Enquire within upon everything · Chapter 12Publisher's Preface (11)
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362. Mending
When you make a new article always save the pieces until "mending day," which may come sooner than expected. It will be well even to buy a little extra quantity for repairs. Read over repeatedly the "
Domestic Hints
" (
pars
.
-
). These numerous paragraphs contain most valuable suggestions, that will be constantly useful if well remembered. They should be read frequently that their full value may be secured. Let your servants also read them, for nothing more conduces to good housekeeping than for the servant to understand the "system" which her mistress approves of.
363. Cleansing of Furniture
The cleaning of furniture forms an important part of domestic economy, not only in regard to neatness, but also in point of expense.
364. Method of Cleansing
The readiest mode indeed consists in good manual rubbing, or the application of a little elbow-grease, as it is whimsically termed; but our finest cabinet work requires something more, where brilliancy of polish is of importance.
365. Italian Varnish
The Italian cabinet-work in this respect excels that of any other country. The workmen first saturate the surface with olive oil, and then apply a solution of gum arabic dissolved in boiling alcohol. This mode of varnishing is equally brilliant, if not superior, to that employed by the French in their most elaborate works.
366. Another Method
But another mode may be substituted, which has less the appearance of a hard varnish, and may always be applied so as to restore the pristine beauty of the furniture by a little manual labour. Heat a gallon of water, in which dissolve one pound and a half of potash; and a pound of virgin wax, boiling the whole for half an hour, then suffer it to cool, when the wax will float on the surface. Put the wax into a mortar, and triturate it with a marble pestle, adding soft water to it until it forms a soft paste, which, laid neatly on furniture, or even on paintings, and carefully rubbed when dry with a woollen rag, gives a polish of great brilliancy, without the harshness of the drier varnishes.
367. Marble Chimney-Pieces
Marble chimney-pieces may also be rubbed with it, after cleaning the marble with diluted muriatic acid, or warm soap and vinegar; but the iron or brass work connected with them requires other processes.
368. Polished Iron Work
Polished iron work may be preserved from rust by an inexpensive mixture, consisting of copal varnish intimately mixed with as much olive oil as will give it a degree of greasiness, adding thereto nearly as much spirit of turpentine as of varnish.
369. Cast Iron Work
Cast iron work is best preserved by the common method of rubbing with black-lead.
370. Rust
If rust has made its appearance on grates or fire-irons, apply a mixture of two parts of tripoli to one of sulphur, intimately mingled on a marble slab, and laid on with a piece of soft leather. Or emery and oil may be applied with excellent effect; not laid on in the usual slovenly way, but with a spongy piece of fig wood fully saturated with the mixture. This will not only clean but impart a polish to the metal as well.
371. Brass
Brass ornaments, when not gilt or lacquered, may be cleaned in the same way, and a fine colour given to them, by two simple processes.
372. First Brass Process
The first is to beat sal ammoniac into a fine powder, then to moisten it with soft water, rubbing it on the ornaments, which must be heated over charcoal, and rubbed dry with bran and whiting.
373. Second Brass Process
The second is to wash the brasswork with roche alum boiled in strong ley, in proportion of an ounce to a pint; when dry, rub it with fine tripoli. Either of these processes will give to brass the brilliancy of gold.
374. Carpets
If the corner of a carpet becomes loose and prevents the door opening, or trips every one up that enters the room, nail it down at once. A dog's-eared carpet marks the sloven as well as the dog's-eared book. An English gentleman, travelling some years ago in Ireland, took a hammer and tacks with him, because he found dog's-eared carpets at all the inns where he rested. At one of these inns he tacked down the carpet, which, as usual, was loose near the door, and soon afterwards rang for his dinner. While the carpet was loose the door could not be opened without a hard push; so when the waiter came up, he just unlatched the door, and then going back a couple of yards, he rushed against it, as his habit was, with a sudden spring, to force it open. But the wrinkles of the carpet were no longer there to stop it, and not meeting with the expected resistance, the unfortunate waiter fell full length into the room. It had never entered his head that so much trouble might be saved by means of a hammer and half a dozen tacks, until his fall taught him that makeshift is a very unprofitable kind of shift. There are a good many houses in England where a similar practical lesson might be of service.
375. Cleaning Carpets
Take a pail of cold water, and add to it three gills of ox-gall. Rub it into the carpet with a soft brush. It will raise a lather, which must be washed off with clear cold water. Rub dry with a clean cloth. Before nailing down a carpet after the floor has been washed, be certain that the floor is quite dry, or the nails will rust and injure the carpet. Fuller's earth is used for cleaning carpets, and weak solutions of alum or soda are used for reviving the colours. The crumb of a hot wheaten loaf rubbed over a carpet has been found effective.
376. Carpet-Beating
Beat a carpet on the wrong side first; and then more gently on the right side. Beware of using sticks with sharp points, which may tear the carpet.
377. Sweeping Carpets
Persons who are accustomed to use tea-leaves for sweeping their carpets, and find that they leave stains, will do well to employ fresh cut grass instead. It is better than tea-leaves for preventing dust, and gives the carpets a very bright, fresh look.
378. Making a Carpet Last Longer
A half-worn carpet may be made to last longer by ripping it apart, and transposing the breadths.
379. Sweeping a Stair-Carpet
A stair carpet should never be swept down with a long broom, but always with a short-handled brush, a dust-pan being held closely under each step of the stairs during the operation of sweeping.
380. Cleaning Oilcloth
Oilcloth should never be scrubbed with a brush, but, after being first swept, it should be cleansed by washing with a large soft cloth and lukewarm or cold water. On no account use soap or hot water, as either will injure the paint, and in time remove it.
381. Cleaning Straw Matting
Straw matting may be cleaned with a large coarse cloth dipped in salt and water, and then wiped dry. The salt prevents the matting from turning yellow.
Eat Not to Dulness — Drink Not To Elevation.
382. Method of Cleaning Paper-Hangings
Cut into eight half quarters a quartern loaf, two days old; it must be neither newer nor staler. With one of these pieces, after having blown off all the dust from the paper to be cleaned, by the means of a good pair of bellows, begin at the top of the room, and, holding the crust in the hand, wipe lightly downward with the crumb, about half a yard at each stroke, till the upper part of the hangings is completely cleaned all round. Then go round again, with the like sweeping stroke downwards, always commencing each successive course a little higher than the upper stroke had extended, till the bottom be finished. This operation, if carefully performed, will frequently make very old paper look almost equal to new. Great care must be taken not to rub the paper hard, nor to attempt cleaning it the cross or horizontal way. The surface of the bread, too, must be always cut away as soon as it becomes dirty, and the pieces renewed as often as may be necessary.
383. Cleaning Rosewood Furniture
Rosewood furniture should be rubbed gently every day with a clean soft cloth to keep it in order.
384. Cleaning Ottomans and Sofas
Ottomans and sofas, covered with cloth, damask, or chintz, will look better for being cleaned occasionally with bran and flannel.
385. Polishing Dining-Tables
Dining tables may be polished by rubbing them for some time with a soft cloth and a little linseed oil.
386. Mahogany
Mahogany frames of sofas, chairs, &c., should be first well dusted, and then cleaned with a flannel dipped in sweet oil or linseed oil.
387. To Clean Cane-bottom Chairs
Turn the chair bottom upwards, and with hot water and a sponge wash the canework well, so that it may become completely soaked. Should it be very dirty you must add soap. Let it dry in the open air, or in a place where there is a thorough draught, and it will become as tight and firm as when new, provided none of the strips are broken.
388. Alabaster
Stains may be removed by washing with soap and water, then whitewashing the stained part, letting it stand some hours, then washing off the whitewash, and rubbing the stained part with a flannel moistened with lukewarm soap and water.
389. To Clean Marble
Take two parts of common soda, one part of pumice stone, and one part of finely powdered chalk; sift it through a fine sieve, and mix it with water. Rub the marble well all over with the mixture, and the stains will be removed; then wash the marble with soap and water, and it will be as clean as it was at first.
390. Glass
Glass should be washed in cold water, which gives it a brighter and clearer look than when cleansed with warm water; or, what is better, wash in warm water and rinse in cold water.
391. Using Charcoal (1)
Glass vessels, and other utensils, may be purified and cleaned by rinsing them out with powdered charcoal.
392. Bottles
There is no easier method of cleaning glass bottles than putting into them fine coal-ashes, and well shaking, either with water or not, hot or cold, according to the substance that fouls the bottle. Charcoal left in a bottle or jar for a little time will take away disagreeable smells.
393. Cleaning Japanned Waiters, Urns, &c.
Rub on with a sponge a little white soap and some lukewarm water, and wash the waiter or urn quite clean. Never use hot water, as it will cause the japan to scale off. Having wiped it dry, sprinkle a little flour over it; let it remain untouched for a short time, and then rub it with a soft dry cloth, and finish with a silk handkerchief. White heat marks on the waiters are difficult to remove; but rubbing them with a flannel dipped in sweet oil, and afterwards in spirits of wine, may be tried. Waiters of
papier maché
should be washed with a sponge and cold water only, and dredged with flour while damp. After the lapse of a few minutes the flour must be wiped off, and the article polished with a silk handkerchief.
Disease is Soon Shaken by Physic Soon Taken.
394. Papier Maché
Papier Maché articles of all kinds should be washed with a sponge and cold water, without soap, dredged with flour while damp, and polished with a flannel or a silk handkerchief.
395. Brunswick Black for Varnishing Grates
Melt four pounds of common asphaltum, and add two pints of linseed oil, and one gallon of oil of turpentine. This is usually put up in stoneware bottles for sale, and is used with a paint brush. If too thick, more turpentine may be added.
396. Blacking for Stoves
may be made with half a pound of black-lead finely powdered, and (to make it stick) mix with it the whites of three eggs well beaten; then dilute it with sour beer or porter till it becomes as thin as shoe-blacking; after stirring it, set it over hot coals to simmer for twenty minutes; when cold it may be kept for use.
397. To Clean Knives and Forks
Wash the blades in warm (but not hot) water, and afterwards rub them lightly over with powdered rotten-stone mixed to a paste with a little cold water; then polish them with a clean cloth.
398. For Cleaning Painted Wainscot or Other Woodwork
For cleaning painted wainscot or other woodwork, fuller's earth will be found cheap and useful: on wood not painted it forms an excellent substitute for soap.
399. To Scour Boards
Lime, one part; sand, three parts; soft soap, two parts. Lay a little on the boards with the scrubbing brush, and rub thoroughly. Rinse with clean water, and rub dry. This will keep the boards of a good colour, and keep away vermin.
400. Charcoal (2)
All sorts of glass vessels and other utensils may be purified from long-retained smells of every kind, in the easiest and most perfect manner, by rinsing them out well with charcoal powder, after the grosser impurities have been scoured off with sand and potash. Rubbing the teeth and washing out the mouth with fine charcoal powder, will render the teeth beautifully white, and the breath perfectly sweet, where an offensive breath has been owing to a scorbutic disposition of the gums. Putrid water is immediately deprived of its bad smell by charcoal. When meat, fish, &c., from intense heat, or long keeping, are likely to pass into a state of corruption, a simple and pure mode of keeping them sound and healthful is by putting a few pieces of charcoal, each about the size of an egg, into the pot or saucepan wherein the fish or flesh is to be boiled. Among others, an experiment of this kind was tried upon a turbot, which appeared to be too far gone to be eatable; the cook, as advised, put three or four pieces of charcoal, each the size of an egg, under the strainer in the fish-kettle; after boiling the proper time, the turbot came to the table sweet and firm.
401. To take Stains out of Mahogany Furniture
Stains and spots may be taken out of mahogany with a little aquafortis or oxalic acid and water, rubbing the part with a cork dipped in the liquid till the colour is restored. Then wash the wood well with water, and dry and polish as usual.
402. To take Ink-Stains out of Mahogany
Put a few drops of spirits of nitre in a teaspoonful of water; touch the spot with a feather dipped in the mixture, and as soon as the ink disappears, rub it over with a rag wetted in cold water, or there will be a white mark, which will not be easily effaced.
403. To remove Ink-Stains from Silver
Ink-stains on the tops and other portions of silver ink-stands may be completely eradicated by making a little chloride of lime into a paste with water, and rubbing it upon the stains. Chloride of lime has been misnamed "The general bleacher," but it is a great enemy to all metallic surfaces.
Disease is the Punishment of Neglect.
404. To take Ink-Stains out of a Coloured Table-Cover
Dissolve a teaspoonful of oxalic acid in a teacup of hot water; rub the stained part well with a flannel or linen rag dipped in the solution.
405. Ink Stains
Very frequently, when logwood has been used in manufacturing ink, a reddish stain still remains, after the use of oxalic acid, as in the former directions. To remove it, procure a solution of the chloride of lime, and apply it in the same manner as directed for the oxalic acid.
406. To take Ink out of Boards
Apply strong muriatic acid, or spirits of salts, with a piece of cloth; afterwards wash well with water.
407. Oil or Grease
Oil or grease may be removed from a hearth by covering it immediately with hot ashes, or with burning coals.
408. Marble may be Cleaned
Marble may be cleaned by mixing up a quantity of the strongest soap-lees with quick-lime, to the consistence of milk, and laying it on the marble for twenty-four hours; clean it afterwards with soap and water.
409. Silver and Plated Ware
Silver and plated ware should be washed with a sponge and warm soapsuds every day after using, and wiped dry with a clean soft towel.
410. Bronzed Chandeliers, Lamps, &c.
Bronzed chandeliers, lamps, &c., should be merely dusted with a feather-brush, or with a soft cloth, as washing them will take off the bronzing.
411. To clean Brass Ornaments
Wash the brasswork with roche alum boiled to a strong ley, in the proportion of an ounce to a pint. When dry it must be rubbed with fine tripoli.
412. For Cleaning Brasses Belonging to Mahogany Furniture
For cleaning brasses belonging to mahogany furniture, use either powdered whiting or scraped rotten-stone, mixed with sweet oil and rubbed on with chamois leather.
413. Brasses, Britannia Metal, Tins, Coppers, &c.
Brasses, Britannia metal, tins, coppers, &c., may be cleaned with a mixture of rotten-stone, soft soap, and oil of turpentine, mixed to the consistency of stiff putty. The stone should be powdered very fine and sifted. The articles should first be washed with hot water, to remove grease; then a little of the above mixture, mixed with water, should be rubbed over the metal; then rub off briskly with dry, clean rag or leather, and a beautiful polish will be obtained.
414. To preserve Steel Goods from Rust
After bright grates have been thoroughly cleaned, they should be dusted over with unslacked lime, and thus left until wanted. Coils of piano wires, thus sprinkled, will keep from rust for many years. Table-knives which are not in constant use ought to be put in a case in which sifted quicklime is placed, about eight inches deep. They should be plunged to the top of the blades, but the lime should not touch the handles.
415. To keep Iron and Steel Goods from Rust
Dissolve half an ounce of camphor in one pound of hog's lard; take off the scum: mix as much black lead as will give the mixture an iron colour. Iron and steel goods, rubbed over with this mixture, and left with it on twenty-four hours, and then dried with a linen cloth, will keep clean for months. Valuable articles of cutlery should be wrapped in zinc foil, or be kept in boxes lined with zinc. This is at once an easy and most effective method.
416. Iron Wipers
Old soft towels, or pieces of old sheets or tablecloths, make excellent wipers for iron and steel goods.
417. To Clean Looking-Glasses
First wash the glass all over with lukewarm soapsuds and a sponge. When dry, rub it bright with a chamois leather on which a little prepared chalk, finely powdered, has been sprinkled.
Keep the Blood Pure and Spare the Leech.
418. To Clean Mirrors, &c.
If they should be hung so high that they cannot be conveniently reached, have a pair of steps to stand upon; but mind that they stand steady. Then take a piece of soft sponge, well washed, and cleaned from everything gritty, dip it into water and squeeze it almost dry, dip it into some spirit of wine, and then rub it over the glass. Next, dust the glass over with some powder blue or whiting sifted through muslin; wipe the powder lightly and quickly off again with a cloth; then take a clean cloth, and rub the glass well once more, and finish by rubbing it with a silk handkerchief. If the glass be very large, clean one-half at a time, as otherwise the spirit of wine will dry before it can be rubbed off. If the frames are not varnished, the greatest care is necessary to keep them quite dry, so as not to touch them with the sponge, as this will discolour or take off the gilding. To clean the frames, take a little raw cotton in the state of wool, and rub the frames with it; this will take off all the dust and dirt without injuring the gilding. If the frames are well varnished, rub them with spirit of wine, which will take out all spots, and give them a fine polish. Varnished doors may be done in the same manner. Never use any cloth to
frames
or
drawings
, or oil paintings, when cleaning and dusting them.
419. China and Glass
The best material for cleansing either porcelain or glass, is fuller's earth: but it must be beaten into a fine powder, and carefully cleared from all rough or hard particles, which might endanger the polish of the surface.
420. Porcelain
In cleaning porcelain, it must also be observed that some species require more care and attention than others, as every person must have observed that chinaware in common use frequently loses some of its colours.
421. Red Fading
he red, especially of vermilion, is the first to go, because that colour, together with some others, is laid on by the Chinese after burning.
422. Modern Porcelain Fades Less
The modern Chinese porcelain is not, indeed, so susceptible of this rubbing or wearing off, as vegetable reds are now used by them instead of the mineral colour.
423. Temperature with China and Glass
It ought to be taken for granted that all china or glass ware is well tempered: yet a little careful attention may not be misplaced, even on that point; for though ornamental china or glassware is not exposed to the action of hot water in common domestic use, yet it may be injudiciously immersed therein for the purpose of cleaning; and as articles intended solely for ornament are not so highly annealed as others, it will be proper never to apply water beyond a tepid temperature.
424. Annealing Glass
An ingenious and simple mode of annealing glass has been some time in use by chemists. It consists in immersing the vessel in cold water, gradually heated to the boiling point, and suffered to remain till cold, when it will be fit for use. Should the glass be exposed to a higher temperature than that of boiling water, it will be necessary to immerse it in oil.
425. To take Marking-Ink out of Linen
Use a solution of cyanide of potassium applied with a camel-hair brush. After the marking ink disappears, the linen should be well washed in cold water.
426. To take Stains of Wine out of Linen
Hold the articles in milk while it is boiling on the fire, and the stains will soon disappear.
427. Fruit Stains in Linen
To remove them, rub the part on each side with yellow soap, then tie up a piece of pearlash in the cloth, &c., and soak well in hot water, or boil; afterwards expose the stained part to the sun and air until the stain is removed.
428. Mildewed Linen
may be restored by soaping the spots while wet, covering them with fine chalk scraped to powder, and rubbing it well in.
429. To keep Moths, Beetles, &c., from Clothes
Put a piece of camphor in a linen bag, or some aromatic herbs, in the drawers, among linen or woollen clothes, and no insects will come near them.
Loose Habits Lead to Tight Bandages.
430. Moths
Clothes closets that have become infested with moths, should be well rubbed with a strong decoction of tobacco, and repeatedly sprinkled with spirits of camphor.
431. To Remove Stains from Floors
For removing spots of grease from boards, take fuller's earth and pearlash, of each a quarter of a pound, and boil in a quart of soft water. While hot lay the mixture on the greased parts, allowing it to remain on them from ten or twelve hours; after which it may be scoured off with sand and water. A floor much spotted with grease should be completely washed over with this mixture the day before it is scoured. Fuller's earth and ox-gall, boiled together, form a very powerful cleansing mixture for floors or carpets. Stains of ink are removed by the application of strong vinegar, or salts of lemon.
432. Scouring Drops for removing Grease
There are several preparations of this name; one of the best is made as follows:—Camphine, or spirit of turpentine, three ounces: essence of lemon, one ounce; mix and put up in a small phial for use when required.
433. To take Grease out of Velvet or Cloth
Pour some turpentine over the part that is greasy; rub it till quite dry with a piece of clean flannel; if the grease be not quite removed, repeat the application, and when done, brush the part well, and hang up the garment in the open air to take away the smell.
434. Medicine Stains
Medicine stains may be removed from silver spoons by rubbing them with a rag dipped in sulphuric acid, and washing it off with soapsuds.
435. To Extract Grease Spots from Books or Paper
Gently warm the greased or spotted part of the book or paper, and then press upon it pieces of blotting-paper, one after another, so as to absorb as much of the grease as possible. Have ready some fine clear essential oil of turpentine heated almost to a boiling state, warm the greased leaf a little, and then, with a soft clean brush, apply the heated turpentine to both sides of the spotted part. By repeating this application, the grease will be extracted. Lastly, with another brush dipped in rectified spirit of wine, go over the place, and the grease will no longer appear, neither will the paper be discoloured.
436. Stains and Marks from Books.
A solution of oxalic acid, citric acid, or tartaric acid, is attended with the least risk, and may be applied to paper and prints without fear of damage. These acids, which take out writing ink, and do not touch the printing, can be used for restoring books where the margins have been written upon, without injuring the text.
437. To take Writing Ink out of Paper
Solution of muriate of tin, two drachms; water, four drachms. To be applied with a camel-hair brush. After the writing has disappeared, the paper should be passed through water, and dried.
438. A Hint on Household Management
Have you ever observed what a dislike servants have to anything cheap? They hate saving their master's money. I tried this experiment with great success the other day. Finding we consumed a vast deal of soap, I sat down in my thinking chair, and took the soap question into consideration, and I found reason to suspect we were using a very expensive article, where a much cheaper one would serve the purpose better. I ordered half a dozen pounds of both sorts, but took the precaution of changing the papers on which the prices were marked before giving them into the hands of Betty. "Well, Betty, which soap do you find washes best?" "Oh, please sir, the dearest, in the blue paper; it makes a lather as well again as the other." "Well, Betty, you shall always have it then;" and thus the unsuspecting Betty saved me some pounds a year, and washed the clothes better—
Rev. Sydney Smith
.
Bottles of Brandy are Followed by Bottles of Physic.
439. Domestic Rules
Mrs Hamilton, in her "Cottagers of Glenburnie," gives three simple rules for the regulation of domestic affairs, which deserve to be remembered, and which would, if carried into practice, be the means of saving time, labour, and patience, and of making every house a "well-ordered" one. They are as follows:
Do everything in its proper time.
Keep everything to its proper use.
Put everything in its proper place.
440. An Ever-dirty Hearth
An ever-dirty hearth, and a grate always choked with cinders and ashes, are infallible evidences of bad housekeeping.
441. Economy
If you have a strip of land, do not throw away soapsuds. Soapsuds are good manure for bushes and young plants.
442. Washing Woollens
Woollen clothes should be washed in very hot suds, and not rinsed. Lukewarm water shrinks them.
443. Keeping Coffee and Tea
Do not let coffee and tea stand in tin.
444. Freshness of Surfaces
Scald your wooden-ware often, and keep your tin-ware dry.
445. Re-using Letters
Preserve the backs of old letters to write upon.
446. Make Writing-Books
If you have children who are learning to write, buy coarse white paper by the quantity, and make it up into writing-books. This does not cost half so much as it does to buy them ready made at the stationer's.
447. No Waste
See that nothing is thrown away which might have served to nourish your own family or a poorer one.
448. Bread
As far as possible, have pieces of bread eaten up before they become hard: spread those that are not eaten, and let them dry, to be pounded for puddings, or soaked for brewis.
449. Brewis
Brewis is made of crusts and dry pieces of bread, soaked a good while in hot milk, mashed up, and eaten with salt. Above all, do not let crusts accumulate in such quantities that they cannot be used. With proper care, there is no need of losing a particle of bread.