508. How to Whiten Flannel and Woolen Hose

508.     How to Whiten Flannel and Woolen Hose. Wet the flannel yarn or hose (whatever you wish to whiten) in weak suds; wring out. Then hang on sticks or cords across a barrel with 2 table-spoonfuls of pulverized brimstone or sulphur burning under it; cover the barrel tightly. If they are not white enough, repeat the process; hang in the open air a day, then wash and rinse in bluing water. Be careful not to have the sulphur blaze and scorch the garments.

509. To Bleach Brown Sheeting

509.      To Bleach Brown Sheeting. Having soaked the cloth 12 hours in strong soap-suds, take 1/4 pound chloride of lime for every 12 yards of sheeting, and dissolve it in enough boiling water to cover the cloth when dipped into it. As soon as the lime is dissolved, strain the solution through a flannel or other coarse cloth, then put the brown sheeting in the strained lime-water, stirring constantly, and after it has remained thus in this liquor for about half an hour, take out the cloth and rinse it well in pure water, so as to be sure to remove all the lime-water; and then boil it up in strong soap-suds, and hang out to dry, and the work of weeks will have been accomplished in a day or two.

510. Bleaching by Oil of Turpentine

510.    Bleaching by Oil of Turpentine. A German authority recommends the use of oil of turpentine in bleaching white goods. Dissolve 1 part oil of turpentine in 3 parts strong alcohol, place a table-spoonful of the mixture in the water used for the last rinsing. The clothes are to be immersed in this, well wrung out, and placed in the open air to dry. The bleaching action of the oil consists in its changing oxygen into ozone when exposed to the light, and in this process the turpentine disappears, leaving no trace behind.

511. To Clean Straw Bonnets

511.    To Clean Straw Bonnets. First brush them with soap and water; then with a solution of oxalic acid.

512. To Clean Door-Plates

512.    To Clean Door-Plates. To clean silver door-plates, use a weak solution of ammonia in water, applied with a wet rag. This wash is equally useful for silver plate and jewelry.

513. To Clean Plated-Ware

513.    To Clean Plated-Ware. Make a paste with whiting and alcohol, apply it to the plated articles, and after it is dry, rub it off with a brush (if rough), or a soft rag, if smooth.

514. To Remove Rust Spots from Marble

514.    To Remove Rust Spots from Marble. Rust spots can be made to disappear by treatment with a weak solution composed of 1 part nitric acid and 25 of water, and afterward rinsing with water and ammonia.

515. To Remove Ink Spots from Marble

515.     To Remove Ink Spots from Marble. Ink spots may be removed by first washing with pure water, and then with a weak solution of oxalic acid. Subsequent polishing, however, will be necessary, as the lustre of the stone may become dimmed. This can be best secured by very finely powdered soft white marble, applied with a linen cloth first dipped in water and then into the powder. If the place be subsequently rubbed with a dry cloth the lustre will be restored.