The Laundry 1119 



Soap solution for ordinary purposes: 



1 bar ordinary washing soap 



2 to 3 quarts water 



Shave soap and put into saucepan with cold water. Heat gradually until soap 

 is dissolved (about i hour). 



Soap solution for soaking clothes: 



I bar ordinary soap 



3 gallons water 



I to I tablespoon turpentine 

 I to 3 tablespoons ammonia 



Soap solution for washing much-soiled woolens and delicate colors: 



I pound very mild or neutral soap 

 J pound borax 

 3 quarts water 



Soap jelly with turpentine incorporated: 



I bar soap 



I quart water 



I teaspoon turpentine or kerosene 



A liquid for washing delicate fabrics and colors may be made from 

 latmdry starch, grated potatoes, rice, flour, etc. The water in which rice 

 has boiled may be saved and utilized for the same purpose. The cleansing 

 liquid after cooking should be as thick as cream and should be diluted from 

 one to four times, according to the amount of dirt in the clothing. Rinse 

 clothing in a more dilute solution, which may be blued for white clothes. 



STARCH 



Starch is in the form of minute compact granules, insoluble in water, 

 obtained from many plant tissues. We are familiar with the powder that 

 a mass of these granules forms. When starch granules are subjected to the 

 action of heat and moisture, the heat causes the moisttu-e to penetrate 

 the granules; they swell, burst, and form a thick, sticky mass known as 

 starch paste. Starch has the power of penetrating the pores of a fabric. 

 The kind of starch used determines its penetrative power. On drying, 

 it gives to clothing a characteristic stiffness. 



There is a twofold reason for the use of starch in laundry operations: 

 first, the glazed surface of a starched garment keeps clean longer than an 

 unglazed (unstarched) surface; second, the increase in body of the starched 

 garment gives it increased resistance to moisture and the garment is con- 

 sidered correspondingly more attractive in appearance. In the commercial 

 laundry and in those industries in which the finishing of fabrics is a con- 

 sideration, use is made, not of one kind of starch, but of several, according 

 to the nature of the work to be done. We are all familiar with the especially 



