NATURE AND HOUSEWORK

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 332, 18 April 1928, Page 6

NATURE AND HOUSEWORK

QUEST FOR NEW AIDS

VALUE OF RAIN WATER

JN our quest for new aids in our household work we are sometimes apt to overlook the simple everyday “natural” helps which are always at hand.

as wo grumble at the amount of rain we get, nevertheless the housewife should regard a rainy day as a rich harvest for housework, for rain water has cleansing properties that cannot be equalled by artificial means. Every home should have its means of collecting straining rain water for domestic purposes: For laundry work it is ideal. Hard water can never remove dirt—on the contrary, it fixes it firmly in the pores of the fabric. This is why soda, borax, and other softening agents have to be used with ordinary tap water in order to separate tlie lime and thus “soften” the water. If some such substance is not added, an undue proportion of soap is used, which is both wasteful and injurious to the clothes. But rain water, being naturally soft, cleanses clothes quickly and easily with the addition of a small amount of soap only. i

For paint-cleaning, too, rain water is excellent, as it does not discolour the paint or have any injurious effect. Equally, of course, it can be used for scrubbing and general household cleaning, providing the supplies are large enough. Apart, however, from its cleaning uses, rain water is a great culinary aid. Always providing that it has been carefully strained through fine meshed material, it can be used with advantage for cooking green vegetables, dried fruits such as prunes, figs, apricots, etc., and above all for the boiling of hams and salt beef. The result of such cooking is full flavour and a particularly nice appearance. There, is, indeed, hardly a department of housewifery in which rain water hafe not its uses. Then, again, salt is amazingly use-, ful to the housewife. Apart from its flavouring properties, it can be used in many ways. Light-coloured cloth can be cleaned very satisfactorily with dry salt. The garment should be laid on a table or other hard surface, and salt scattered liberally over it. It should be spread evenly over the surface of the material. A pad should then be made of a piece of linen folded several times,

and with this the salt should be rubbed into the cloth by means of long sweeps. Care must be taken not to rub in circles, as this would be liable to affect the surface of the cloth. When the whole garment has been treated the salt should be brushed out and the garment shaken. Salt, too, has its use in laundry work, as a spoonful placed in the rinsing water will effectually stop' any “running” of colour in a fabric which is not “tub-fast.” If a handful of salt has been added to the rinsing water, nodifiiculty will be experienced in drying the clothes out of doors in frosty weather. They will not freeze after this treatment. For culinary purposes it has two opposite uses. Placed in hot water, it speeds up the boiling, whilst placed in cold water it lowers the temperature. This is tlic reason it is used in conjunction with ice for freezing purposes. If an egg cracks during boiling, a teaspoonful of salt in tlic water will prevent tlie white from spreading. When removing stains, it is always wise to use simple remedies whenever possible. Salt is very useful in this respect. If a fresh fruit stain is covered immediately with salt, it will generally absorb all the colouring Platter, and a rinse will complete the removal of the stain. Ink, too, unless it has dried, will generally yield to salt and lemon juice, followed by a soap and water wash. One can, indeed, discover almost innumerable uses for salt in the house. For example: A burnt saucepan can be restored to wholeness by filling it with salt water, and leaving it for 24 hours. If milk has become just slightly burnt, the taste can be removed by adding a pinch of salt. £ When plates and dishes have become brown by being put constantly to heat in a hot oven, the stain can be removed by sprinkling on salt and rubbing vigorously with a cork. By soaking brooms and brushes in strong salt water before using, they will be found to last much longer than if not so treated. New potatoes are easier to scrape in salted water than in fresh. Bamboo and wicker work should be rinsed in cold salted water after washing to harden the surface. —By Mary G. Howell in “The Ideal Home.”