Washing And Getting Up Table Linen

1. Steep in cold water overnight to loosen stains and old starch.

2. Rub, wring out of the steeping water, and remove stains.

3. Wash in hot water, rubbing with soap.

4. Rinse in warm water to get rid of dirty water and scum.

5. Boil briskly half an hour to keep linen white.

6. Rinse in warm, then in cold water, till all soap is removed.

7. Blue and wring evenly.

8. Starch in hot-water starch, and wring evenly.

9. Dry, in sunshine if possible.

10. Damp evenly with warm water.

11. Fold and mangle slowly to make ironing easier.

12. Iron the right side heavily till dry with a hot iron to make the linen very glossy.

13. Fold in screen folds and air well.

Table linen, being cleaner than the other articles comprising the wash, should be washed first.

Hot-Water Starch

Ingredients

One tablespoonful of white starch, two tablespoonfuls of cold water, a strip of tallow or wax candle, and half a teaspoonful of borax dissolved in very little boiling water.

Method

Mix the starch with the cold water till quite smooth, using the fingers; then add the candle; stir well, and while stirring, pour on just sufficient boiling water to cook the starch, and when it becomes clear and loses the opaque white appearance, add the dissolved borax. For table linen, take one-third of this starch and two-thirds additional warm water. Less starch may be used if serviettes are not to be folded in fanciful designs.

Great stiffness causes linen to wear out more quickly, and a very stiff serviette for ordinary use defeats its object. Tablecloths are folded with three central creases lengthwise; to avoid any other creases they should be rolled. Serviettes are folded in a screen fold of three lengthwise, this strip is again folded into three, taking care that the name is outside.

Body And Bed Linen

1. Steep overnight to soften stains and loosen dirt

2. Rub and wring out of steeping water.

3. Wash in hot water, rubbing with soap.

4. Boil briskly half an hour.

5. Rinse well in warm and then cold water.

6. Blue.

7. If preferred, a little hot-water starch may be added to the blue water to ensure smoother ironing and slight stiffness of frills.

8. Wring evenly.

9. Dry in open air wrong side out.

10. Damp evenly.

11. Iron trimmings on wrong side first, and the large plain surface on the right side afterwards.

12. Air thoroughly to prevent wearer from taking cold, and to prevent mildew.

Handkerchiefs

These should always be steeped in a separate tub. If the user has been suffering from a cold, add a little Sanitas to the steeping water. A little salt in this water makes the handkerchiefs less unpleasant to handle. After being rubbed in the steeping water, they should be well washed in hot water, rubbed with soap, then rinsed, boiled, again rinsed through two waters, blued, and hung in the open air to sweeten and freshen. They should next be dipped in clean cold water, folded in half, and mangled. Ironing while wet imparts a slight stiffness, which prevents their becoming crushed so quickly.

Very thin cambric handkerchiefs may be slightly stiffened by adding a small quantity of hot-water starch to the blue water.