Popular Members of the Younger Set

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 101, 20 July 1927, Page 4

Popular Members of the Younger Set

EPSOM SALT AND MOTHS I can testify to the efficacy of Epsom salt where moths are concerned. As an experiment, when putting away two blankets in a drawer for the summer I folded in one many moth-balls and in the other much Epsom salt. The moths attacked the blanket enwrapping the moth-balls, but left the one with the Epsom-salt severely alone. MADE-IN-A-HURRY GLAZE Glaze is really good stock, boiled down from, say, a quart to half pint. It is then strained and boiled again in a small pan until it becomes thick and dark brown. This entails having a supply of good gelatinous stock, and time is required to boil it down. Therefore, if the glaze be wanted in a hurry, it can be made as follows: Dissolve loz. of gelatine in half pint of stock or water, add a teaspooni'ul of meat extract, and boil until reduced to half the quantity; keep it skimmed; strain, and use when nearly cold. A HOME HINT Buy a small-size stiff-bristled scrubbing brush and keep it hanging near the sink. You will find it very useful for cleaning suet graters and other articles of a similar nature. Without its help it is very difficult to dislodge the bits of suet and food from the grater without hurting the fingei's. To brighten linoleum, put two or three tablespoons of vinegar in a bucket of cold water in which a little soap-powder has been dissolved. This will also restore colour to faded linoleum and brighten it. Very light brown shoes may be darkened by rubbing with a piece of flannel dipped in ammonia. When they are dry rub again with ammonia, then clean and polish in the usual way. Seccotine pieces of felt to chair and table-legs; they will save scratches on lino, and unsightly marks on the carpet. I have proved this to afford great relief in dysentery: Boil a teaspoonful of tea in half a cup of fresh milk; strain, and drink when just warm. If you have a pair of light-coloured shoes that have become stained but have kept their shape, give them a coat of gold paint, and you will have a “new” pair of evening shoes.

HINTS YOU MAY NOT KNOW •table cloths, tray cloths, etc., which are badly stained with tea, should, before being washed, be soaked for a while in water to which a little borax has been added. New clothes-lines should be boiled before being used; they will last longer if this is done. To cool a jelly quickly, place the mould containing it in a bowl of cold water to which a handful each of salt and soda have been added. To prevent soiling the woodwork when polishing a brass door-knocker, make a shield of stiff cardboard by cutting a hole the same size and shape as the brass surround. GREASE SPOTS ON CARPETS Petrol or benzine is usually recommended for dealing with grease stains on carpets, but it is difficult to use either without leaving an obvious light patch where the carpet has been rubbed. If turpentine is used instead it cleans up the grease without leaving the mark. Rub the turpentine in with a piece of cloth, and when the stain is gone rub vigorously with a clean duster to remove the last trace of the turpentine.