To clean the knives have at hand a pan of clean, soapy water and a soft cloth. Hold the knives in the left hand and wash the blades with the cloth, only wiping the handles with the wet cloth, unless they be silver, in which case wash them thoroughly with the soap-suds and cloth. Sprinkle the board with some knife-polish. Hold the blade flat on the board and rub back and forth until it is polished. If the stain be hard to remove, dip a cork in the strong soap-suds, then in the polishing powder, and, laying the blade of the knife perfectly flat on the board, rub with the cork until the stain disappears. Now wipe the polish off with a soft cloth and rub the blade with a piece of chamois skin. The handles of the knives should be protected while the blades are being polished. Have a long, narrow bag of Canton flannel to slip over the handle while the blade is being rubbed.
Rust and Other Annoyances.
If it should happen that the steel of knives or forks becomes rusted, dip them in sweet oil and let them stand for twenty-four hours, then rub them with powdered quicklime, and the stain will be removed. If the handles of the knives be ivory, and they become stained, rub them with whiting and spirits of turpentine. This will remove all ordinary stains. Still, the appearance of the ivory will be greatly improved by a vigorous rubbing with the whiting and turpentine. Frequent wettings with hot water and soap will dull the mother-of-pearl handles, which should be wiped with a damp cloth and rubbed dry with a soft towel. Silver handles should be rubbed frequently with whiting. Celluloid, ivorine, bone, etc., require the same general treatment as ivory and pearl. The handles of knives, no matter what the material, should never be allowed to stand in water. The water, particularly if it be hot, loosens the handles from the tang, and also dulls them. A tin or granite-ware pail or pitcher should be kept exclusively for knives. When used, it should have some water in it, but not enough to come up to the handle of the knife. As soon as the table is cleared the knives should be put in this, to remain until the time for washing them.
If you have no regular case for the knives, they may be kept in one made of Canton flannel. To make this take a piece of flannel about three quarters of a yard wide and cut off twenty-one inches. Fold over eleven and a half inches of the selvage end, leaving a single thickness of about four inches at the other end. Baste the doubled part together; then stitch it into twelve compartments. Bind the bag with tape, and sew tapes on the single flap at the centre. Of course, the flannel is on the inside. When steel cutlery is to be put away for any length of time, melt pure mutton suet, and dip the steel part of the knives and forks in it. When cool, wrap in tissue paper, and then in thicker paper or Canton flannel.
CHAPTER V.
WORK ON WASHING DAY.
ON washing day arrange the white clothes in this manner: Half fill two tubs with warm suds. Put in one tub the pieces soiled the most; put the remainder of the articles in the second tub. Have a third tub half full of warm water and the wash boiler half full of cold water. Wash the cleaner clothes first, rubbing soap on the parts which are soiled the most. Wring from this water and drop into the tub of clean warm water. When all are done, rinse the clothes well in the warm water; then wring out and soap the parts that were badly soiled. Put these same pieces in the boiler of cold water and set on the fire. Let the water get almost boiling hot; then take up the clothes and put them in a tubful of cold water. Rinse them from this into another of warm water and from this into a third of bluing water. Wring them as dry as possible; then shake them out and hang on the lines. They should become perfectly dry before they are folded. All the white clothing should be washed in this manner. The second tubful can, of course, be rubbed out and rinsed while the first is being scalded. If clothes be not thoroughly rinsed and bluing be used, the soap will combine with the bluing to give a yellow tinge to the clothing. This is especially the case when liquid bluing is used. A thorough rinsing is really one of the most important steps in all the work.
Satines, Ginghams, and Prints.
These kinds of goods look better when no soap is used and they are not starched in the usual way. For two dresses make one gallon of starch by mixing one cupful of flour with one pint of cold water. Pour on this three quarts and a half of boiling water. Pour half of this mixture into a tub containing four gallons of warm water. Wash one of the dresses in this, rubbing the fabric the same as if soap were used. Now rinse in two clean waters and hang out to dry. The starch cleans the fabric, and enough is held in the cloth to make it about as stiff as when new. Wash the second dress in the same way. This method is not for light cambrics, but only for satines, ginghams, and dark prints.
If the colors run, put half a cupful of salt in the second rinsing water. If the color of the fabric be blue and faded, put two tablespoonfuls of acetic acid, or twice as much vinegar, into the last rinsing water. This will often restore the color, but not always, as it depends upon the chemicals used in the dyeing. The acid can be used in the last water in which faded blue flannels are rinsed. Colored goods should be dried thoroughly and dampened only a few hours before you are ready to iron them. They should be ironed on the wrong side.