118. The following practical directions on washing were furnished by an experienced laundress:—
“Wash as often as convenient. Dirty clothes put by for weeks are more difficult to clean the longer they remain dirty; they acquire a permanent bad colour, and in damp places are apt to become mildewed and rotten.
“Remove all stains as soon as possible; leave nothing long enough to fix itself thoroughly to the cloth; wash out grease, gravy, and fruit-stains, &c., before putting anything on one side. Fruit-stains yield readily to bleaching-powder,—especially if, after being put on, it is moistened with a drop of some acid, as vinegar or lemon; but neither acids nor bleaching-powder should be used to coloured things. Inkstains should never be put into soapy or soda water or lye, as they directly become iron-moulds; but should be instantly wetted with clean water, and may be at once removed by the application of a little salt of lemon, or oxalic acid, which should be washed out immediately.
“After making starch, cover it with a plate until required for use; otherwise it forms a useless skin on the top. To prevent starch sticking to the irons, the addition of a small piece of solid paraffin, as the end of a paraffin-candle, will be found more cleanly and efficacious than tallow.
“When water has once been made to boil, the fire in the copper or grate may be very much lessened, as but little heat is required to keep it at the boiling point. There is no advantage whatever in making water boil furiously, for it is not in the slightest degree hotter than when merely simmering, as all the extra heat given to boiling water goes off in the steam, without raising the heat in the slightest degree.
“The shrinking and discoloring of woollen articles may be in great part prevented by care in washing them. They should never be washed in hard water, nor in water softened by soda, nor should they be rubbed with soap. The fibres of wool are covered with little points, all directed one way; as the woollen is rubbed, these become tangled together, and form a kind of thick felt, by which means the article is shrunk and thickened. For the same reason it is not desirable to wring woollen things. Before washing, they should be well brushed and shaken, to get rid of the dust; rain, or soft river, water should have a strong lather made in it with soap, or, if the things are very greasy, ox-gall may be added, in the proportion of half-a-pint to six quarts of water; then boiling water should be added to the lather, to make it as hot as it is possible to bear the hand in, and the dirty woollen should be put in, and dipped and raised repeatedly for several minutes. It should then be squeezed (not wrung) as dry as possible from the dirty, slimy liquor, and the process, if necessary, repeated with some clean lather. If the article is not very dirty, and becomes quite clean in the first washing, the second washing may be in hot water only, without soap; and in either case, a blue bag should be used in the last water. When gall has been used, a third water is necessary to take off the smell. When the article is finished, it should be squeezed as dry as it can be, and dried as quickly as possible in the open air, if the weather is fine.”