Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 April 1910 — Home Course In Domestic Science [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Home Course In Domestic Science

Xlll—Washing Day Made Easy.

By EDITH G. CHARLTON,

In Charge of Domestic Economy. lowa State College. Copyright, 1910, by American Press Association. Monday” might lose some l-C of its terror for the average 1 J family if the weekly washing were changed to some other day. Steam ladened rooms, odor of boiling suds, an untidy house from kitchen to attic and “pickup” meals all day, combined with the accumulation of duties and cares since Saturday, make Monday a disagreeable day for every one. Whoever established the custom of setting Monday aside for a "wash day” made life just a little harder than necessary in scores of homes. And yet so firmly established has the custom become that it takes genuine courage to break away from it and wash on Tuesday instead. When you think about it, how much more suitable Tuesday is for the work than Monday, which, following a day of rest, finds the whole house more or less disarranged! It is rarely possible and sometimes quite unwise to attempt to outline any housekeeper’s work for her. One must know conditions and be familiar with the life of the family before being really competent to arrange the routine of domestic affairs. But for the benefit of the woman who has everything to do for her family and who perhaps is not wholly satisfied wdth her present plan let me present this program for at least Mbnday and Tuesday: Monday.—Put the house in order. Plan the meals for Tuesday and do extra baking for that day. Get the laundry ready for washing. That means look over the soiled clothing and do the necessary mending. Tears and broken seams increase in washing. Take out stains. It is much easier to do this before washing than after, and there is more time the day before than when the washing is in process. Soak soiled clothes. See that tubs and other things are ready for an early start; also be sure that soap, bluing and other supplies are on hand. Tuesday.—The special work for this day will be the washing, but it should not be carried on to the complete disarrangement of the family life. Good, substantial meals should be served promptly, as on other days, and the Wife and mother should not be so enslaved by the washtub and wringer that she has no thought or attention

for husbaniT and children. There is no reason why she should be if the washing has not beyond all reason piled up her work so that it requires almost superhum; effort to accomplish it. While preparing breakfast the, laundry fire may be started and the water heated. After breakfast and after the dining table has been cleared the washing cAn be commenced, and if it is performed in an intelligent way from start to finish it ought not to interfere to any great extent with the ordinary comforts of the day. The clothes were sorted and some of them put to soak the day before. That means a long stride toward an early completion. The Order of the Wash. One reason why there are so many indifferent laundresses and so much inferior laundry work is because little or no attention has been given to difference in fabrics. Cotton, linen, silk and wool are practically treated in the same way. The same kind of soap is used for all. They are washed in water of the same temperature. Sometimes they are washed in the same water. They are given the same amount of rubbing and equally indifferent rinsing. In sorting the clothes arrange them in five piles as follows: Table linen and fine' muslins. Bed linen, towels and handkerchiefs (previously soaked in ammonia and water if used for a cold). Flannels. Colored cottons and stockings. Soiled towels and cloths. No one questions that soaking the clothes loosens the dirt and makes the washing easier, but only white clothes or fast colors can be treated in this way, and it is not well to soak all

kinds of white clothes in one tub. After soaking in cold water to which a good naphtha soap or washing powder has been added little or no rubbing will be necessary before putting the clothes in the boiler. Kerosene used in small quantity in the cold water in which clothes are soaked makes the

ft ashlng~easier. The success of "laundering also depends on the kind and amount of soap used. For wool and silk -articles use only a good white soap containing very little alkali or acid. Both these chemicals have an injurious effect on silk and wool. Sal%oda makes ivoolen garments yellow, makes the fiber harsh and less elastic. The fiber of wool is composed of numberless sections, or sheaths, each with more or less jagged,, edges and each one growing out of the other. These sheaths form a tube which, with its ragged edges, explains the reason for shrinking. Diluted acids roughen the wool fiber; strong acids disintegrate it. Choride of lime injures the fiber even if cold; used hot, the fiber is destroyed. Ammonia has the least injurious action bn wool, therefore is the most satisfactory agent for cleansing it Silk is a strong, elastic, lustrous double fiber. All alkalies act upon it, according to the kind, strength and temperature of the solution and the length of time the silk is left in the solution. The luster is first lessened, and the fiber is finally dissolved. Dilute acids roughen silk and strong acids ruin it. Thus it will be seen that all garments of silk and wool should be washed with only the mildest soap. This should be made into a solution by cutting the soap into thin slices, dissolving in hot water and adding to the suds in which the garments are to be washed. This method is much better than rubbing the soap directly on the garment. Both silk and wool are injured by dry heat Silk first stiffens, then breaks, so that the water in which it is washed should not be hot. Flannels should be washed in water of the same temperature throughout the process and should be hung to dry in a temperature the same as the water. The expansion and contraction of the wool fibers, caused by change in temperatures, make flannel thick. Tepid water and a moderate temperature for drying and the best white soap added to the washing water are Simple rules to observe in washing woolen garments. The vegetable fibers, such as cotton and linen, are of a woody nature, tough, strong' and not so easily affected by chemicals. For this reason cotton and linen materials are not so soon spoiled by careless washing as either silk or wool, and yet too much soap, prolonged boiling in dirty water, Indifferent rinsing and inattention to stains soon make the best cotton or linen dingy and unattractive. One of the commonest neglects in ordinary washing is that the water is not changed often enough. Garment after garment is washed in water so saturated with dirt that it is impossible to make it remove any more. This washing is followed by careless rinsing in only one water, which does not begin to take out all the soap. If the bluing follows, as it too often does, this rinsing in soapy water, the clothes are very liable to be stained with iron rust This will almost certainly be the case if Prussian blue is used. This substance is a salt of iron, and with an alkali such as there is in soap changes to iron rust. A simple experiment to determine whether or not you are using Prussian blue is to heat a little of it in a strong solution of salsoda. If Prussian blue the mixture will turn •‘yellowish red, and iron rust will settle in the bottom of the vessel.

Simple General Directions. It is more often neglect of little things than carelessness about big main points that makes washing an unsatisfactory task. Attention to these details may lighten the work for some women and bring them better results. Remember to make fresh suds whenever necessary. It is a mistake to think you can -make clothes clean in dirty water. - Put the clothes to boil in cold water and heat slowly. The best results are obtained when there is a large quantity of water and the boiler is but half full of clothes. Each boilerful of clothes should be put on in clean, cold water. Rinsing is ver» important The clothes must be freft. from soap before bluing. Use softy water for first rinsing, then hard water if color of soft is not good. Hard water may be softened by boiling, then cooling before using, or a solution of salsoda may be added. This ought not to be too strong or the salsodaTwill Injure both the fabric and the hands. In bluing shake out each article and drop it into the bluing water, rinse carefully through the water, then wring out at once. Do not allow clothes to stay in bluing water for any length of time or they will be streaked. Thick starch is made by mixing onehalf cup of laundry starch and onequarter cup of cold water, then add one-quarter teaspoonful of white wax or lard and one quart of boiling water. Put over the fire and boll for several minutes, stirring constantly. Uncook--ed or partly cooked starch will stick. Thick starch may be diluted, or if a thin quality is desired use twice as much water. Ironing is the completion of good laundry work and the test of the laundress. It requires a good thick iron-ing-blanket tapked securely to an Ironing table or board, clean irons, an iron stand, a piece of beeswax tied in a doth on which to clean the irons, a bit of old cloth on which to wipe and a piece of paper folded several times on which to try the irons. This is the necessary outfit, but in addition there must be practice, care and skill to insure complete success. . • Foxy. . “You don’t smoke as much as you used to.” “No.” "Doctor order you to quit?” “No. that isn't “What is the matter?” “Wife buys my cigars.”

HANDY LAUNDRY STOVE.