Caring for Soldiers' Suits

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 73, 15 November 1940, Page 54

Caring for Soldiers' Suits

Dear Aunt Daisy, Would you broadcast a hint for preserving soldiers’ suits from mould? We have them in bags with moth balls, and we put them out to air on the clothes line once or twice a week-when fine and sunny. Still the mould comes.

L.E.

O.

Eltham).

It will certainly be a trial to your patience if you have to keep putting out the boys’ suits twice a week like that for a year or so. Try putting a jar of lime in the wardrobe or cupboard, or a bag containing camphor. Both of these absorb moisture, and will help to keep the cupboard dry..Charcoal is another good thing to use, but not as easy to get as camphor or lime. People put these inside a piano to keep the felt dry. But do you find your own clothes get mouldy like that? I fancy the cause is putting the suits into bags. I would leave them hanging up just as you do your own things; of course, an occasional airing is always necessary. Here is another idea, a sweet-scented ball tor the wardrobe, which is splendid for hanging in any cupboard which seems a little musty or damp. Boil an orange till it is tender. When cool, make a few holes in the top with a knitting needle. Drop into these some oil of lavender or oil of verbena, and close each hole with a clove, pushing it right in up to the calyx: Cover the whole orange with cloves, sprinkle with powdered cinnamon, and arrange a pretty ribbon round,