PIONEER HOUSEHOLD TIPS
Continued: 21-50
21. To Clean and Keep Oil Cloth Nice. Wash in clean, warm, soft water in which has been dissolved a large spoonful of borax. If hard water is used, more borax will be needed.
22. To Mend Iron Vessels. Mix finely some sifted lime with the white of an egg till a thin paste is formed, then add some iron filings. Apply the fracture and the vessel will be found nearly as sound as ever.
23. To Clean Lamp Chimneys. Hold chimney over the steam coming from a boiling kettle, then wipe it inside and outside with a soft muslin cloth.
24. An Excellent Furniture Polish. Use equal parts of vinegar, turpentine and sweet oil. The bottle should be well shaken each time before using. Wet a cloth and rub well over the furniture, then wipe with a soft dry cloth.
25. To Remove Tan. Wash with a solution of lemon juice and carbonate of soda; follow with the juice of unripe grapes if they may be had; if not, with Fuller’s Earth Water.
26. To Remove Wrinkles. Melt and stir together one ounce of white wax, two ounces of strained honey and two ounces of the juice of lily bulbs; apply to the face every night and it is said your wrinkles will disappear.
27. To Remove Coffee Stains. The yolk of an egg mixed with a little water will remove coffee stains. Glycerin will do the same. Rub out before washing.
28. To Remove Ink from Linen. Dip the stained parts in pure melted tallow, then wash in water.
29. To Remove Grease from Woolen Goods. Do not put either hot or cold water upon woolens that have had grease spilled upon them. Sprinkle the parts with either buckwheat or rye flour and let it absorb the grease; then brush off the flour and apply more, [so continuing until all the grease has been absorbed. Cornstarch is equally effective when #used upon cloth in the same manner.
30. To Exterminate Roaches. With a machine oil can, squirt kerosene oil into cracks and seams behind woodwork, then sprinkle powdered borax over the shelves and blow it into the cracks with a powder blower.
31. To Keep Steel Knives from Rusting. Dip the knives in a strong solution of asoda, four parts of soda to one of water; then wipe dry, roll in flannel and keep in a dry place.
32. Washing Blankets. When washing blankets make a lather of boiled soap and warm water and for each pailful and a half of water allow a teaspoonful of household ammonia. Wash in two or three waters, put through the wringer and hang out to dry. Choose a fine windy day so the blankets will dry quickly.
33. To Exterminate Bed Bugs. Use kerosene oil freely wherever the bugs are found.
34. Cement for Glass and Iron. Alum melted in an iron spoon over the fire makes a good cement for joining glass and iron. It is useful for cementing the glass part of a lamp to its metal base and stopping cracks about the base, as paraffin will not penetrate it.
35. To Dry Boots. Fill wet boots with dry oats and set aside for a few hours. The oats will draw the moisture from the boots and, swelling out, will keep the leather from shrinking and hardening as it would do if placed near the fire to dry.
36. To Remove Kerosene. Cover the spot with cornmeal; lay a paper over it and rub with a moderately heated iron. Two or three applications will remove the kerosene. Finely powdered chalk may be used instead of the cornmeal if desired.
37. To Remove Fruit Stains. Fruit stains may be removed from table linen by pouring boiling water through the cloth where it is stained.
38. Furniture Polish. A fine furniture polish may be made by taking equal parts of vinegar and salad oil. Apply sparingly with a flannel and polish off thoroughly with clean cloths. Don’t forget to mix lots of “elbow grease” with this.
39. To Clean Glass. Dampen a cloth with either alcohol or ammonia, then dip it into some finely sifted wood ashes and polish the glass. Wipe off with a perfectly dry cloth.
40. To Clean a Glass Decanter. Put into it a spoonful of vinegar and a few lumps of soda. Shake it well but leave the top open or it may burst the decanter. Rinse with cold water.
41. To Remove Panes of Glass. Lay soft soap over the putty for a few hours and it will become soft so that it may be easily scraped away no matter how hard it may previously have been.
42. To Clean Light Gloves. Light gloves may be cleaned by rubbing them with fine bread crumbs. It is best to rub them after each wearing so that they do not become badly soiled.
43. To Clean Kid Gloves. If not too badly soiled kid gloves may be cleaned by rubbing them with a piece of oiled silk wound about the finger.
44. Gnats. Camphor is the best preventive and cure for the stings of gnats.
45. To Remove Grass Stains. Rub the stains with spirits of wine and they will readily come out when washed in soap and water.
46. To Remove Grease. Take equal parts of benzine, ether and alcohol; wet a [sponge in the mixture and apply by patting the spot; put a piece of blotting paper on each side and iron with a hot flat iron.
47. To Remove Grease from Floor. Soda and hot water will remove grease from the floor.
48. To Remove Ink Stains. If ink is spilled upon a carpet, tablecloth or dress it is best to take up as much of the ink as possible with blotting paper, or salt is also good to absorb it. Then wash the parts thoroughly with milk several times until all the ink is removed. It is then well to wash out the parts with ammonia water to remove grease. If the spots are dry, rub a piece of lemon on some salt and then upon the stain. Oxalic acid and salts of lemon are both good also.
49. To Clean Lamp Chimneys. Rub them with a piece of newspaper upon which a little kerosene has been poured. This is better than soap and the chimney will not be so likely to crack.
50. To Wash Flannels. Put borax in the water and the flannels will look like new and will not shrink.
Pioneer Household Tips, 21-50
