Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 17 September 1908, Page 33

Domestic

By MAUREEN

To Whiten Woodware. The following .ingredients, worked into a paste, will make floors, deal'tables, and all kitchen woodware beautifully white I ,' with very little trouble : — Half a pound of softsoap, half a pound of sand, and a quarter pound of lime. Rub a little on the scrubbing brush and apply; then rinse the' wood well with clean water. -' A Simple, and Effective Medicine" for. Children^ Children "in general have a horror of medicine, and it is often difficult to know what to give them. Muscatels stoned and soaked in salad oil for a few hours make an excellent aperient for "children, and one they are, generally very willing to. take. ' One or two irv the morning, half an hour before breakfast, is usually enough, and the fretting brought about by the very mention of medicine is dispensed- with. ' - ' Tender Feet v Relief mavyoften be obtained by smearing the soles with tallow and fuller's earth. When feet perspire freely a frequent change of footgear is necessary. Boracic -acid in pulverised form, is a good dustinopowder for the soles of the. feet, and another powder greatly used in these cases is composed of four parts of lycopodium, one part of powdered alum,' and one part of tannin. • - . . To Clean a Gas Stove. ' ' Every housewife is more or less annoyed^ by the facility with which her gas stove becomes soiled, if not, indeed, clogged with spatterings of grease An easy method of removing this will probably be acceptable. Immerse the separable parts for several hours in a warm lye heated to about 70 degrees, the lye to be~ made of nine parts- of caustic soda and 180 parts ot water. These pieces, together .with the fixed parts of the stove, may be well brushed with this lye, and afterwards rinsed in clean warm water. The grease will be dissolved away, and the stove restored almost to its original purity. Borax. Many housekeepers who have used borax in other ways have never known or appreciated its medicinal uses. Nothing is better for a cut or a rough jagged, wound than to bathe it with a solution of borax and water and keep cloths wet with the same solution around it. If the baby is troubled with thrush, which is a common and sometimes dangerous disease of babyhood, mix one part of borax with eight parts of honey and apply ,t to the inside of the mouth. For common sore mouth a weak solution used as a wash every morning will soon effect a cure. It possesses wonderful antiseptic powers, purifying and cleansing everything upon which it is used. -~ y To Renovate Velvet. - Never attempt to smooth "velvet by ironing it, or the result will be a failure. _.This applies llso to velveteen and plush, as. all three have a pile, which I flattened must be assisted to rise again. A- simple way' to clean either is the following :-Have at hand a stiff whisk broom, a pan of boiling water, and some W to brush up the nap as.you hold the goods taut over the steam, the wrong side to the water, and after a * few applications the materials will look like new I his process removes brightens the color' and makes the crushed nap. stay up When brSshed against the gram, and will also answer for black or colored pile fabrics. If the velvet has a grease spot on it, remove, it, with French chalk before steaming A sticky spot -may be lightly touched .with clean cofd water before the steaming process '