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THE ART OF WASHING.— STAINS.
Two things are to be borne in mind with re
gard to the removal of stains : First, that the
sooner it is done the better, for the older the
stain the more difficult it is to get rid of it and
vnai;, masmucn as the treatment often neoes-
mtates the employment of things in themselves
deleterious, it is always advisable towashwcS
or to boil the article as soon as possible after the
Btain has been removed. Many kinds of bleach-
ing liquids are sold for removing wine and fruit
stains. If kept striotly for tSs punmeYand
employed w,th rare, they an asefcTwdSmdo
no Ltrm i but there is danger that In the — "
x>f the laundry-maid they may be used too
liberally, to the detriment of thedothes. For
taMe lmen and white articles, the following
i8 i? k required in the
of teaching liquid, and it
d ®stual in the treatment of wile
SLrS cle that is not
botlmg water on chloride ef
hme in the proportion of one gafloU to Jib. ;
bottle it, and cork it welL and in using the
liquid be careful not to stir it. Lay the stain in
this liquid tor a moment ut«n apply trifiu
vinegar, or boil the clothes, of well'ApalDi Iteqt
aooonnt bojOiowad I
remain on the article after the spot has duT
peared. In Frexlbh ladhdries javelle water!!!
solutiohof chlorinated potata--is extend vely oil?
fororadieating frnitstaiiiB from linesu Thettiteeti
first held over the fumes of sulphur, the
water is then applied, and the linen (>
thoroughly' wabhed. Bleaching liquids, how!
ever, should oniy resorted to when other
means have failed. If the stains are nHo
recent, dip them In boiling water, or, holdta,
taut the stained plaoe, pour the boiling vnbt
through it, or moisten the stain with water atf
hold it over the fumes of brimstone.
mode is to rub tho stained plaoe with west
ammonia and water, or with milk, subsequent!
soaking it in bold water, with some soda diZ
solved in it.
A mixture of equal parts of ammonia and silt
of tartar will remove red fruit stahis from white
materials, but the spbt must be carefully washed
afterwards. Walnut stains on linen often pro®
obstinate. If not to be moved by robbing
either a little sherry or lemon juioe, or curiam
jnioe, the roots must be well soaped, rod thm
covered with a paste of starch, mixed inedd
water, and exposed to the eun for a day or two.
or, in lieu of starch, a mixture of soft soap ana
pearlash may be laid en, but this must be well
washed but; pearlsfih being destructive, fttilt
or wine stains can also be removed by tying up
some cream of tartar in the spot and thenbou.
ing it in a fe&er of soap and -water. Wim
stains on table linen can always be removed bv
the chloride of lime bleaohing liquid, or by ap.
plying with a camel's hairbrush sulphuric acid
dilute! in water, in the proportion of three
drops to 2oz. of water, and then thoroughly
washing :out the spot. Port wine stains oaa fa
removed by at once pouring on them a little
sherry ; and salt applied immediately is good
for stains from all kinds of wine. The stain
should then be' held in milk " as it bolls on the
fire, and should be subsequently washed out hi
water. All but very obstinate stains yield U
boiling milk, especially if applied before they
become dry, and consequently set. Old "t-H,
can be removed by oxalic acid, but like moil
acids it must be used with great care, and in the
hands of amateurs generally does more harm
than good. Fruit stains on a silk dress should
first be treated, by sponging with oold water,
which will sometimes remove them ; if not, a
paste of white soap is to be applied to bofchaidei,
left on for twelve hours, and then washed out
the colour, if necessary, being revived by tin
application of an acid, which, however, will
only act favourably on certain ooloura, and
should therefore be previously tried on a separate
piece of the material' On black silk, crape or
woollen goods, fruit stains are best treated by
sponging with pure ammonia, and then exposing
them to tile son.
With regard to coloured things, the nhfrf
difficulty in removing fruit stains is that they
have taken the colour out of the material. In
some cases this can be restored by applying
acid, such as white vinegar, or by mmmMm
of the fumes of sulphur ; but here again
it is necessary first to try the effect on a separate
piece of the material. The stains can also be
treated by the application, with a camei's-hair
brush, of sulphuric acid and water, aa mentioned
above.
There is no difficulty in taking out grease
stains from materials which will stand ordinary
washing. For woollens, silks, and coloured
materials, beDzine coifes, Farcy's cleaning fluid,
spirits of wine, turpentine, or camphine should
be used. The method of applying these is
the same ; we will, therefore, take benzine
a8 an example : Lay the spot over several folds
of linen, saturate it well with benzine applied
with flannel ; shift the linen beneath at enee, so
that the grease which has passed into it mayoot
return to the material ; then rub the spot in
circles, being careful to dry the outside edge
well to prevent any mark being left Should
there be, however, any outline of the stain when
the place is quite dry, rub it over with powdered
plaster of Paris, -which oaa be nflf, asd
then all trace removed by bread or indiarnbber.
Damping the spot with oold water before neing
the benzine will prevent subsequent mark.
Grease may also be removed from by
fcoldWa hot iron .over the spot with brown or
thick blotting paper between; the qi oiso is
drawn into the paper, but great care uiould be
taken that the material be not scorched in the
process. This plan is not always a satisfactory
one ; the heat .sometimes merely melts the
grease for awhile, and the. unsightly piarks re.
appears. Soft suver paper well rubbed on will
sometimes draw out fresh grease spots. French
chalk, powdered" and left mi for a day or two,
has the same effect. This is sometimes applied
as a paste poized with lavender whter, left on
fox awhile, and after it. is rubbed off the plaoe ii
smoothed with a hot iron over blotting paper.
card split in half, and the inner part
rubbed on the silk, will also remove grease.
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