TO PURIFY THE ATMOSPHERE OF A ROOM.—Mix, in a cup, some brown sugar, with sufficient water to make it a thick liquid. Put a hot coal on a shovel; pour on the coal a tea-spoonful, or more, of the sugar, and carry it carefully about the room. The smoke will entirely remove any disagreeable odour. If the sugar is thrown dry upon the hot coal, it will blaze up, and burn out immediately, without effecting the desired purpose; but if mixed with a little water, it will not blaze at all, but the vapour arising from it will continue to smoke, till the unpleasant smell is entirely dispelled.
A few sprigs of lavender, laid on hot coals, and carried round the room, on a shovel, is a good remedy for a disagreeable odour.
Chloride of lime, sprinkled on dry, will, unfailingly, dispel the effluvia of any ill-scented substance. It is very cheap. A jar of it should be kept in every house; as, for this purpose, there is nothing more effectual.
TO CLEAN JARS.—There is frequently much trouble in cleaning the inside of jars that have contained sweet-meats, pickles, mince-meat, &c., so as entirely to remove all the odour of their former contents, before they can be used for another purpose. If the jars are of stone, fill them up with scalding water, and let them stand awhile. If of white-ware, or glass, the water must be merely warm; for if hot, it will crack them. Then stir in a large tea-spoonful, or more, of pearlash. Whatever of the former contents has remained sticking about, and adhering to the sides and bottom, will immediately disengage itself, and float loose through the water. Afterwards empty the jar, and if any odour lingers about its inside, fill it again with warm water and a spoonful of pearlash, and let it stand, undisturbed, a few hours, or till next day. Then empty it again, and rinse it with cold water. Wash phials in the same manner. Also, the inside of tea, coffee, and chocolate-pots. If you cannot, conveniently, obtain pearlash, the same purpose may be answered, nearly as well, by filling the vessels with strong lye, poured off clear from the wood-ashes. For kegs, buckets, crocks, or other large vessels, lye may always be used.
TO CLEAN LOOKING-GLASSES.—Take a newspaper, or a part of one, according to the size of the glass. Fold it small, and dip it into a basin of clean, cold water. When thoroughly wetted, squeeze it out in your hand, as you would a sponge; and then rub it, hard, all over the face of the glass; taking care that it is not so wet that the moisture will stream down the glass. Also, if any drops get beneath the frame, and behind the glass, they will remain there, in bubbles, and cannot be dislodged, without removing the board at the back. There is no danger of any such accidents, if the newspaper is merely moistened, or damped throughout; without being so wet as to drip. After the glass has been well rubbed, with the damp paper, let it rest a minute. Then go over it with a fresh newspaper, (folded small in your hand,) till it looks clear and bright; which it will, almost immediately. Finish with a fresh piece of newspaper, thoroughly dry.
This method, simple as it is, will be found, on trial, the best and most expeditious way of cleaning mirrors, or any plate-glass; giving a clearness and polish, that cannot be so soon produced by any other process. The inside of window-panes may be cleaned in this manner; the windows having been first washed on the outside. Also, the glasses of spectacles, &c. The glass globe of a lamp may thus be cleaned with newspapers.
The efficacy is attributed to the materials used in making the printing-ink.