Washing fluid for removing stains
You can take all the red laundry marks out of a linen by using the following washing fluid. It will also take rust, ink and mildew out without leaving a trace:
Five pounds washing-soda, one gallon of cold water, put to a boil. While boiling add one pound of chloride of lime and stir well; set aside to settle; strain through a cloth and cork up in a jug. Put your soiled clothes in ten quarts of water, or enough to cover them, with two handfuls of chipped soap and one pint of the jugged fluid. Let them boil, raising them up once in a while with the clothes-stick. If the marks do not disappear, add a little more of the fluid, but not too much, or it will eat into the clothes.
To kill an evil odor
Dried orange-peel, allowed to smolder on a piece of red-hot iron, or on an old shovel, will kill any bad odor in a room and leave a fragrant one behind.
To clean oil paintings
Cut a raw potato in half, rub quickly over the surface of an oil painting, after which polish with a silk handkerchief to remove dust or dirt.
To keep leather from cracking
Add a drop or two of neat’s-foot oil to the shoe-blacking to prevent the leather from cracking. It is also fine to use on damp boots or shoes.