1. APPLIANCES
As the appliances for washing and ironing are many, and some of them for uses not entirely obvious, a list with a few comments on each item may be useful.
Tubs.—Two are needed, three are more convenient. When the washing is finished, the tubs should be scrubbed, rinsed and dried before the covers are closed. Portable wooden tubs also need scrubbing and rinsing, but must not be allowed to get very dry. If they are kept in a warm, dry place, put a little clean water into each one. When allowed to dry, the staves shrink and the tubs leak. That tubs are called portable does not mean they should be carried. About one woman in a dozen is really able to carry a tub with water in it. It is not the weight but the attitude in which one is compelled to lift it that makes the trouble. If there is no one to help to carry the tub, empty it by the pailful; it takes less time than being laid up with a strain.
A washboard.—Washboards are made of corrugated glass or metal and wood. They should be rinsed when the rubbing is finished and kept dry when not in use. Before putting the board into the tub, see that it has no rough or sharp places which may tear clothes or hands.
A washboiler and a washstick.—Keep the boiler scrupulously dry when not in use. A speck of rust the size of a pinhead can make serious trouble. The stick is a fairly long, smooth, clean one with which to move and lift scalding hot clothes.
A wringer.—Rinse and dry it carefully before putting it away. At some other time than in the midst of washing, it is well to study out the contrivance which regulates the width of the opening between the rollers, that one may be able to change it easily and quickly for the wringing of thick or thin articles. The opening should be narrow enough to make turning the handle quite active exercise, but wide enough to prevent any wrenching or dragging of wringer or clothes.
A clothesline.—A length of clean rope which can be put up and taken down each time it is needed is probably the most satisfactory clothes line. Permanent lines of twisted wire are good, if one may have permanent lines. These must be wiped with a damp cloth before the clothes are hung out. This rule also holds good for any line which is left out in the weather, but rope lines should not be left out if it can be avoided, for they soon become blackened and sodden. When buying a clothesline, see that it is not too thick nor too thin for average clothespins.
Clothespins.—These must be kept clean, either by frequently getting new ones, or by scrubbing the old ones, and also by keeping them, when not in use, in a covered box or basket.
Clothes poles.—These are sticks eight or ten feet long, and notched deeply in one end. When the line sags between its supports with the weight of the clothes, it is raised with one of the poles. The notch holds the line and the other end rests on the ground.
A clothes basket.—This article is used for carrying clothes from place to place. If it is used only for purposes connected with washing and ironing it will remain for a longer time fit for those purposes.