MISCELLANEOUS.
Lime may be taken out of an injector by soaking it over night in a mixture of one part of muriatic acid and ten parts soft water. If a larger proportion of acid is used it is likely to spoil the injector.
A good blacking for boilers and smokestacks is asphaltum dissolved in turpentine.
To polish brass, dissolve 5 cents’ worth of oxalic acid in a pint of water and use to clean the brass. When tarnish has been removed, dry and polish with chalk or whiting.
It is said that iron or steel will not rust if it is placed for a few minutes in a warm solution of washing soda.
Grease on the bottom of a boiler will stick there and prevent the water from conducting away the heat. When steel is thus covered with grease it will soon melt in a hot fire, causing a boiler to burst if the steel is poor, or warping it out of shape if the steel is good.
Sulphate of lime in water, causing scale, may be counteracted and scale removed by using coal oil and sal soda. When water contains carbonate of lime, molasses will remove the scale.