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Removal of Spots and Stains: Clothes

Or sponge with alcohol. Afterwards polish with a piece of red velvet. TO DRY-CLEAN MEN'S GARMENTS To Clean Men's Clothes. - Hang the garments on a line, beat them with a carriage whip or piece of rubber REMOVAL OF SPOTS AND STAINS hose, and brush them thoroughly with a stiff brush. To remove spots, place several thicknesses of soft cloth, like an old towel, under the spot, moisten it with water, and scour with any good cleanser, or moisten the spot thoroughly with a liquid cleanser and rub it hard. Use for this purpose a loof, a stiff, fibrous sponge, costing about ten cents. This is rough enough to scrub with vigor if the goods will stand it, or it can be used more gently on delicate goods. It leaves no lint as cloth does, but is stiffer than a sponge and can be easily washed and dried after being used.

Or use one or more small scrubbing brushes of varying degrees of stiffness.

To Remove Spots. - First hold the garment up to the light to see if there is any surface dirt; if there is, scrape off with a sharp knife what can be removed (taking care not to injure the weave of the garment) before wetting the spot in water, cleansing fluid, or any sort of chemical. Next apply the cleanser and rub well, so tlt the dirt when dissolved may be forced through into the pad beneath. Rub with a piece of woolen "Spread the Garment Right Side Up." cloth folded into a tight pad. pad. Use plenty of "elbow grease." The secret of success lies in hard rubbing.

To Press Men's Clothes. -Spread the garment right side up on an ironing board, lay over it a cotton cloth wrung out of warm water containing about 1 tablespoonful of aqua ammonia to 3 pints of water, and iron the wet cloth until both the cloth and the garment are perfectly dry. This prevents the garment from having a shiny appearance.

Black Dye for Renovating.-Put 8 ounces of logwood chips in a porcelain kettle, cover with 2 quarts of soft water, and let stand over night. Boil 30 minutes, strain through cheese cloth, and add 6 grains of prussiate of potash and 12 grains of bichromate of potash previously dissolved in as little boiling water as possible. Pour this mixture into a black glass bottle, cork tightly, and store in a dark place. This is a good black dye. To apply, first sponge or otherwise cleanse the garments, stretch them out smooth, and go over them with this dye by means of a soft brush.

Let dry thoroughly before pressing.

To Clean a Mackintosh. - To clean a mackintosh, scrub both sides with soap and water, and afterwards rinse it in clear water until the soap is removed. Hang up to dry without wringing. Care must be taken not to sponge a mackintosh with alcohol, chloroform, benzine, gasoline, turpentine, or any of the chemicals which are used in sponging other fabrics, as they have the property of dissolving rubber and will injure the texture of many waterproof garments. Ammonia may be applied freely. - To Renovate Woolen Goods.

After woolen dress goods have been sponged or washed, to restore the original gloss rub the cloth with a brush dipped in a thin solution of gum arabic, cover with a dry cotton cloth, and dry under a weight. This method is useful to remove the spot caused by sponging out stains. To raise the nap on a rough woolen garment, wet it, lay it on a smooth surface, and roughen it gently with a common prickly thistle, or what is known as a teasel brush. Afterwards brush with a stiff clothes brush the way of the nap.

To Clean Men's Woolen Clothes.- Boil for half an hour 2 ounces of soap bark in 1 quart of water, and let stand all night on the dregs. Strain through cheese cloth, and use alone or combined with an equal amount of gasoline.

Or use 1 part of oxgall to 16 parts of water. Or use 1 tablespoonful of oxgall and 1 teaspoonful of cooking soda to a quart of water. Or mix 6 ounces of soap jelly or good soft soap with 4 ounces of honey, the white of 1 egg, and 1 tablespoonful of brandy or alcohol. Or mix 1 ounce of sulphuric ether, 1 ounce of aqua ammonia, and 6 ounces of water.

The most convenient way to clean men's garments is to remove the cover from an ironing board, or use some other smooth, clean, narrow board or plank, arranged to admit of laying the coat smoothly over it, or insert the board into the trousers legs. A smooth, hard, narrow board is also desirable for coat sleeves. Arrange the garment on this board and with a stiff brush apply any of the cleansers you prefer. A bristle nailbrush or horsehair brush, such as is used in the stable for smoothing the coats of horses, is a most useful implement for this purpose. Rub with, rather than against, the nap of the cloth, wetting the brush frequently.

Scrub especially spots of grease and, if much soiled by perspiration, the collar and cuffs. When the grease and dirt are thoroughly loosened, sponge with clear water until quite clean. Trousers and waistcoats may be rinsed by immersing in water and sousing up and down, but it is better not to immerse coats and jackets, as it is difficult, on account of the padded linings, to press them into shape.

To Renovate Men's Clothes. -Boil 8 ounces of logwood chips in 2 gallons of water down to 1 gallon. Strain and add 2 ounces of gum arabic, dissolved in a little hot water. Bottle for future use.

After dark, solid-colored garments, as blacks, blues, or browns, have been scrubbed and sponged, dilute this mixture to the shade of the garment, and go over it lightly with a sponge. Do not expose to direct sunshine or the heat of a stove while drying.

Or moisten a soft brush with olive oil and carefully go over the garment.

To Press Men's Clothes. - After sponging the garments, stretch them to their proper shape, lay them right side up over the ironing board, and press through linen or cotton cloth previously wrung out of clear cold water. A tablespoonful each of oxgall and salt added to every gallon of water will tend to brighten the colors. Press with a hot iron until the garment is dry.

Care must be taken that all the liquid preparations used for cleaning woolen goods be kept at the same temperature, which should be about as warm as the hands will bear comfortably.

After the garments have been pressed, brush with the nap while the steam is still rising from the cloth, and hang on suitable clothes hangers or over chairs to dry. Do not wear them for twenty-four hours or more after pressing, or until they are thoroughly dry.

TO DRY-CLEAN WOMEN'S GARMENTS To Clean Woolen Dresses. - The most satisfactory method of cleaning waists or skirts of wool, silk, velvet, or anything except cotton goods, is to soak and wash them in gasoline.

For this purpose two or three large earthen jars will be found very useful. It pays to buy the best gasoline, five gallons at a time, and use it plentifully, as the expense is much less than would be the charge of a professional cleaner, or the cost of a new garment.

First, dust the garments and rub soap on soiled or greasy spots. Nothing need be removed from them except rubber dress shields. Next, put large pieces, one at a time, in an earthen jar and cover with gasoline. Throw a wet cloth over the REMOVAL OF SPOTS AND STAINS jar, and press the lid down tightly.

Soak for an hour or more, then rub the article well, sousing it up and down, and transfer it to a second jar containing an equal amount of fresh gasoline. Rinse in this, squeeze out the gasoline, and hang up to dry. A third jar may be used if desired.

Articles washed in this way will require to be hung out and aired for two or three days, when the odor will entirely leave them. They should not be pressed until they are thoroughly dry and all the gasoline has evaporated. The gasoline can be poured back into the cans through cheese cloth and used again, as the dirt settles to the bottom. This operation must be carried on out of doors, as much of the gasoline will evaporate.

If done in the house the odor would be very unpleasant, and, besides, the vapor is explosive and might cause accident. A small bristle brush dipped in the gasoline will be found useful for removing grease spots, scrubbing collars, and the like. If a small quantity of gasoline be put in a tin can and then surrounded by a vessel of boiling water (but not on the stove), it will do the work quickly and more thoroughly.