FROM THE MAILBAG

New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 824, 13 May 1955, Page 32

FROM THE MAILBAG

Mildew on Cotton Dear Aunt Daisy, I am writing to ask you if you could tell me what to do with a good cotton frock which I washed and put away in the cupboard while damp. When I took

it out sevefal days later, it was covered in mildew. I have rubbed it all over in the mildew-places with lemon and salt, and then put in the sun for several hours. This has not done any good. Can you please tell me what to do, as it is" such a good cotton and only new this — season; but having small children I had to wash it. I am a country listener and | listen to your session each morning, and find it most interesting. Also, could you | tell me how to clean the actual hot plate | of an Aga stove? I find they get very | stained with the salted water of vege-. tables boiling over on them. I thought. perhaps you may know of something I | could‘rub on when the stove it cool to remove these stains. "L.D.," Blenheim. | Very worrying for you is the bad mildew. The lemon-juice and salt, then sun- | shine, ought to have worked, especially if kept moistened with fresh lemon juice. | Often, too, kerosene will do the trick- | wet the cloth well with kerosene, roll up, and leave all night; then wash. Chloro- | gene is another good thing, diluted ac- | cording to instructions. If the frock is white, you can use this-dissolve 4 Ib. | chloride of lime in 1 gallon of water. (If for small ‘articles such as table napkins, use about 2 teaspoons to 12 pint of water) Strain thoroughly through thick | tea cloth or something similar so that | no lumps of lime remain. Immerse the mildewed material in this, and watch it until the mildew fades-perhaps 20 to 30 minutes. Then rinse very thoroughly | in water containing baking soda to kill | the lime. (For white things only, as this | is a bleach.) If the frock is coloured, try | this: Rub the dampened marks with a | cake of good washing soap, then lay on a thick paste of starch and cold water. | Put outside on grass. As it dries, wet | it, and put it out again. Repeat till clean. Or add salt to the starch paste. For the hot plates on the stove, I should rub the water-marks off straight away with a soapy cloth and then a rinsed one, before the stains get baked on. You could try mixing equal parts of boiled linseed oil, kerosene and vinegar, and applying while stove is warm. Perhaps some other owner of an Aga will make a suggestion. Bill’s Breakfast Dear Aunt Daisy, I am a regular listener to your session on the air. You receive many hints and ideas from other listeners which you are good enough to pass on to others, so here is another you may find of use. We call it "Bill’s Breakfast," and it suits him very well, although he has the prevalent stomach ulcers. By the way, we find that having hot milk and/molasses the first thing every morning and the last thing at night. controls that condition quite nicely. This "breakfast" is really a cross between scrambled eggs and Welsh rarebit. Quantity for two people: Two eggs, 114 cups of milk. salt to taste, %4 to 1% a packet of processed cheese. Beat eggs and milk together, add salt and pour into shallow pan. When warm add cheese which has been grated. Serve on buttered toast.

Bobietta

’ Newton, Auckland.