Oxford Democrat

HOMEMAKERS COLUMN.
Correspondence on topics of interest to the ladies solicited. Address: Editor Homemakers Column, Oxford Democrat, South Paris, Me.

Chemistry of Cleaning.
The ounce of prevention in household work is worth trying, for it will save the difficulties of the cures, or the annoyance now and then of not finding any adequate remedy. A few of the most common sources and causes of soil, spots, stains and tarnish and their antidotes which should be at hand are given in the following table:

Acid spots—Apply ammonia.
Aluminum, to clean—Use whiting or prepared paste, emery wool, and oxalic acid for blackened and burned spots. Avoid alkalies.
Bathtubs and basins—Wash with borax or ammonia.
Blood stains—Soak in cold or tepid water.
Brass—Prepared polishes, rotten-stone and oil, salt and vinegar or oxalic acid with thorough rinsing.
Candle wax—Scrape off, use blotting paper and warm iron.
Coffee stains—Boiling water.
Copper, to clean—Same as for brass.
Colors, to set in wash goods—Tablespoonful of salt in gallon of cold water, or same of turpentine. Alum in water sets colors permanently.
Dish cloths and towels—Wash with soap and hot water, boil and hang in the sun.
Fruit stains (fresh)—Boiling water.
Fruit stains (berries)—Boiling water or fumes of sulphur match.
Fruit stains (old)—Oxalic acid, Javelle water.
Grass stain—Alcohol or molasses.
Grease, on wash fabrics—Launder with soap and water.
Grease, in delicate silks, chiffon, velvet, etc.—French chalk, magnesia, blotting paper and warm iron, naphtha or ether.
Grease, on carpets—Absorb with bran, chalk, or flour, and use naphtha.
Hardwood floors—Clean with special prepared furniture polish if shellacked; and if waxed, remove old wax with turpentine and polish with new wax. If badly marred, sandpaper to new surface and refinish.
Ink on fabrics—Try repeated soaking in skimmed or sour milk.
Ink on polished wood—Remove with water.
Ink on carpets—Absorb all possible with cloths or blotter and wash with water, and cut surface of lemon.
Iron rust, on fabrics—Salts of lemon hydrochloric acid, rhubarb.
Iron rust, on metals—Kerosene and emery dust or mineral wool. Prevent with coating of vaseline or paraffine.
Iodine stains—Ether or chloroform.
Knives (steel)—Scour with Bath brick.
Leather—Wipe with a damp cloth. Clean occasionally with oiled cloth. Rub off oil.
Marble—Sandsoap, paste of whiting and alcohol, borax or powdered pumice stone. Avoid acid or medicine stains.
Medicine stains—Many yield to alcohol.
Mildew—Wash, try Javelle water, and bleach in sun.
Nickel—Hot soapsuds and water. Polish with soft cloth and alcohol, if desired. Avoid ammonia.
Paint, to clean walls—Scrub painted wood or walls with weak solution of soap or ammonia, kerosene for smoky ceilings.
Paint brushes—Wash out fresh paint with turpentine. Soften dried paint or varnish brushes in boiling vinegar.
Paint spots on windows—Vinegar on a cloth, or rub with copper cent.
Paint spots, on clothes—Turpentine.
Pipes and drains—Flush with strong boiling solution of water and washing soda.
Resinous stains and pitch—Alcohol.
Silver tarnish—Remove by rubbing with prepared silver paste or mineral powders, or immerse in electric bath previously described in this column. Polish with chamois. Use same for jewelry.
Straw hats, to bleach—Solution of oxalic acid applied with a brush will clean and whiten straw hats. Rinse thoroughly.
Spots on clothes and carpets, Soap bark solution, applied with sponge.
Tomato stains on hands—Rub with cut surface of rhubarb or lemon.
Vaseline, to remove stains—Soak in kerosene and wash with soap.
Varnish, to remove—Use wood alcohol or strong alkali.
Wall papers, soiled—Rub gently with aerated rubber sponge.
Woolens, to wash—Use soapsuds in tepid water, rinse in waters of same temperature with little soap, squeeze but do not twist and wring woolen garments, blankets or dress fabrics.
Zinc—Clean with kerosene and rubbing when badly soiled.

Helpful Hints.
A chiffon veil should be "ironed" by pinning it to a piece of cotton cloth to dry. It will be smooth and shapely.
A flannel cloth dipped in warm water, then into the best quality of whiting, will cleanse paint beautifully and harmlessly.
Did the children get their shoes damp coming home from school in or after an unexpected shower? Kerosene rubbed on will soften them.
Grass stains will vanish if rubbed well with kerosene before being wet with water. A simple remedy you are sure to have use for soon.
In housecleaning don't throw away the miscellaneous boxes. Store them together in a box in some out-of-the-way place. They are sure to be wanted for many things during the year.
Make your kitchen pleasant and then do not think of it as a place of drudgery, but as the chemical laboratory where you compound health, and its companion, happiness, for those you love.
Oven-cloths of denim are very serviceable. Make them a yard long and six inches wide, double. Turn back the ends six inches and stitch "pockets" to slip the hands in while removing hot pans from the oven.
A little quicker and less troublesome way of slipping geraniums than rooting them in a glass of water is to place them right in their permanent pot or outdoor bed with a grain of oats or rye in the bottom of the slip. Keep moist and quick, thrifty growth is assured.
Ever try baking a fish in paper? No disagreeable odors or dirty dishes. Wash thoroughly, season. Dredge lightly with flour. Roll in three or more thicknesses of manilla paper and allow fifteen minutes more than when baking in open dish. Skin comes off with paper. Meat delicious.
Protect the furs from moths. Brush well, removing all dust. Then dip the brush in gasoline, better be out doors to avoid all danger, and brush the fur against the nap to destroy any possible vermin. Wrap carefully in newspapers, printer's ink is a preventive, pinning openings securely.

Utilizing Ham.
Make a paste of flour and water. Roll out thin and entirely cover the ham with it, and bake in a moderate oven six hours. When cooked, remove the crust, and it will be found that the ham is much sweeter and nicer than if boiled in the usual way.
Wash a ham with baking-soda and water and place it in a baking-pan, skin-side down. Mix a saltspoonful each of black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, celery-seed, and two tablespoonfuls of finely-chopped onion and spread over the ham. Then make a paste of one-half cup of water and one cup of flour. Roll it in a thin sheet, and cover the flesh-side of the ham with it. Bake four hours, basting frequently.
Put one pound of round-steak and one half pound of lean ham through a chopper. Add one-half pound of bread crumbs and sufficient powdered dried herbs to suit taste. Season with pepper, salt, and ground allspice. Add two beaten eggs, and form into a thick, short roll. Wrap in buttered paper, and tie in a floured cloth. Steam or boil for two hours. When cooked, drain thoroughly, and put away till cold; then cut in half-inch slices for serving.