HOW TO BUY
The first rule in good buying is to know standard quality in your intended purchase, for then you need not be dependent upon the salesman. The second is to know your own needs, that you may not be beguiled by the clever advertisement in the daily paper, or the well-displayed bargain, and will not need to ask the salesman’s advice about quantity. Keep lists of articles needed in the card file, and make your shopping lists from these. The third rule is to apportion your purchases to your income and the divisions of your budget.
Where to buy.—Patronize reliable firms. There are in any community shops of different grades, and you will not find the best return for your money always at those houses where there is the greatest parade of cut prices and bargains. In the end the reliable places are the cheapest. Sometimes a firm trades on its reputation and a degree of fashion it has attained, but on the whole it is true that if one house has goods uniformly cheaper than another, it is because the quality is inferior.
One fact that a good shopper learns is this—that certain articles may be purchased to greater advantage at one place than another. One firm excels in silks, another in household linen, another in coffee, and so on.
Almost every community now has a “white list” and a branch of the Consumers’ League, the significance of which was explained in “Shelter and Clothing,” p. 202.
How to shop.—Know the shops you patronize, first by personal inspection, unless, of course, you are ordering from a distance.
Mail orders and the telephone are helps to the buyer. These should not entirely take the place of personal visits to the shops, but, if well used, save many weary hours. The parcel post makes possible buying by mail even perishable articles direct from the producer. Many country dwellers do a large part of their shopping even for clothing and furniture by mail, and there are reputable firms who cater largely to this trade, and send out well-illustrated price lists as guides. However, this method should be used very cautiously, and it may be unsatisfactory for articles where the æsthetic element is important, as well as the quality.
Bargains, sales, and advertisements.—Here the buyer matches her wit against the wiles of the seller. Bargain sales may be made up of sweat shop goods. Many women ignorant of textile production, flock to the sales of materials and garments, helping the storekeeper to dispose of silk which is rotting on his shelves, or garments which have been poorly or cheaply constructed and which go to pieces the first time laundered. Remnants are often cut from materials on the regular shelves, and sometimes are offered at an advance in price at the so-called bargain sales. In reliable shops one can sometimes find bargains during clearance sales. It pays to wait and buy out of season, as much can be saved in this way. A “best” hat in January, or a white dress in August, may often be purchased to advantage. In order to do this, one must plan the wardrobe systematically.
Trading stamps and prizes.—Remember that nothing is given away, and that you pay for everything that you receive. It is well to deal with a firm that sells standard goods at standard prices. A discount is sometimes allowed for cash.
Buying on installments.—Methods of payment are discussed in Chapter XX. The installment plan is important to consider, since it is so common for people of small means. How tempting for a young couple, who have no savings, to furnish the new home in this way? It is a “gambling on futures,” however, as much as are some methods in the Stock Exchange. If the income stops, because the position is lost, or if sickness comes, and the installments cannot be paid, the whole outfit may be lost. There have been real household tragedies of this kind. The better way is to save until a small amount of simple furniture can be purchased outright. The installment method is also used by established firms of sound reputation to tempt one to buy the latest encyclopædia, or the new musical instrument, or some other much-desired possession. This is safe if one is absolutely sure of a fixed future income; but here again it is better to save first and buy outright. You may say that the installment plan gives the use of the encyclopædia at once, and this is true. But if you have the saving habit, there will already be a fund on which to draw.
The ethics of shopping.—There is no greater test of good breeding and kindness than the tour of a crowded shop; and sometimes the silken thread is strained to the snapping point. Remember that tired human beings are at the counter.
Time your shopping that you may not help to crowd business at the closing hour. If the shop closes at five, leave several minutes before the hour. As a matter of fact it is only to the shopper that the shop closes at the stated hour; some of the hardest work of the day comes after hours. Avoid shopping at the luncheon hour, and on Saturday afternoon at the time of the week when the salespeople are most tired. This is also a hard time for delivery men and boys. Consult here the pamphlets of the Consumers’ League.
In times of stress, the shopkeeper asks you to carry small bundles home with you, and this you should cheerfully do. Some women carry the C.O.D. privilege to an extreme, ordering in this way with the intention of sending certain articles back, thus creating much unnecessary labor.
Purchasing of clothing and household textiles.—Experience is a good teacher, but knowledge so gained is often paid for at high price. It seems an easier way, with much saving of time, money, and energy, for girls to learn beforehand what to guard against in purchasing their household textiles for both clothing and furnishings. Our great-grandmothers were sure their household textiles would wear, for they followed every step of their manufacture and knew they were durable and honest. Conditions changed with the factory system of manufacture, and to-day women know very little about textile fabrics or the making of garments. This ignorance of manufacturing processes results in the increased cost of living by the wasteful expenditures made for household textiles. Women rely on the information given by clerks in stores, often to their sad disadvantage. As we have learned, about 15 to 20 per cent of the family income is usually spent on clothing and household furnishings for a family of four. Is it not necessary then that girls should learn to make the dollars earned buy just as much as possible?
There is need of a pure textile law in order that the adulterations of textiles may be defined. Some of us cannot afford to buy pure linen or all wool, but we do wish to know the percentage of adulterant in order that we may judge whether the materials will meet our needs. It is beyond the power of women now to control the making of fabrics, and the government, therefore, must help to maintain standards and proper supervision of textile labeling. Women can, however, study this problem, and with a knowledge of themanufacture and composition of textiles will come the power to choose wisely, for manufacturers have been able to perpetuate these frauds chiefly because of ignorance. (See the companion volume, “Shelter and Clothing.”)
Some things to remember in purchasing household linens.1. Design is important. French designs are the most beautiful in damasks, Scotch and Irish are good, and German patterns perhaps the least attractive. Weave often affects the wearing quality of linen as well as the appearance. The satin stripes and long threads on surface are apt to wear off quickly and they are sometimes introduced to cover defects beneath. They cannot stand heavy ironing as the closer, more even, weaves.2. Linen is sometimes adulterated with cotton; if bought as union goods one may expect it. If bought for pure linen, ravel the material and untwist warp and woof threads. Do the threads appear long and lustrous? The round threads are best. If cotton has been used, the ends will fly apart and fuzz, if linen they will appear more parallel and pointed at the ends when separated. The cheaper “all linens” are sometimes made from the tow or short refuse. If the fiber is short, it will not last as well as the long. Moistening with the finger was an old-fashioned test. A better one is to use a drop of olive oil. This test must be made at home. Water spreads more rapidly on linen than on cotton. The oil makes the linen fibers more translucent than cotton.3. Cost is a guide. Linen is expensive. Is the price that which should insure a good article? If cheap, beware.4. Feel the cloth. Is it cold and does it feel rather heavy when crushed in the hand? Many buyers in department stores judge by weight. In purchasing table linen less than 41⁄2oz. to the square yard is not worth buying. Above that it improves. Reliable firms will tell the weight. Custom house inspectors judge by the picks or throws of woof to the inch.5. Notice the finish. Is it full of starch and sizing which can be picked off? If so, in washing that will all disappear, leaving a loosely woven instead of a smooth satiny surface. Calendering and beetling make the material smooth and lustrous and reduce the thickness. Do not be deceived. It is better to buy a soft linen than one stiff with starch which will crack.6. In buying table linen the goods received in December and January are apt to be the bleach of the previous summer. Remember that poor bleaching affects the wearing quality. One can sometimes tell by tearing a sample.For quality, beauty, and variety of patterns, Scotch, French, and Irish linens are the best. German damask is excellent. The unbleached will wear much longer, is less expensive, and is bought by many housewives and bleached as used.Damask by the yard for tablecloths is slightly cheaper. Tablecloths from 21⁄2to 3 yards are good size for a medium family of five or six. One dollar a yard is a fair price for everyday linen. The cloth should about equal 1 dozen napkins in cost, and a cloth will usually wear as long as 11⁄2to 2 dozen napkins. Napkins come in three sizes,5⁄8, 17-22 inches;3⁄4, 23-27 inches;7⁄8, 29-31 inches.7. For family towels, huckaback is the most serviceable, although damask is used a great deal (see Fig. 78). Linen towels vary in price from three dollars a dozen up, according to size and quality. Dish towels of linen crash are very serviceable.Fig. 78.—Huckaback towels.Courtesy of J. McCutcheon Co.8. Bedding. Sheets can be purchased ready made in linen or cotton in various sizes. If they are to be made at home, buy sheeting that can be obtained for single, two thirds, or full-sized bed. If cotton, buy in bleached or unbleached condition. Purchase sheets which are long enough to fold over at the top and protect the blankets. There are several good brands of cotton sheeting. “Fruit of the Loom” is one of the best known.Tubing for pillow cases may also be bought. It has no seams, and comes in several widths.9. It is better to purchase a certain amount of new linen annually and gradually supplement that worn than to wait and have all wear out at once.Some things to remember in purchasing silk.1. That pure silk is seldom manufactured. It is nearly always weighted, and a large proportion of weighting is to be guarded against, as it weakens the wearing quality. Up to 30 per cent is not harmful and helps the silk to take the dye. The fact that it is heavy in the hand does not always mean that it is a good piece of material and will wear well—the weight may be due to artificial “weighting” and not silk. Choose rather a softer pliable silk.2. Try the test for strength with the thumb (see “Shelter and Clothing,” page 199) to see if the warp and woof threads are equally strong, or stronger one way than the other. If the latter, it will not wear well.3. Fray out the threads. Do they break easily? If so, the silk is not of good quality. If the warp threads are weak, the silk will split across, if the woof is weak, the silk dress will go in ribbons.4. If you have time before purchasing, test a sample of silk by burning. Place in a porcelain dish and heat gently for thirty minutes. The silk will vanish and the weighting remain.Burn the threads to see if there is cotton in warp or woof. Burn end of sample. If it is the same shape after burned, it is probably weighted.5. Close weaves wear better than more loosely woven ones and soft silks better than stiff. Guard against buying soft silks, however, that are so woven as to pull in the seams when worn.6. Are you buying material made of reeled or spun silk? Bargains are seldom found at silk sales. Should you expect to find pure silk at 50 or 60 cents a yard or as many yards of silk thread B as A on a spool? Remember that the demand for a cheap product means the production of cheap products. Wear something else rather than cheap silks.7. Is the silk adulterated with mercerized cotton or artificial silk? Try the tests. (See “Shelter and Clothing,” page 196.)Some things to remember in purchasing wool.1. Wool mixed with cotton makes a cheaper fabric and should not be sold for all wool. It wears well, but is not as warm as all wool. Garments made of it do not keep their shape as well. Woolens are often adulterated in felting. Pull the closely woven fabric apart and untwist the fibers to see if cotton is present.2. The burning test will help in deciding on the composition. (See “Shelter and Clothing,” page 198.)3. A good woolen or worsted fabric can always be remade. The inexpensive is not cheap unless you wish something which costs little but does not look well or wear well. One should not expect to get blankets of all wool for two dollars a pair. They cost five or six.4. Shoddy is one kind of recovered wool and is used to cheapencost of all-wool material. It can be detected because of shortness of the staple of wool, but when mixed is difficult to see.5. The weave of material affects the wearing quality. A close twill weave is more durable than a basket weave.Some things to remember about color.1.Blue.Dark blue in woolen material or gingham usually fades little. Light blue is not as durable in color.2.Red.Woolen material of this color wears well and usually fades little. Red cotton when washed looks less brilliant. It soon fades by washing.3.Black and gray.Woolen materials of gray, white, and black or in combination are generally satisfactory. Cotton materials of gray or black are apt to show starch in washing.4.Lavender.This is a poor color to buy. It fades easily in cotton goods.5.Pink.Fades with washing. If a deep shade be bought it may be satisfactory.6.Green.Usually very unsatisfactory. In good high-priced ginghams it may not fade, but in cheap ones it is apt to turn yellow.7.Brown.Good usually in ginghams, but likely to fade in woolen materials.8. See chapters on costume design and dressmaking in “Shelter and Clothing,” for suggestions in relation to colors one should wear.The above brief suggestions must be considered in the light of the knowledge gained from the study of the chapters on textiles in the companion volume, “Shelter and Clothing.”
Some things to remember in purchasing household linens.
1. Design is important. French designs are the most beautiful in damasks, Scotch and Irish are good, and German patterns perhaps the least attractive. Weave often affects the wearing quality of linen as well as the appearance. The satin stripes and long threads on surface are apt to wear off quickly and they are sometimes introduced to cover defects beneath. They cannot stand heavy ironing as the closer, more even, weaves.
2. Linen is sometimes adulterated with cotton; if bought as union goods one may expect it. If bought for pure linen, ravel the material and untwist warp and woof threads. Do the threads appear long and lustrous? The round threads are best. If cotton has been used, the ends will fly apart and fuzz, if linen they will appear more parallel and pointed at the ends when separated. The cheaper “all linens” are sometimes made from the tow or short refuse. If the fiber is short, it will not last as well as the long. Moistening with the finger was an old-fashioned test. A better one is to use a drop of olive oil. This test must be made at home. Water spreads more rapidly on linen than on cotton. The oil makes the linen fibers more translucent than cotton.
3. Cost is a guide. Linen is expensive. Is the price that which should insure a good article? If cheap, beware.
4. Feel the cloth. Is it cold and does it feel rather heavy when crushed in the hand? Many buyers in department stores judge by weight. In purchasing table linen less than 41⁄2oz. to the square yard is not worth buying. Above that it improves. Reliable firms will tell the weight. Custom house inspectors judge by the picks or throws of woof to the inch.
5. Notice the finish. Is it full of starch and sizing which can be picked off? If so, in washing that will all disappear, leaving a loosely woven instead of a smooth satiny surface. Calendering and beetling make the material smooth and lustrous and reduce the thickness. Do not be deceived. It is better to buy a soft linen than one stiff with starch which will crack.
6. In buying table linen the goods received in December and January are apt to be the bleach of the previous summer. Remember that poor bleaching affects the wearing quality. One can sometimes tell by tearing a sample.
For quality, beauty, and variety of patterns, Scotch, French, and Irish linens are the best. German damask is excellent. The unbleached will wear much longer, is less expensive, and is bought by many housewives and bleached as used.
Damask by the yard for tablecloths is slightly cheaper. Tablecloths from 21⁄2to 3 yards are good size for a medium family of five or six. One dollar a yard is a fair price for everyday linen. The cloth should about equal 1 dozen napkins in cost, and a cloth will usually wear as long as 11⁄2to 2 dozen napkins. Napkins come in three sizes,5⁄8, 17-22 inches;3⁄4, 23-27 inches;7⁄8, 29-31 inches.
7. For family towels, huckaback is the most serviceable, although damask is used a great deal (see Fig. 78). Linen towels vary in price from three dollars a dozen up, according to size and quality. Dish towels of linen crash are very serviceable.
Fig. 78.—Huckaback towels.Courtesy of J. McCutcheon Co.
8. Bedding. Sheets can be purchased ready made in linen or cotton in various sizes. If they are to be made at home, buy sheeting that can be obtained for single, two thirds, or full-sized bed. If cotton, buy in bleached or unbleached condition. Purchase sheets which are long enough to fold over at the top and protect the blankets. There are several good brands of cotton sheeting. “Fruit of the Loom” is one of the best known.
Tubing for pillow cases may also be bought. It has no seams, and comes in several widths.
9. It is better to purchase a certain amount of new linen annually and gradually supplement that worn than to wait and have all wear out at once.
Some things to remember in purchasing silk.
1. That pure silk is seldom manufactured. It is nearly always weighted, and a large proportion of weighting is to be guarded against, as it weakens the wearing quality. Up to 30 per cent is not harmful and helps the silk to take the dye. The fact that it is heavy in the hand does not always mean that it is a good piece of material and will wear well—the weight may be due to artificial “weighting” and not silk. Choose rather a softer pliable silk.
2. Try the test for strength with the thumb (see “Shelter and Clothing,” page 199) to see if the warp and woof threads are equally strong, or stronger one way than the other. If the latter, it will not wear well.
3. Fray out the threads. Do they break easily? If so, the silk is not of good quality. If the warp threads are weak, the silk will split across, if the woof is weak, the silk dress will go in ribbons.
4. If you have time before purchasing, test a sample of silk by burning. Place in a porcelain dish and heat gently for thirty minutes. The silk will vanish and the weighting remain.
Burn the threads to see if there is cotton in warp or woof. Burn end of sample. If it is the same shape after burned, it is probably weighted.
5. Close weaves wear better than more loosely woven ones and soft silks better than stiff. Guard against buying soft silks, however, that are so woven as to pull in the seams when worn.
6. Are you buying material made of reeled or spun silk? Bargains are seldom found at silk sales. Should you expect to find pure silk at 50 or 60 cents a yard or as many yards of silk thread B as A on a spool? Remember that the demand for a cheap product means the production of cheap products. Wear something else rather than cheap silks.
7. Is the silk adulterated with mercerized cotton or artificial silk? Try the tests. (See “Shelter and Clothing,” page 196.)
Some things to remember in purchasing wool.
1. Wool mixed with cotton makes a cheaper fabric and should not be sold for all wool. It wears well, but is not as warm as all wool. Garments made of it do not keep their shape as well. Woolens are often adulterated in felting. Pull the closely woven fabric apart and untwist the fibers to see if cotton is present.
2. The burning test will help in deciding on the composition. (See “Shelter and Clothing,” page 198.)
3. A good woolen or worsted fabric can always be remade. The inexpensive is not cheap unless you wish something which costs little but does not look well or wear well. One should not expect to get blankets of all wool for two dollars a pair. They cost five or six.
4. Shoddy is one kind of recovered wool and is used to cheapencost of all-wool material. It can be detected because of shortness of the staple of wool, but when mixed is difficult to see.
5. The weave of material affects the wearing quality. A close twill weave is more durable than a basket weave.
Some things to remember about color.
1.Blue.Dark blue in woolen material or gingham usually fades little. Light blue is not as durable in color.
2.Red.Woolen material of this color wears well and usually fades little. Red cotton when washed looks less brilliant. It soon fades by washing.
3.Black and gray.Woolen materials of gray, white, and black or in combination are generally satisfactory. Cotton materials of gray or black are apt to show starch in washing.
4.Lavender.This is a poor color to buy. It fades easily in cotton goods.
5.Pink.Fades with washing. If a deep shade be bought it may be satisfactory.
6.Green.Usually very unsatisfactory. In good high-priced ginghams it may not fade, but in cheap ones it is apt to turn yellow.
7.Brown.Good usually in ginghams, but likely to fade in woolen materials.
8. See chapters on costume design and dressmaking in “Shelter and Clothing,” for suggestions in relation to colors one should wear.
The above brief suggestions must be considered in the light of the knowledge gained from the study of the chapters on textiles in the companion volume, “Shelter and Clothing.”
In purchasing any materials for clothing or household furnishings, remember that demand causes production and those who are intelligent will make the right demands in the right places. Insist on the honest labeling of goods and demand that for which you pay. Why should cotton manufacturers label handkerchiefs which are cotton “pure linen,” and sell them at ten cents? We too should know linen cannot be bought at that price. The United States government employs experts to examine the standards of textiles used in making army, navy, and other uniforms, and will accept onlythose materials from the contracting manufacturers which stand their tests. If a fuller discussion of the buying of textile materials is desired, see Woolman and McGowan’s “Textiles,” particularly the chapters on consumer’s judgment of textiles, on social and economic conditions, and on clothing budgets.
1. What rules should be borne in mind in planning to buy the furnishings for a home?
2. What should guide one in relation to where to buy?
3. What methods of ordering facilitate shopping?
4. What is meant by the ethics of shopping?
5. What important facts should you have in mind in buying table linen?
6. What knowledge should you have before going to purchase a silk dress?
7. What will you think about in selecting colors for your garments?
8. Mention five important facts to remember in purchasing wool fabrics.
9. How does the United States government protect itself in the purchase of textiles?
10. What knowledge should a wise shopper possess?
HOUSEWIFERY
This old-fashioned word is used here to include the methods and processes connected with the actual work of the house, excepting the cookery, sewing, and laundering, which have fuller treatment elsewhere. This department of household management is a combination of sanitation and the economics of labor.
Order in place.—Keep articles of a kind together conveniently arranged in places set apart for them, these places to be easily accessible. Make an inventory of household goods in a card file,—household linen, personal apparel, including lists of clothing put away for summer or winter, dishes, and valuables. Each housekeeper must make a scheme that suits her own needs, but a few suggestions may be helpful.
Keepbed linenandtowels, piled preferably on shelves, near bedrooms and bathrooms, marked and numbered. Put the clean underneath when they come from the laundry.Clothingshould be kept in an orderly way by each member of the family. Winter clothing and furs should be cleansed for putting away, protected from moths by wrapping in paper, hanging in tar bags, putting in cedar chests, or in trunks with some strong odored substances,—moth balls or cedar oil. Camphor is too expensive. Summer clothing should be washed and put away unstarched and unironed.Dishes and silvershould be carefully arranged in very definite places, and counted often enough to keep account of breakage and loss.
Keepbed linenandtowels, piled preferably on shelves, near bedrooms and bathrooms, marked and numbered. Put the clean underneath when they come from the laundry.
Clothingshould be kept in an orderly way by each member of the family. Winter clothing and furs should be cleansed for putting away, protected from moths by wrapping in paper, hanging in tar bags, putting in cedar chests, or in trunks with some strong odored substances,—moth balls or cedar oil. Camphor is too expensive. Summer clothing should be washed and put away unstarched and unironed.
Dishes and silvershould be carefully arranged in very definite places, and counted often enough to keep account of breakage and loss.
Fig. 79.—Madam, who keeps your house?Courtesy of the Woman’s City Club, Chicago.
Brooms,brushes,dusters, andcleansing materialsshould have a place of their own, well ventilated when possible, and all articles put away clean.
Brooms,brushes,dusters, andcleansing materialsshould have a place of their own, well ventilated when possible, and all articles put away clean.
Order in work and division of labor.—This depends so largely upon the number of workers, and upon the equipment of the house that no definite plan can be made for all. The question must be differently answered for the woman who has a helper one day a week, or with one or two, or with a large staff of workers. However, there should be some definite plan for the days of the week and the hours of the day, and some division of work among the members of the family or between the family and paid helpers. The young people of the family should each have some regular piece of work, at least in their own rooms; and the paid helpers should have a definite plan given them, including some hours to themselves, as regular as possible. There are emergencies that upset even the most perfect system, and these must be met as they come, but a fair amount of work at regular times should be the system.
“Domestic service” is too large a social and economic problem to discuss at length here. Miss Jane Addams calls it “belated industry,” meaning that in domestic work we are far behind the productive industries of commerce in organization. We are trying experiments in putting work out, and having helpers come in, and in time we may bring order out of chaos when employers and employees are all properly trained and have the right relation to each other.
Processes of housewifery.—Good working equipment, including labor-saving apparatus, is an essential; and we must have knowledge of the effect of different cleansing materials on fabrics, wood, paint, glass, and metal.
Equipment.—Broomsshould be made of pliable straw (broom corn), be evenly made, with a light and comfortable handle.
Brushesmay include the whisk broom, soft brush of bristles both short and long handled for floors, a long handled brush of wool or soft material for walls, ceilings, and cornices, a soft brush for furniture, a thin brush for radiators, a silver brush, and stiff scrubbing brush. The variety of brushes at a furnishing shop is very large, and interesting to study. It is economy to buy good quality when you can, and if cleaned and not abused they last a long time. Wash the brushes in soapsuds and water, drain and dry before putting away. A bamboo beater is convenient. The dustpan should have a narrow cover at the handle side, and a strong handle.
Carpet sweepersprevent dust from flying and are easy to use, but inclined to wear off the pile of the carpet.
Vacuum cleanersare a necessity in crowded city quarters, where we cannot beat and shake dusty carpets and rugs out of windows, on the roof, or in the street, on account of our neighbors. That we cannot all have them does not make them less necessary. While they may involve no less muscular exertion they remove dust and old dirt in a remarkable way from fabrics, and are very useful for taking dirt from cracks in the floor and woodwork and from upholstered furniture. The principle of operation differs with different makes, and some are less effective than others, but there are several patterns that do good work and are not expensive. Experiment with one at the first opportunity. A room cleaned in this way is markedly different in odor from a room that has been swept with a broom, even when this is well done.
A good vacuum cleaner must have an air conveying system, a separator or other means of disposal of the material picked up, and a vacuum producer. They may be divided, according to the method employed, into those worked by bellows, by fan, by rotary pump and piston pump. This is a problem to take to the class in physics.
Cleaning cloths.—Have a good supply of cheesecloth dusters, and heavier cloth for work on the floors. A sponge and chamois are useful. The mop, which is a cloth or fiber fabric on a handle, is something that we ought to banish when we can, for it is hard to keep clean, and is a trap for bacteria. A substitute for the common mop is a long handle with a cross bar covered with corrugated rubber, which is held down on the cloth, and rubbed back and forth but not fastened to the cloth. Avoid the use of linty old cloths, because the thread and lint clog the traps and drains.
Cleaning cloths should be boiled in strong soap suds, rinsed, and thoroughly dried before putting away. This is a difficult rule to enforce, for it is a temptation to tuck such things away where they will not show. Watch this matter as you do the garbage pail. When a cloth is too dirty to wash clean, burn it or send it away with paper refuse.
Cleaning materials.—Air, sunshine, and water are the great purifiers, plus muscular energy or the power of machinery, but we frequently use chemical aids. These should all be kept in stock.
Soaps and alkalies.—White and yellow soap, some washing powder, sal soda, caustic soda, household ammonia. Buy these in quantities if you have room to store them, and if they will not be used too lavishly because the supply is large. The soap is not much cheaper by the box, but it hardens with age, and then it wastes less rapidly when used.Oils and polishes.—Crude oil, kerosene, a mixture of linseed oil, vinegar, and turpentine, one part each, cottonseed oil, alcohol.Acids.—A solution of oxalic acid marked poison. Vinegar is on hand among kitchen supplies.Gritty substances.—Rotten stone, whiting, some gritty soap of a kind that does not scratch, a gritty powder, or fine sand for coarse work.Disinfectant and deodorizers.—A weak solution of carbolic acidmarked poison, chloride of lime, or some reliable preparation[26](though these are rather expensive), rock salt, and coarse common salt.
Soaps and alkalies.—White and yellow soap, some washing powder, sal soda, caustic soda, household ammonia. Buy these in quantities if you have room to store them, and if they will not be used too lavishly because the supply is large. The soap is not much cheaper by the box, but it hardens with age, and then it wastes less rapidly when used.
Oils and polishes.—Crude oil, kerosene, a mixture of linseed oil, vinegar, and turpentine, one part each, cottonseed oil, alcohol.
Acids.—A solution of oxalic acid marked poison. Vinegar is on hand among kitchen supplies.
Gritty substances.—Rotten stone, whiting, some gritty soap of a kind that does not scratch, a gritty powder, or fine sand for coarse work.
Disinfectant and deodorizers.—A weak solution of carbolic acidmarked poison, chloride of lime, or some reliable preparation[26](though these are rather expensive), rock salt, and coarse common salt.
Methods of cleaning.—We must first consider what the substance is that has to be removed. The fabrics and upholstery used in furnishing catch dust which contains lint, grit, organic material from our bodies, and bacteria. Fabrics also become spotted (see next chapter). The walls and ceilings, floors and cracks, catch dust. All wood and glass surfaces become soiled from the touch of even clean fingers, and the moisture of the air mixed with dust dulls them. Metal surfaces oxidize, and this oxidized layer must be rubbed off.
To clean fabrics.—If you live in a suburb or in the country, brush, shake, and beat articles to be cleaned out of doors, noticing the way of the wind that the dust may not be carried back into the house.To cleanse a rug, spread it on the grass, rub with a medium stiff brush with white soap solution on the wrong side, turn it over, and rinse with water from the hose; or better still, tack it by two corners to a wooden wall, and then wash with hose. The city dweller must resort to the vacuum cleaner, or rely upon a cleaning establishment. The other alternative is to shake out the dust in the room, remove each article as it is cleaned, let the dust settle, and take it out as well as it can be. One apartment dweller heard this remark rise from the window below her: “Shut the window quick. Those dirty people upstairs are brushing a rug out the window!”Painted surfacesand woodwork should be wiped off with a soft cloth wrung out of tepid water. A small amount of neutral white soap solution in the water can be used for paint if it is greasy, but alkalies are ruinous.A highly polished surface(piano) is cleaned by washing witha sponge and tepid water, and rubbing until dry with a wet chamois wrung out of cold water. This method was learned from a piano polisher, and it works excellently. A dry chamois streaks the surface.The wood of furnitureis kept clean by rubbing with a soft dry cloth, but once in a while needs cleaning with crude oil or the mixture of oil, turpentine, and vinegar. Bureau drawers need watching for finger marks.Glassis best cleaned by rubbing on a mixture of whiting and water. Leave it to dry and rub off with a dry cloth. A fine gritty soap comes for this purpose. Ammonia and water and a soft cloth work well, the success depending upon the final polishing. Very soft tissue paper is satisfactory for polishing.Marble, porcelain, and enamelneed little more than white soap suds, rinsed off and the surface dried. If spotted, use the finest kind of metal soap.Metals.—Fine silver and plated ware should be kept polished by the daily careful washing, rinsing in hot water. Silver will spot and tarnish. Use whiting and alcohol, let it dry on, and rub off with a clean cloth or chamois.The silver powders sold at the silversmith’s are very good, but the patent powders and liquids should not be used, as they remove too much of the silver.Brass and copperare polished with rotten stone and oil. If the metal is spotted, use oxalic acid solution with the rotten stone. After rubbing well, the metal should be washed off in hot soap suds and finished with a dry cloth.Nickel platekeeps bright if kept clean by daily dry rubbing.
To clean fabrics.—If you live in a suburb or in the country, brush, shake, and beat articles to be cleaned out of doors, noticing the way of the wind that the dust may not be carried back into the house.
To cleanse a rug, spread it on the grass, rub with a medium stiff brush with white soap solution on the wrong side, turn it over, and rinse with water from the hose; or better still, tack it by two corners to a wooden wall, and then wash with hose. The city dweller must resort to the vacuum cleaner, or rely upon a cleaning establishment. The other alternative is to shake out the dust in the room, remove each article as it is cleaned, let the dust settle, and take it out as well as it can be. One apartment dweller heard this remark rise from the window below her: “Shut the window quick. Those dirty people upstairs are brushing a rug out the window!”
Painted surfacesand woodwork should be wiped off with a soft cloth wrung out of tepid water. A small amount of neutral white soap solution in the water can be used for paint if it is greasy, but alkalies are ruinous.
A highly polished surface(piano) is cleaned by washing witha sponge and tepid water, and rubbing until dry with a wet chamois wrung out of cold water. This method was learned from a piano polisher, and it works excellently. A dry chamois streaks the surface.
The wood of furnitureis kept clean by rubbing with a soft dry cloth, but once in a while needs cleaning with crude oil or the mixture of oil, turpentine, and vinegar. Bureau drawers need watching for finger marks.
Glassis best cleaned by rubbing on a mixture of whiting and water. Leave it to dry and rub off with a dry cloth. A fine gritty soap comes for this purpose. Ammonia and water and a soft cloth work well, the success depending upon the final polishing. Very soft tissue paper is satisfactory for polishing.
Marble, porcelain, and enamelneed little more than white soap suds, rinsed off and the surface dried. If spotted, use the finest kind of metal soap.
Metals.—Fine silver and plated ware should be kept polished by the daily careful washing, rinsing in hot water. Silver will spot and tarnish. Use whiting and alcohol, let it dry on, and rub off with a clean cloth or chamois.
The silver powders sold at the silversmith’s are very good, but the patent powders and liquids should not be used, as they remove too much of the silver.
Brass and copperare polished with rotten stone and oil. If the metal is spotted, use oxalic acid solution with the rotten stone. After rubbing well, the metal should be washed off in hot soap suds and finished with a dry cloth.
Nickel platekeeps bright if kept clean by daily dry rubbing.
Care of rooms.—The bedroom.—The daily care includes airing the room and its closets, airing and making the bed, dusting, removing lint and threads from the floor, and removing slops and bringing fresh water if bathing apparatus is in the room.
To make the bed.—The amount of airing of the bedclothes depends somewhat upon the weather; bed linen absorbs too much damp if placed by the window on a rainy or foggy day. Pull back the bedclothes and hang them over a chair set front to the foot ofthe bed, seeing that the bedclothes do not drag on the floor. On a bright, fresh day remove all the clothes and hang them singly near the window. If there is a screen in the room, this is convenient for this purpose. The blankets should be hung out on the line once in a while, and washed twice a year. One important point in the cleanliness of the bed is a pad or thick cloth placed on the mattress under the sheet. The mattress should be sunned and aired often, and beaten or cleaned with the vacuum cleaner.To make the bed, place the cover on the mattress, lay the under sheet straight, tuck in firmly at top and bottom, and fold the sides under straight, making angles at the corners. Put each piece on separately, turning the upper sheet down over the others. The cover is sometimes placed over all, and a strip to match over the pillows.Care of the washstand.—This is all important, and cannot be neglected a day, without causing an unpleasant odor. The jars containing slops should be rinsed in cold water, washed out in warm soap suds, dried, and aired. If the ware is china, hot water may crackle the glaze, and then it is impossible to remove odors. Wash and dry all the small articles and wipe out and refill the water pitcher.Care of the bedroom at night.—Fold back, or remove the covers, and lay the bedclothes partly back. See that drinking water is in the room, and lighting conveniences.
To make the bed.—The amount of airing of the bedclothes depends somewhat upon the weather; bed linen absorbs too much damp if placed by the window on a rainy or foggy day. Pull back the bedclothes and hang them over a chair set front to the foot ofthe bed, seeing that the bedclothes do not drag on the floor. On a bright, fresh day remove all the clothes and hang them singly near the window. If there is a screen in the room, this is convenient for this purpose. The blankets should be hung out on the line once in a while, and washed twice a year. One important point in the cleanliness of the bed is a pad or thick cloth placed on the mattress under the sheet. The mattress should be sunned and aired often, and beaten or cleaned with the vacuum cleaner.
To make the bed, place the cover on the mattress, lay the under sheet straight, tuck in firmly at top and bottom, and fold the sides under straight, making angles at the corners. Put each piece on separately, turning the upper sheet down over the others. The cover is sometimes placed over all, and a strip to match over the pillows.
Care of the washstand.—This is all important, and cannot be neglected a day, without causing an unpleasant odor. The jars containing slops should be rinsed in cold water, washed out in warm soap suds, dried, and aired. If the ware is china, hot water may crackle the glaze, and then it is impossible to remove odors. Wash and dry all the small articles and wipe out and refill the water pitcher.
Care of the bedroom at night.—Fold back, or remove the covers, and lay the bedclothes partly back. See that drinking water is in the room, and lighting conveniences.
The living room, dining room, and halls.—The daily care consists in setting furniture and such small articles as the pictures and ornaments straight, removing lint and dust from the floor, dusting wherever needed.
The weekly cleaning of all rooms.—Whether a thorough cleaning is needed weekly, depends upon the situation of the house, and the number of people who use the rooms. The rooms in a country house set in wide green spaces do not need cleaning so often as those of a city house.
General order for all rooms.—Dust all small articles, place them together and cover them. Dust and clean off furniture and take the lighter pieces from the room. Cover what remains. Cleanthe textile fabrics in the best way available. Brush the walls, with a special brush, or soft cloth on a broom. Dust and cover pictures. Brush the rugs, or use vacuum cleaner. If the floor is hardwood, brush it with a soft brush, taking long, steady strokes from corner and sides to center. Take up dust in pan, and carry away to burn, or put in dust can at once. Wipe the floor with moist cloth, or with oiled cloth.If there is a carpet and a broom is to be used, scatter pieces of wet paper over it, moisten the broom, and sweep as directed for brushing, using steady strokes and not allowing the dust to fly. The broom should be washed and dried. If dust flies, allow it time to settle. Dust the surfaces left exposed. Wipe off the woodwork if necessary, remove covers, and replace all articles. To have the room perfectly clean, windows should be washed, but if this is not convenient at the time, or the weather is bad, rub them and dust the sashes. Wash mirrors and the glass of pictures. This means much labor, and some people cannot accomplish it every week; and different rooms should have different cleaning days. But such thorough cleaning occasionally is necessary for keeping all articles in good condition and also for the health of the family.The old-fashioned yearly house cleaning seems hardly necessary if cleaning is well done through the year, but in both fall and spring some extra freshening may be necessary in the way of thorough cleansing of textiles and furniture. All closets should have everything removed from them and the whole closet cleansed. Drawers should come out, be emptied, washed and aired, and fresh white or brown paper put in all.
General order for all rooms.—Dust all small articles, place them together and cover them. Dust and clean off furniture and take the lighter pieces from the room. Cover what remains. Cleanthe textile fabrics in the best way available. Brush the walls, with a special brush, or soft cloth on a broom. Dust and cover pictures. Brush the rugs, or use vacuum cleaner. If the floor is hardwood, brush it with a soft brush, taking long, steady strokes from corner and sides to center. Take up dust in pan, and carry away to burn, or put in dust can at once. Wipe the floor with moist cloth, or with oiled cloth.
If there is a carpet and a broom is to be used, scatter pieces of wet paper over it, moisten the broom, and sweep as directed for brushing, using steady strokes and not allowing the dust to fly. The broom should be washed and dried. If dust flies, allow it time to settle. Dust the surfaces left exposed. Wipe off the woodwork if necessary, remove covers, and replace all articles. To have the room perfectly clean, windows should be washed, but if this is not convenient at the time, or the weather is bad, rub them and dust the sashes. Wash mirrors and the glass of pictures. This means much labor, and some people cannot accomplish it every week; and different rooms should have different cleaning days. But such thorough cleaning occasionally is necessary for keeping all articles in good condition and also for the health of the family.
The old-fashioned yearly house cleaning seems hardly necessary if cleaning is well done through the year, but in both fall and spring some extra freshening may be necessary in the way of thorough cleansing of textiles and furniture. All closets should have everything removed from them and the whole closet cleansed. Drawers should come out, be emptied, washed and aired, and fresh white or brown paper put in all.
The bathroom and toilet.—This needs very particular care, no matter what the type may be. All drains and traps should be flushed daily, and a solution of caustic soda put down weekly. If there is an odor about the water closet, try salt first, and then some chloride preparation. The basin, the tub, and the seat and basin of the toilet should be thoroughly washed daily. When the bathroom is used by more than one person, all should be taught to leave all the toilet equipment perfectly clean. If the toilet is not of the water-closet type, even greater care should be taken. Everythingmust be kept scrubbed clean, and chloride of lime should be put down daily, if there is not a removable pail with earth. (See “Shelter and Clothing,” p. 48.)
Care of lamps.—If kerosene is used, this is an important feature of housework.
Have a tray for holding necessary articles, soft cloth, paper, strong, sharp scissors, lamp chimney brush. When the lamp is to be cleaned, set it upon this tray. Take off all the easily removable parts. Fill the lamp through a funnel, and do not let the kerosene run over. Wipe off the charred wick with paper, and wipe the burner. Wash off the lamp in warm soap suds, wash and polish the chimney and shade, and replace. If you cannot get rid of odor, take the burner apart, boil it in a solution of washing soda, and put in a new wick. Cleaning a lamp is not nearly so disagreeable as many people think it, when it is done with good will. To shirk it means an unpleasant odor in the room and a poor light. Always fill the lamp in the daytime and keep it away from the fire.
Have a tray for holding necessary articles, soft cloth, paper, strong, sharp scissors, lamp chimney brush. When the lamp is to be cleaned, set it upon this tray. Take off all the easily removable parts. Fill the lamp through a funnel, and do not let the kerosene run over. Wipe off the charred wick with paper, and wipe the burner. Wash off the lamp in warm soap suds, wash and polish the chimney and shade, and replace. If you cannot get rid of odor, take the burner apart, boil it in a solution of washing soda, and put in a new wick. Cleaning a lamp is not nearly so disagreeable as many people think it, when it is done with good will. To shirk it means an unpleasant odor in the room and a poor light. Always fill the lamp in the daytime and keep it away from the fire.
Household insects.—Keep out flies and mosquitoes by screens, but see first that your premises are clean, and do what you can in the whole neighborhood.
Flies breed in dirty stables and mosquitoes in standing water. The stables must be cleaned and kept so, and water drained off or kerosene put upon it. Mosquitoes will breed in water in an empty milk bottle or old tomato can. If flies enter the house, kill them in some way. Wire or net fly killers cost only ten cents, and do good work. If the flies are very numerous, catch them in wire traps, or burn pyrethrum powder in the room. At night when they are on the ceiling, catch them in a glass of hot water and soap, not quite full, by holding the glass under the fly and gently knocking the glass against the ceiling. If the ceiling is high, tack an empty can on the end of an old broom stick and set the glass in that.Clothing moths are kept out by precautions already mentioned.If bed bugs appear, go over the bed with great care and examine the bedstead. Wash it off with kerosene, putting this well into the cracks. A single insect may be brought in on the clothing. If they continue to appear, all wall paper should be removed, woodworkvarnished or painted. It may be necessary to resort to fumigation, but this should be done by an expert. Croton or water bugs are difficult to destroy, if they are once in a house. No garbage should be left about, to attract them at night. There are powders that drive them away, and another remedy is sulphur paste, which comes for the purpose, and which may be spread on slices of potato. The U. S. Department of Agriculture issues free bulletins on the suppression of household insects.
Flies breed in dirty stables and mosquitoes in standing water. The stables must be cleaned and kept so, and water drained off or kerosene put upon it. Mosquitoes will breed in water in an empty milk bottle or old tomato can. If flies enter the house, kill them in some way. Wire or net fly killers cost only ten cents, and do good work. If the flies are very numerous, catch them in wire traps, or burn pyrethrum powder in the room. At night when they are on the ceiling, catch them in a glass of hot water and soap, not quite full, by holding the glass under the fly and gently knocking the glass against the ceiling. If the ceiling is high, tack an empty can on the end of an old broom stick and set the glass in that.
Clothing moths are kept out by precautions already mentioned.
If bed bugs appear, go over the bed with great care and examine the bedstead. Wash it off with kerosene, putting this well into the cracks. A single insect may be brought in on the clothing. If they continue to appear, all wall paper should be removed, woodworkvarnished or painted. It may be necessary to resort to fumigation, but this should be done by an expert. Croton or water bugs are difficult to destroy, if they are once in a house. No garbage should be left about, to attract them at night. There are powders that drive them away, and another remedy is sulphur paste, which comes for the purpose, and which may be spread on slices of potato. The U. S. Department of Agriculture issues free bulletins on the suppression of household insects.
Precautions against fire.—So many disastrous fires occur as a result of a careless act that we need to train ourselves in caution. The matches used should be of the safety type. They should be blown out, never shaken, and never thrown into a basket of papers. When matches are used, always have a small fire-proof receptacle in each room. Smokers are often careless in regard to their matches, cigars, and pipes. Be careful in summer to see that a breeze cannot blow some light curtain over a candle or lamp.
If a kettle of fat catches fire, pour on sand, but never water. As a general rule, extinguish a flame by covering it rather than by throwing on water.If clothing catches on fire, wrap a rug or any large woolen article tightly around the body. To rush into the air is fatal.If a towel or apron catches fire, roll it up quickly before the blaze spreads. This can be done without injury to the hands.Small fire extinguishers are not expensive. Most kinds contain a solution of soda and a bottle of sulphuric acid which mix when the extinguisher is inverted, and throw out a stream of water charged with gas from a small hose. This works well just as a fire starts. Extinguishers arranged to throw a stream of carbon tetrachloride are also on the market.
If a kettle of fat catches fire, pour on sand, but never water. As a general rule, extinguish a flame by covering it rather than by throwing on water.
If clothing catches on fire, wrap a rug or any large woolen article tightly around the body. To rush into the air is fatal.
If a towel or apron catches fire, roll it up quickly before the blaze spreads. This can be done without injury to the hands.
Small fire extinguishers are not expensive. Most kinds contain a solution of soda and a bottle of sulphuric acid which mix when the extinguisher is inverted, and throw out a stream of water charged with gas from a small hose. This works well just as a fire starts. Extinguishers arranged to throw a stream of carbon tetrachloride are also on the market.
Repairs.—Too often in planning the budget, and the daily work, the housekeeper forgets to allow for the constant wear and tear on the house itself, and its furnishings; but to preserve the beauty and usefulness of both the house and furniture, as much thought and time are necessary as for therepair of clothing. In addition to the care and cleaning, there must be a constant attention to small repairs.
Inspecting and reporting.—Have a series of cards in the card file, or pages in the notebook, where needed repairs may be jotted down. Have a regular time for looking over different parts of the house; and give a brief daily look as you pass from room to room. Each member of the family should be asked to report whatever goes wrong in his province,—a leaky faucet, a squeaky door, or broken castor, a tear in a curtain, a shade roller that does not work.For large repairs, like a leak in the water or waste system or shingle on a roof, a trained worker is needed; but for small repairs a special worker from outside is too expensive, and there needs to be a handy person in the house, who can put in a screw, and use a monkey wrench, touch up the paint or varnish, or mend the wall paper. It is pleasant work, and in these days when schools teach so much handicraft, there should be some one in the family glad to do it.A repair outfit.—Have a shelf somewhere for the repair “kit.” Look at the woodwork of your house, and see what is needed; whether paint, or varnish, an oil mixture or stain, or all of them. Have on hand a small can of each, and bottles of alcohol, turpentine, and glue. Two or three paint brushes of good quality and of different sizes are needed. Keep a bundle of wall paper including pieces of all the patterns on the walls. A box of tools is needed, including a hammer, gimlet, screw driver, monkey wrench, a sharp knife, with boxes of nails and screws of mixed kinds and sizes such as may be found at any hardware store.
Inspecting and reporting.—Have a series of cards in the card file, or pages in the notebook, where needed repairs may be jotted down. Have a regular time for looking over different parts of the house; and give a brief daily look as you pass from room to room. Each member of the family should be asked to report whatever goes wrong in his province,—a leaky faucet, a squeaky door, or broken castor, a tear in a curtain, a shade roller that does not work.
For large repairs, like a leak in the water or waste system or shingle on a roof, a trained worker is needed; but for small repairs a special worker from outside is too expensive, and there needs to be a handy person in the house, who can put in a screw, and use a monkey wrench, touch up the paint or varnish, or mend the wall paper. It is pleasant work, and in these days when schools teach so much handicraft, there should be some one in the family glad to do it.
A repair outfit.—Have a shelf somewhere for the repair “kit.” Look at the woodwork of your house, and see what is needed; whether paint, or varnish, an oil mixture or stain, or all of them. Have on hand a small can of each, and bottles of alcohol, turpentine, and glue. Two or three paint brushes of good quality and of different sizes are needed. Keep a bundle of wall paper including pieces of all the patterns on the walls. A box of tools is needed, including a hammer, gimlet, screw driver, monkey wrench, a sharp knife, with boxes of nails and screws of mixed kinds and sizes such as may be found at any hardware store.
1. What are the reasons for keeping an inventory of household goods?
2. How should winter garments be cared for in summer?
3. Obtain a price list and estimate the cost of an equipment of brooms and cleansing materials.
4. What are the advantages of a vacuum cleaner over a broom?
5. What are the best methods of removing dust? Of cleaning paint and woodwork and glass?
6. How are metals cleaned?
7. What are the most important points in caring for a bedroom?
8. What is the order of work in a thorough cleaning of a room, and why?
9. How should plumbing be cleaned?
10. Is the old-fashioned order of work the best now—Monday, washing; Tuesday, ironing; Wednesday, mending; Thursday and Friday, cleaning; and Saturday, baking?
11. How may all the family help to some extent in household work?
12. Can you plan the best order of work for a day for the home worker who has no help but some one to wash and iron?
13. What are the dangers from different household insects?
14. If a kerosene lamp suddenly blazes up, what should you do?
15. What is the principle involved in putting out a fire?
16. What are some of the simple methods of fire prevention?
17. What simple repairing can be done by members of the family?
LAUNDERING AND DRY CLEANSING
“Washing is a necessity, ironing a luxury.” This terse sentence expresses very clearly the relative value of the two large divisions of the laundering process. The thorough washing of clothing is a most important branch of household sanitation, upon which the health of the family and of the whole community depends, for disease is communicable by means of soiled garments and those that are imperfectly cleansed in unsanitary houses and possibly in commercial laundries. The ideal city will have many large and spotlessly clean laundries, where skilled labor intelligently directed will insure clothing as clean as it can possibly be made.
There is an æsthetic element in laundering as well, for good washing methods give a tinted white to fabrics that it is a pleasure to see, and ironing makes a smoothness that is pleasant to the touch, and brings out beauty of design, as in damasks and embroideries. There is an economic feature, too, in that poor and rough methods of work in both washing and ironing injure fabrics and shorten their term of usableness.
“Washing Day” has an ill repute that it does not deserve, for laundering is a science and an art that it is a pleasure to practice, if one has skill. Make it one of the household arts which you must carefully study, and you will find it pleasurable as well as necessary.
Soil in garments.—The dust and dirt of the street and house that soil our garments contain inorganic particles ofearth, lint from textiles, organic matter from animals and human beings, and also bacteria. The material from our bodies consists of particles of skin, skin secretions, and bacteria, which are collected in underwear and bed linen and towels. Spots of grease and stains may fall upon our outer clothing, and fruit stains affect table linen in particular.
Cleansing agents.—Water is the great cleanser, and if it is not available in abundance and used freely, the washing is a failure. All other agents are merely aids to the water or substitutes for it. In primitive outdoor methods, still largely used in some countries, the flowing water is the only agent, and yet the result is fairly good. We aid the process by the use of soap or washing powders or ammonia.
The air and sun are also purifiers, and clothing should be exposed to their action for drying whenever possible. There is a sweetness in air and sun-dried clothing that no artificial drier seems to give. Probably there takes place some oxidation of impurities present in very small amount and, moreover, any bacteria still clinging to the fabric may be killed by the sun’s rays. Heat is a purifier, oily substances being more readily removed by hot water and soap than by cold; and the boiling temperature of water renders bacteria and organic matter harmless.
Some mechanical action that forces water through the fabric is necessary, and the method of accomplishing this is one of the important problems in laundering. We seek a method that will be thorough, that will not injure the fabric, and that will economize the muscular energy of the worker. Beating, pounding, and rubbing are the old methods, the use of a machine the new, and that is the best machine that meets all the requirements of the properly conducted washing process as described below.
Thewatershould be soft and clean. Rain water is a perfectlysoft water and excellent for laundering if the cistern is kept clean, and free from the dust of the roof. Lake, river, and well water are sometimes soft. Strainers may be used on the faucets if at any time the water from these sources becomes muddy. (See Chapter V for discussion of soft and hard water.)
Hard water prevents the soap from lathering, and this must be counteracted for laundering.Temporary hardnessis removed by boiling.Permanent hardnessis not affected by boiling and can be overcome only by the addition of some substance like ammonia, borax, or soda. Only enough of these should be used to allow the soap to do its work, since they may injure fabric and the skin of the worker.
Soapis the most useful of the cleansing agents added to water. It may have been accidentally made in the first place by some housewife who put a greasy pot to soak with a solution of lye made from the ashes of her hearth fire. Heat and alkali break up the fat into two parts, glycerin and a fatty acid. The fatty acid combines with the alkali, giving soap, and the glycerin remains free. Both animal and vegetable fats are used, and different forms of alkali, usually potash or caustic soda, the former for soft, the latter for hard, soap.
In these days soap is much better made in the factory than it can be at home. In the factory the alkali is proportioned by weight, so that as little free alkali is left as possible. Such a soap is called “neutral.” Resin is added, in yellow laundry soaps, and is supposed to aid in forming suds. When there is an excess of resin, as in some cheap soaps, it is hard to rinse out and colors the clothes. Borax is sometimes added to soap, and is useful when the water is hard, but not necessary in soft water. Naphtha or some other petroleum oil in soap increases the cleansing property of soap, by dissolving fatty or greasy impurities.
Asoap solutionis essential for use in the boiler and in washing machines and is useful for rubbing on spots before washing.