Removing Black Deposit an Bathtubs
A good way to remove the black deposit left on bathtubs by the water is to use a strong solution of sulphuric acid. The acid should be poured on the discolored enameled surface and washed around with a cloth. The acid should not touch the hands so it is best to use a stick to move the cloth. Neither should it be allowed to touch the metal parts, but if this happens, no harm will result if it is quickly rubbed off with a cloth and water then applied.
In using this acid never pour water into the acid, but always pour the acid into the water.—Contributed by Loren Ward, Des Moines, Iowa.
A Stocking-Stretcher Form
A simple as well as inexpensive device for preventing the shrinking of stockings, more particularly those of children, after they have been washed, thus saving great wear and tear on the fabrics and increasing their length of life, is shown in the illustration. The stretcher can be made by anyone, a knowledge of woodcraft or art being unnecessary. If used, the device will prove to effect quite a saving in money, labor and worry in the course of a year.
The Spring of the Two Parts Tends to Hold the Yarn and Keep It from Shrinking
Place a new and unused stocking, that properly fits the foot, flat on a heavy piece of cardboard or a wood board, if desired, and mark an outline of the stocking on the board with a pencil. Cut out the design with a penknife or heavy pair of scissors and smooth the edges. A design having the same shape and size as the stocking results. Duplicate boards can be easily made. Place a spool, such as used to hold the finest silk thread, near the upper end of the first form and on top of this place the second. Then drive a nail through the boards and spool and clinch it, or better still, use a small bolt. When the stockings are washed and the dampness wrung out as well as possible, stretch them over the boards and hang them up to dry. They will retain their shape and are easily ironed.—Contributed by Wm. P. Kennedy, Washington, D. C.
Stick Holder for a Chopping Block
Having a lot of branch wood, from 1/2 in. to 1 in. in diameter, to saw, and not wishing to bother with a sawbuck, I rigged up a chopping block, as shown in the sketch, by fastening a piece of board to one side of the block with small lag screws. The piece to be sawed was laid across the block in the notch. If the piece is held down on the block with one foot, the wood is very easily sawn.—Contributed by Wilfred B. Sylvester, Reading, Mass.