If clothes remain long dirty, they will not only require more soap and labor, but be much injured in washing.
155. Washing Preparation.—Half a pound of soap; half a pound of soda; quarter of a pound of quick-lime. Cut up the soap and dissolve it in half a gallon of boiling water; pour half a gallon of boiling water over the soda; and enough boiling water over the quick-lime to cover it. The lime must be quick and fresh; if quick, it will bubble up when the hot water is poured over it. Prepare each of these in separate vessels. Put the dissolved lime and soda together, and boil them for twenty minutes. Then pour them into a jar to settle.
Another method of making this preparation is—Instead of preparing each of the articles by themselves, dissolve over night half a pound of soda in one gallon of boiling water, pour it on the lime, and let it settle; cut up the soap, and pour the clear water from the lime and soda upon it. In the morning it will be a dissolved mass, fit for use. In this way the twenty minutes' boiling of the lime and soda is dispensed with.
In either of these processes white or common yellow soap may be used. But the lime should be white and quick. If it does not bubble and hiss when the water is poured on it, it is unfit for use.
This preparation contains nothing injurious to the linen. It has been proved by trial that if the directions are rightly followed, it is less destructive than the old method.
156. How to proceed after having made the Preparation.—Set aside the flannels and colored things, as they must not be washed in this way. They may be washed in the usual way while the others are boiling.
The night before, the collars and wristbands of shirts, the feet of stockings, &c., should be rubbed well with soap and set to soak.
In the morning pour ten gallons of water into the copper, and having strained the mixture of lime and soda well, taking great care not to disturb the settlings, put it, together with the soap, into the water, and make the whole boil before putting in the clothes. A plate should be placed at the bottom of the copper to prevent the clothes from burning.