Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 January 1913 — WASHING CURTAINS AT HOME [ARTICLE]

WASHING CURTAINS AT HOME

Results Can Be as Good as If They Art Sent to the Laundry If Right Care Is Taken.

Those wUo dwell in large towns and cities And it necessary to constantly hang clean curtains at the windows. The house then appears fresh and bright within and from without. If curtains are sent to the laundry they are a heavy drain on the housekeeping resources. When made of madras, swiss, muslin or dimity, they can easily be laundered at home. Begin by shaking them well out of doors. In this manner all the superfluous dust can be removed. Prepare a tubful of warm water in which a half cake of white soap has been dissolved. Souse the curtains up and down in this, and when the water becomes black change to a second tub of suds. If the curtains are very much soiled they will require a third tub of suds. Allow them to remain in this for an houf. Rinse in two tubfuls of clear water, the last of which should have a small amount of cooked starch and a few drops of bluing added. Hang in the sun to bleach and dry thoroughly before removing them from the line. Sprinkle well and fold, that the dampness may be evenly absorbed. To successfully iron long curtains, place a blanket over the kitchen table and fasten a clean sheet over this. Pull each curtain into shape before ironing. Nothing looks worse than curtains which do not hang evenly. Use hot irons and rub them over paraffin wax to prevent the starch from sticking. First iron the plain portion of the curtain and then the frills. If the curtains are plain, iron the deep hem first, so that it will hang 'straight.