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Page 18
All clothes require this folding and dampening. Sheets and table-cloths
should be held by two persons, shaken and "snapped," and then folded
carefully, stretching the edges if necessary.
Colored clothing must be rinsed before starching, and the starch should be
thin and cool.
For ironing neatly and well, there will be required, half a dozen
flat-irons, steel bottoms preferred; a skirt-board and bosom-board, both
covered, first with old blanket or carpet, then with thick strong
cotton-cloth, and over this a cover of lighter cloth, sewed on so that it
may be removed as often as may be necessary to wash it. If a bag the size
of each is made, and they are hung up in this as soon as used, such
washing need very seldom be. Having these, many dispense with
ironing-sheet and blanket; but it is better to use a table for all large
articles, and on this the ironing-sheet can be pinned, or tied by tapes,
or strips of cloth, sewed to each corner. A stand on which to set the
irons, a paper and coarse cloth to rub them off on, and a bit of yellow
wax tied in a cloth, and used to remove any roughness from the iron, are
the requirements of the ironing-table.
Once a month, while the irons are still slightly warm, wash them in warm
water in which a little lard has been melted. Never let them stand day
after day on the stove, and never throw cold water on them, as it makes
them very rough.
If the starch clings to the irons, put a little Bristol-brick on a board,
and rub them up and down till free. If they are too hot for use, put in a
current of air a few moments; and in all cases try them on a piece of
paper or cloth before putting them on a garment. If through carelessness
or accident an article is scorched, lay it in the hottest sunshine to be
found. If the fiber is not burned, this will often take the spot entirely
out.
Let the ironed clothes hang in the air for at least twenty-four hours
after ironing. Unaired sheets have often brought on fatal sickness.
Examine all clothes sent up from the wash. If the laundress is sure this
inspection will take place, it is a constant spur to working in the best
way, and a word of praise for good points is always a stimulus. Mending
should be done as the clothes are looked over, before putting away. Place
the sheets from each wash at the bottom of the pile, that the same ones
may not be used over and over, but all come in rotation; and the same with
table-linen. If the table-cloth in use is folded carefully in the creases,
and kept under a heavy piece of plank, it will retain a fresh look till
soiled. Special hints as to washing blankets and dress-materials will be
given in the latter part of the book.
However carefully and neatly a house may be kept, it requires a special
putting in order, known as _House-cleaning_, at least once a year. Spring
and fall are both devoted to it in New England; and, if the matter be
conducted quietly, there are many advantages in the double cleaning. In a
warmer climate, where insect-life is more troublesome and the reign of
flies lasts longer, two cleanings are rather a necessity. As generally
managed, they are a terror to every one, and above all to gentlemen, who
resent it from beginning to end. No wonder, if at the first onslaught all
home comfort ends, and regular meals become irregular lunches, and a quiet
night's rest something sought but not found.
A few simple rules govern here, and will rob the ordeal of half its
terrors.
If coal or wood are to be laid in for the year's supply, let it be done
before cleaning begins, as much dust is spread through the house in such
work.
Heavy carpets do not require taking up every year; once in two, or even
three, being sufficient unless they are in constant use. Take out the
tacks, however, each year; fold back the carpet half a yard or so; have
the floor washed with a strong suds in which borax has been dissolved,--a
tablespoonful to a pail of water; then dust black pepper along the edges,
and retack the carpet. By this means moths are kept away; and, as their
favorite place is in corners and folds, this laying back enables one to
search out and destroy them.
Sapolio is better than sand for scouring paint, and in all cases a little
borax in the water makes such work easier.
Closets should be put in order first; all winter clothing packed in
trunks, or put in bags made from several thicknesses of newspaper,
printers' ink being one of the most effectual protections against moths.
Gum-camphor is also excellent; and, if you have no camphor-wood chest or
closet, a pound of the gum, sewed into little bags, will last for years.
In putting away clothing, blankets, &c., look all over, and brush and
shake with the utmost care before folding, in order to get rid of any
possible moth-eggs.
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