HINTS THAT WILL HELP YOU.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 September 1921, Page 6

HINTS THAT WILL HELP YOU.

During warm weather many people suffer from 'perspiration of the feet. Wash them daily with soap and water, and sponge with tepid alum water for a few minutes. This will remove the unpleasantness and at the same time harden the skin.

Camphor rubbed on a mirror after the dust has been wiped off will brighten it considerably. Picture Hanging.—Use copper wire for picture hanging; it does not rust easily, is moth proof, and will last for years. To take grease-spots out of wallpaper, moisten a piece of clean flannel with alcohol and rub the spots gently until they disappear. Keeping the sink clean is one of the most important of household duties. Pour down regularly about a gallon of boiling water, to which has been added a teaspoonful of spirit of ammonia and four ounces of soda. This removes all grease and prevents bad smells. To clean a rusty wire mattress, take a hard brush, dip it into a fairly thick paste of whiting and water, and brush j the mattress until all the whiting is removed. Then brush with dry whiting. When thoroughly dry, give the mattress a coating of hard-drying enamel. Rain Stains on Brass. —To clean brass that has been exposed to the weather, mix a saucerful of salt with common vinegar to a paste. Rub the brass over with the mixture and leave for ten minutes, then clean in the usual way. This is very good, especially for rain stains. If linen has been scorched the marks may be removed by making a paste of Fuller’s earth and white soap moistened with a little vinegar and the juice from a boiled onion. If this mixture is spread upon the marks they will disappear, and no stain would be visible after the stain has been washed.

Egg Spoons—Every housewife knows the difficulty of removing yolk of egg stains in washing up. A small’ piece of egg shell crushed in the hand and then rubbed lightly over the stain will remove it instantly. If crushed very fine and soft, it may be used on silver spoons and egg cups without injuring them. No 'time should be lost in dealing with paint-marks on clothes. Place a pad of any absorbent cloth under the mark and apply turpentine freely. The grease in the paint soaks through the material on to the pad, and, after exposure to air, there is nothing left but a little dust, which is easily brushed away.

When painting is being done in a house special attention should be paid to ventilation. Fresh air from the outside will deodorise paint more quickly than anything else. Pails of water placed in rooms which have been newly painted will clear, the air quickly of the offensive smell. If hay can be obtained this is a splendid thing for removing the paint odor. A handful put in a basin of warm water will clear away the smell with astonishing rapidity. The Useful Lemon. —Massage with lemon removes puffiness under the eyes. Rub tan shoes with lemon when polishing them in the usual way. A cut lemon rubbed on the forehead will cure a severe headache. Half a lemon, sucked slowly, will often drive away a threatened bilious attack. A glass of steaming lemonade, sipped as hot as possible, will do wonders towards curing a cold. The pulp of lemon rubbed on stained hands will remove the stains, leaving the skin white and soft. Regular “lemon massage” makes the complexion fresh and clear, even restoring the whiteness to sallow skin. If your fire-bars or stove are rusty, rub them with a pieec of lemon before black-leading. They will take black-lead better and give a brighter polish.