Here's Your Answer

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 240, 30 December 1927, Page 5

Here's Your Answer

T ET THE! SUN Service Bureau assist you with your problems, whether they relate to dress, health and beauty culture, cookery, homecraft, travel, sport or any other of the many things on which we are all constantly needing information. Whatever your particular puzzle may be, we will be glad to give our advice whenever possible. All communications must be accompanied by the inquirer's name and address (not for publication), and sent to THE SUN "Service Bureau,” Women’s Page, THE SUN, Auckland. Answers will appear weekly in this column. SIMPLIFYING SEWING If you could tell me how to prevent my hands from getting sticky when I’m sewing, I should be so grateful. Whether it’s mending a tear or making new clothes, hands are apt to get hot and sticky while you’re sewing. If you dust them with fine oatmeal it will absorb the grease and iceeip them fresh and clean. Then you’ll And it much easier to sew. and you won’t get dirty finger-marks on your work. BAGS FOR FROCKS I have heard that georgette is going to be worn a great deal this season, and I should like to have some light-coloured evening frocks th ,'? material. But I do find that light dance frocks lose their freshness so quickly. Is there any way of preventing this?

Delicate evening (rocks will not lose their freshness nearly so soon if they ar ®, . away carefully. The best method is to make linen bags large enough t 0 cover the whole frock, fasten them with press-studs or tapes, put f ™ ck on a hanger and cover it \vith the bag. And don’t forget to wash the bags frequently, to keep them quite clean. Then they will make a BETTER BROWN How can I stain a pair of shoes to make the brown a better colour, as they are rather worn? Prepare the shoes for staining, first by ™ ash * n S With warm water and soap, dry them well, then giving a coat of methylated spirit. Dissoive a tablespoon of permanganate of potash in quarter pint of water, and enough bi-chromate of potash to cover a shilling in an egg-cupful of water. Apply a coating of bichromate, then tne stain, using a fine sponge. The purple colour disappears, leaving a rich brown fast stain. Finish off the shoes when they are dry with any good white cream shoe polish. CLEANING WITH ONIONS Can you tell me the best method °f cleanmg white painted chairs, without removing any of the paint? If you wash your white painted chairs with water in which you have boiled some onions, the dirt will soon disappear, and the paint will be clean and glossy. STORING HORSERADISH Can you advise me how to store horseradish ? My garden yields a

large amount of it every year, and hitherto most of its has been wasted. Horseradish is best stored in powder form. Slice the sticks and dry them in a cool oven, then pound them well and store the powder in tightly-corked bottles placed in a dry cupboard. LEAKS How can I repair a leaking hosepipe? Patch it as you would the cover of a bicycle but before doing so make certain that the hose is perfectly dry, and clean the place where the patch is to be put with fine sandpaper. Apply a good coating of rubber solution to the patch and to that part of the hose which is to be repaired, and when it has dried slightly, but is still sticky, press the patch on. If it does not adhere satisfactorily, give it another coating of solution. DISINFECTING LINEN Is it possible to disinfect linen without injuring the fabric? Yes, in either of the two following ways:—Expose the linen to steam for an hour or even longer, if possible, and then leave it out of doors in strong sunshine for several days. If the weather makes this method impossible, soak the linen for an hour in a solution of carbolic acid, using one pint of prepared carbolic to 20 parts of water. Before wringing the clothes out of this solution, rub the hands with glycerine. DON’T RUB Can you tell me how to wash a stockinette suit? Stockinette garments should be washed in warm soapy water. Do not rub, but squeeze them until they are quite clean, then rinse them, squeezing out the water again, pull them gently into shape, and spread them to dry on a flat surface.