry cloth, then cover with a paste of fuller’s earth, mixed with cold water, and leave to dry. Brush off with a clean, dry brush to finish. A grease splash on wallpaper calls for French chalk, dabbed on thickly,

and left for 24 hours. Brush off with a scrupulously clean dusting brush, and, if necessary, repeat the chalking. Cleaning the Kitchen Table When grease gets spilt over on a kitchen table (sometimes a jar of hot dripping will get upset, for instance) it is quite a good dodge, if you can do it quickly enough, to dowse it with plenty of cold water. This hardens the fat at once, and prevents it soaking into the wood. The set fat is then scraped off, and the table scoured in the usual way. I’ve found this plan answer very well, too, with fat spilt on an oilclothcovered floor. A Greasy Stove For a grease-spattered stove there is nothing to beat a brisk rubbing with crumpled newspaper, but if the fat is very thick, or has been left for any length of time, it will only come off satisfactorily when the stove is scrubbed with very hot water with a handful of washing soda dissolved in it.