SPRING CLEANING.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3324, 16 September 1911, Page 4

SPRING CLEANING.

An important matter connected with spring cleaning is the blinds and curtains.

When the tapes of Venetians are taken down and washed, they should be put up again wet, and the laths put in without delay, or the tapes will shrink and be too short, but if hung wet, the weight of the laths will pull them to the right length. Curtains. One has heard ladies remark that they will never have any more frilled Madras muslin curtains; they look very pretty when new, but take so long to iron the frills when they are got up at home, and never look nice again, but really ,there is no need to iron them at all, and if tlie following method is followed, the result will be found satisfactory and a great improvement on ironing. Soak the curtains in cold water overnight, wash them, boil if convenient, rinse in clean water, .then starch them. Some of the starches sold are a deep cream, in fact, yellow; if a pale cream is required, use half white and half cream, or all white and. Dolly dye. ' When the starch is made, pour sufficient into a bowl for one curtain; do not put one at a time into tlie same starch or the last one will be nuite a different color. Then it will require two people to shake them, and this is where the trouble comes in. Fold each in half long-ways, and holding them- with one hand at the fold, shake gently from right to left, the frills falling downwards. They will undulat-e and fall in flutes; lift carefully the middle of the curtain over the line, and when dry they will retain the flutes and look prettier than if goffered. A gentle breeze- will not hurt t-lxem, but avoid a strong wind, as it sticks them together, and they are liable to tear when separated.

To Clean Wall-Paper. Mix flour and water into a dough, and rub the walls with it; when the dough is soiled, knead in a clean part. To Clean Gas-Cookers. If a disagreeable smell proceeds from the gas stove when it is alight it is a sign that the inside requires cleaning, and sometimes the grease and dirt are so thick that it would take hours- to cleau it with Monkey Soap; but there is a cleanser which may be obtained from ironmongers and Gas Companies, which works like magic; it is put on with an old knife or brush and allowed t.o remain for an hour or two, or, better still, all night, then washed off with a brush and cold water, and it leaves the stove quite clean. It is put up in GL tins, and is called different names by the various makers —by some, Kleenall’ others Klenso-, Ivleenoff, etc.. Full directions are given on the tins

To Clean Furniture. Mix equal quantities of vinegar and water, rub on with a flannel and. polish with a soft cloth. Spirits of salts is an offetcive .cleanser of sinks and lavatory-pans —mix -with a little water, • tie a rag on a stick and use this, as the hands must not touch it.