Starching
The housekeeper, where no manager of the laundry is employed, will have the purchasing and giving out of supplies and should have an idea of how much is needed for each week’s work. Provide a good quality of soap and starch. The cheaper grades are almost always more expensive owing to the additional amount necessary for the work. The better grade of starch will produce better finished work. See that the vessels used for starching are well cleansed after use. Know something about the methods used in starching. If collars, cuffs and belts are not stiff, inquire the reason. To produce a proper stiffness, the starch should be used as hot as can be borne by the hand, and well rubbed in. Clothing that is starched should be put to dry as soon as the starching is completed. If left around in baskets the articles will inevitably come out discolored. It is well to give a list of the articles requiring starching rather than trust to their judgment. Aprons and coats for the operating room that are to be put in the sterilizer need no starching, while other aprons and coats must be starched. They will not know the difference if they are not told.
Bluing
If the clothes are streaked with blue, make some inquiries into the washing process. It may be the clothes have not been rinsed thoroughly free from soap. They should pass through at least two rinsing waters (three is better) to free them from soap. The first rinsing water should be quite hot. The bluing should be done in plenty of water, so that every part of the garments may be under water. In preparing the bluing water see that the blue is dissolved in a separate pail before being put into the vessel in which the articles are to be blued. In mixing the bluing water, it is easy for parts of the vessel to become deeply stained with the strong bluing solution, which will be rubbed into the clothes and leave streaks. When plenty of soda is used to soften the water there will be less trouble with black specks from the soap. Impress on them the fact that the nurses’ uniforms and colored shirt waists are not to be boiled. If the uniforms are thoroughly soaked over night in a strong salt solution they will retain the color better. When uniforms are dried in the open air see that they are hung wrong side out.
Special care needs to be used in washing blankets. They should be dealt with separately and gotten through with quickly. The suds should be quite hot and a little ammonia added. The rinsing should be in water of the same temperature and they should be dried in the open air.
Drying
Whenever possible have all the hospital clothes dried in the open air. No drying room, however well constructed, can compare with nature’s process of drying by fresh air and sunshine. The best method of bleaching is by the use of the sun rays while the clothes are wet. However, in planning for laundry work, it is never wise to depend entirely on open air drying. An artificial dryer is a necessity where promptness is required. Quick drying is essential to good work. Where bad work is done, the trouble is oftener in the washing than in the drying.
Ironing
In planning for the ironing much may be done to facilitate the work. Little labor-saving devices can be introduced which will increase the amount of work done in a day. Ironing boards of special shapes, and for special purposes, and tables of various designs can be had for a trifle and will result in a saving of time and more finished work. A box of thin pine boards with a hinge cover and with perforations in the sides is a convenient receptacle for storing dampened clothing waiting to be ironed. See that they have proper irons for the different parts of their work and that they have wax to use as needed. Supply unbleached muslin for ironing sheets or the hospital sheets will be found covering the ironing boards. Instruct them to keep their ironing sheets clean. Well-finished work cannot be produced on a dirty ironing sheet.
Routine of Work