Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 20 April 1911, Page 737

Domestic

By MAUREEN

To Remove Water Stains from Black Crape. ' When water falls on a black crape .veil or collar, it leaves a conspicuous white mark. To obliterate this, spread the crape on a table (putting a large book or paper underneath it to keep it steady), and then place beneath the stain a piece of old black silk. With a camel's hair brush, dipped in common ink, go over the stain; then wipe off the ink with a small piece of old black silk. - It will dry immediately, and , the white mark will be seen no more. To Renew Oilcloth. When oilcloth has been down for a few months and is losing the shiny surface it can be .renewed easily and made to last twice as long if treated in the following way: Melt a little ordinary glue in a pint of water, letting it stand ,on the top of the oven till dissolved. Wash the oilcloth thoroughly and let it dry. Then at night, when the traffic of the clay is over,' go over the whole carefully with a flannel dipped in the glue water. Choose a fine day for it, and by morning the glue will be hard and will "have put a fine gloss as good as new on your floor.. Worth Knowing. If stamps have become glued together, do not soak them in water. Instead, lay a thin paper over them, and run a hot iron over it. They will come apart easily, and the mucilage will be all right there instead of being soaked oft. To clean white knife handles, dissolve a little salt in lemon juice and rub with a piece of soft rag. Rinse in clean warm water, dry thoroughly, and polish with a soft leather. To prevent the wick from an oil stove creeping up and smoking, tie a string on the screw thai regulates the wick and hang a weight from it. You will then be able to leave- the stove without danger. : • ' Salt as a Disinfectant. ■ As a kitchen disinfectant salt is invaluable. A lump of sail should be kept in the kitchen sink, where it will dissolve slowly and keep the drain pipe pure and wholesome. .V strong solution of boiling hot salt water is a good thing to flush drains with. When Wing, the stove is often splashed all over with grease; to prevent this sprinkle a. little salt in the frying pan before putting in toe fat. Tf anything boils over on the stove and begins to smoke throw a handful of salt on it; this removes 'any objectionable smell. A simple way to remove ink from a kitchen table is to damp the -place with cold water and rub in salt. To remove stains and mustiness from decanters lake equal parts of salt and vinegar; after allowing to stand some time shake vigorously and rinse well under the water tap. How to Put Baby to Bed It is not desirable to lay a babv on its back when sleep is wished for. Either one side or other is best; and if possible, it is well to accustom it first to one side and then to the other, as this' obviates falling into the habit qi- being able to sleep only on one side. But a child who is wide awake and of a happy disposition, so that it lies cooing to itself and watching the mysteries of its own ten fingers, is all the better for being laid on its back, as the spine is thereby kept straight and unstrained, and growth goes on apace, just as it does when a growing boy or girl is compelled, from accident, to spend a few weeks in a' recumbent position, and finds, when allowed to get up, that none of his or her clothes are long enough. Household Hints. One of the commonest causes of broken incandescent gas mantles is that of being too precipitate in appJviu<>a match to the gas. The match should never be struck before turning on the gas, so that the latter may have time to envelop the mantle before it is lighted. ■ Unless candles of a very good quality are invested in they are apt to 'gutter,' the melting wax not only being wasted,_ but giving an- unsightly appearance to the candle. Jo obviate this the plan is recommended of covering the wax from the rim to where it is pushed into the socket of the candlestick with a thick application of soapsuds ; This should be left on for a few moments, and any superfluous bubbles of soap removed by smoothing the candle with the finger-tips, when it should be stood on one side to dry until it is required. ' . ...