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Wash Day: Don't

Don'ts for Colored Goods. - Don't soak or soap colored goods over night.

Don't boil them, don't wash in hot water, don't use washing fluids, washing powders, or anything else containing the slightest particle of sal soda.

Don't put them all into the tub at once.

Don't let them lie any longer than necessary in the suds, rinsing water, or clothes basket.

Don't hang them up to dry so that the right side will be exposed to the hot sun.

Don't hang them in the sun at all if shade is available.

Don't iron them with a very hot iron.

To Wash Colored Goods. - Sort out the calicoes and other prints, colored linens, etc., and prepare suds with cold or lukewarm water and good hard white or yellow soap. Have at hand a tub of rinsing water containing alum, oxgall, or other substances to set the colors. Wash each piece separately, commencing with the lightest in color, rinse, and wring it out as quickly as possible, leaving the remaining pieces in a dry state. Wash all the colored articles as quickly as possible, turn them wrong side out, and hang them up to dry, if possible, in the shade.

To Suds Colored Goods. - Prepare suds by shaving hard white soap in soft water at the rate of about half a bar to two pailfuls of water. Bring the water to a boil, remove from the fire, and allow it to cool until it will bear the hands comfortably.

Do not rub soap on delicate colored goods. Wash the garments quickly.

Put them in the water one at a time, and rub as little as possible; rather souse them up and down in the hot suds. If the suds become foul, pre- WASH DAY pare a fresh lather. Wash each garment by itself as quickly as possible. To Wring Colored Goods. Do not wring out delicate colored articles, but squeeze them gently as dry as possible between the hands.

To Rinse Colored Goods. - Rinse in two or three clear rinsing waters, adding various ingredients, according to the goods, to set the colors. -- To Dry Colored Goods.

Select bright, clear weather to wash delicate and expensive colored garments, and when washed hang them to dry in the shade. The best goods will fade if hung in the sunshine. In freezing weather they may be dried indoors by the fire, as the colors will be irreparably injured if they are allowed to freeze.

To Wash Calicoes. -An exception to the rule against soaking colored articles is found in the custom of soaking calicoes and other print goods in a strong solution of salt before washing. Authorities variously recommend soaking the articles in strong salt water for periods of half an hour to over night. We would recommend experimenting with a sample of the goods before soaking delicate or expensive fabrics for a long period. First soak new calico garments in strong salt water. Dissolve 3 gills of salt in 1 gallon of hot water, not boiling. Put in the garments and soak until the colors are thoroughly set.

The time required will vary according to the fabrics, and may be determined by experimenting with samples. We would recommend 15 minutes to a half hour as an average. Wash same as other colored goods, using alum or oxgall in the suds and salt in the rinsing water. Use alum preferably for green.

Black calico may be washed in an infusion of potato starch. Peel two or three potatoes, scrape them, boil, and strain, washing the calico in the pure liquid.

Or wash in an infusion of wheat bran as hereinafter suggested.

Colored Goods-To Fix Their Color. -Substances recommended for fixing the colors of calicoes and other colored articles vary with the colors and the nature of the fabric. They include oxgall, salt, infusion of hay, alum, and lemon juice or vinegar; for red articles, borax, and for black goods lye and black pepper.

Of these, oxgall and salt are the most popular. The gall of an ox can be obtained from the butcher. It may be preserved by adding to it a handful of salt, and keeping it corked tightly. A bottle of this preparation should be always kept on hand in the laundry. Use 1 teacupful to 5 gallons of water.

Common salt may be used in the proportion of cupful to 2 gallons of water; alum, 1 ounce to each gallon of water; borax, 1 tablespoonful. to the gallon; vinegar or lemon juice, the same. Add these substances in the above proportion to both suds and rinsing water.

Or use a large tablespoonful of oxgall in the suds and a teaspoonful of vinegar in each rinsing water.

Or use alum in the suds and vinegar in the rinsing water. Do not use both oxgall and alum.

To Fix Light, Solid Colors. - To permanently fix blue, slate, and stone colors in cotton fabrics, dissolve 1 ounce of sugar of lead in 21 gallons of hot water. Stir with a wooden stick, and let stand until lukewarm.

Immerse the garments in this solution for 1 to 2 hours, and hang up to drip dry in the shade before washing. Remember that sugar of lead is poisonous; hence, after being dried, these articles should be washed thoroughly and rinsed in plenty of clear water.

To Fix Dark, Solid Colors. To fix black and other dark colors, dissolve 2 cupfuls of salt in 24 gallons of water, immerse the articles until they are thoroughly saturated, and hang them up to drip dry in a shady place.

Add a tablespoonful of salt to the rinsing water.

Or, to prevent black goods and hosiery from turning brown, use very strong bluing in the water. For black goods, also, add a teacupful of lye to each pailful of soapsuds in which the articles are washed. They must be washed quickly and the excess of lye thoroughly rinsed out in clear cold water to which salt has been added.

Or, for black goods, prepare an infusion of 1 tablespoonful of powdered black pepper with sufficient water to cover the articles, and steep them in it for a half hour before washing.

To Fix Pinks, Reds, and Greens.- Vinegar is especially recommended for pink, red, or green goods to brighten the color; salt for black, blue, and green colors. Hence, to fix pink or green, add ½ cupful of strong vinegar to 21 gallons of water, immerse the articles, and let them drip dry in the shade.

To Fix Red or Scarlet. - For red or scarlet table napkins add 1 tablespoonful of borax to each gallon of soapsuds when washing.

To Fix Solid-colored Linens. A strong infusion of common hay made by boiling the hay and straining off the clear liquor is recommended for French linens; black pepper, 1 teaspoonful for each pailfui of water, for gray and brown linens.

To Wash Colored Goods with Bran. -Delicate lawn and muslin dresses, also chintz and cretonne, may be washed without soap in an infusion of wheat bran. This process cannot possibly harm the most delicate fabrics. Boil 1 quart of wheat bran in 3 quarts of water for about 15 minutes, and strain off the clear liquor into the wash water. Boil the bran again for 15 minutes in an equal quantity of water, and strain off the resulting infusion into the rinsing water.

For the wash water add to the infusion of bran about an equal quantity of clear soft water. Add also, to set the colors, a tablespoonful of oxgall or a small lump of alum. Use no soap, as the bran itself possesses sufficient cleansing properties. Wash with as little rubbing and wringing as possible.

Rinse first in the lukewarm bran water, adding salt, and afterwards in clear water containing a little gum arabic. No starch will be required.

The bran after having been strained may be fed to pigs or chickens.

To Clean Colored Goods with Raw Potatoes. - Grate the potatoes to a fine pulp and mix with 1 pint of water for each pound of grated potato. Sift with a coarse sieve and let the liquid settle until the starch accumulates at the bottom. The clear liquid remaining may be bottled for future use. To apply, lay a linen towel over the washboard and spread the soiled garment upon it. Sponge with the clear liquid and afterwards rinse with clear cold water.

LACES AND LACE CURTAINS To Wash Lace. -To wash cotton or linen lace or embroidery prepare suds of hard white soap with hot water, to which add 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of borax. If much soiled, boil the articles in the suds before or after washing, or both. Squeeze them with the hands or draw them through the fingers in the suds until clean, rinse in clear water, add to the last water about teaspoonful of granulated sugar to 1 pint of water, and iron without starching.