THE LAUNDRY MAID.
This Servant washes all the household and other linen belonging to her employers, and is assisted, generally, by the housemaids; or the house maids, kitchen maids, and scullery maids wash for themselves. All the men servants find their own washing, except the footmen’s aprons and jackets.
The foul linen is given out to her on Monday morning, and returned clean, on Friday night or Saturday morning.—Wages from 8l. to 15l. a year.
Two ounces of pearl-ash, to a pound and a half of soap, will make a considerable saving. Soda, by softening the water, saves a great deal of soap. It should be dissolved in a large jug of water, some of which should be poured into the tubs and boiler, and when the lather becomes weak, add more.
The use of soft soap, saves nearly half in washing.
Good new hard soap contains full half of oil, one-third water, and the rest soda.
TO MAKE TOWN-WASHED LINEN WHITE.
In large towns, where linen cannot be exposed to the air and sun upon the grass, let it be steeped, for some time before it is washed, in a solution of oxymuriate of lime. Let it then be boiled in an alkaline ley. Linen or cotton thus treated will not become yellow by age.
TO TAKE OUT IRON MOULDS FROM LINEN.
Hold the iron mould on the cover of a tankard of boiling water, and rub on the spot a little juice of sorrel and salt, and when the cloth has thoroughly imbibed the juice, wash it in ley.
TO SCOUR THICK COTTON COUNTERPANES.
Cut a pound of mottled soap into thin slices; and put it into a pan with a quarter of an ounce of pot-ash. Pour a pail of boiling water on it, and let it stand till dissolved. Then pour hot and cold water into a scouring tub, with a bowl of the solution. Put in the counterpane, beat it well, turn it often, give it a second liquor as before, and then rinse it in cold water. Then put three tea-spoonsful of liquid blue into a thin liquor; stir it, and put in the counterpane: beat it about five minutes, and dry it in the air.
TO SCOUR FLANNELS OR WOOLLENS.
Cut ½ a pound of the best yellow soap into thin slices, and pour such a quantity of boiling river water on it as will dissolve the soap, and make it of the consistence of oil. Cover the articles about two inches with water, such as the hand can bear, and add a lump of American pearl-ash, and about a third of the soap solution. Beat them till no head or lather rises on the water; throw away the dirty water, and proceed as before with hotter water without pearl-ash.
TO TAKE MILDEW OUT OF LINEN.
Rub it well with soap: then scrape some fine chalk, and rub that also in the linen; lay it on the grass; as it dries, wet it a little, and it will come out after twice doing.
TO TAKE OUT SPOTS OF INK.
As soon as the accident happens, wet the place with juice of sorrel or lemon, or with vinegar, and the best hard white soap.