1 132 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



clothing treated by them requires very thorough rinsing to remove the 

 odor. Each boilerful of clothes should be started with clean cold water. 

 Cloths or clothes containing lampblack or machine oil may be placed 

 in the hot water left in the boiler after the last clothes have been wrung 

 from it. Kerosene or turpentine should then be added, as they are the 

 solvents for such dirt. 



7. Rinsing is an important part of the washing process, for if soap or 

 some of the strong alkalis are left in the cloth, they may be very detri- 

 mental in the bluing or starching process. 



If water is hard it should be softened for rinsing with either borax or 

 ammonia and not with washing soda. The rinsing water should be hot. 

 The clothes should be slowly lifted with a clean stick from the boiler into 

 a dishpan, and drained or wrung and shaken before being put into the rinse 

 water. It is not always practicable to use more than one rinse water 

 before bluing the clothes, but better results are obtained when the clothes 

 are rinsed more than once. With some kinds of bluing, the presence of 

 soap or an alkali precipitates the blue as iron rust. If the starch used is 

 not pure, and any lye or washing soda or soap has been left in the cloth, 

 a yellow color is produced from the starch impurities by the action of those 

 alkalis. Wring from the rinsing water and shake out the garments. 

 I 8. Bluing. — It is impossible to give any nile for the amount of bluing 

 to use or the depth of color to be decided upon. Some fabrics, such as 

 soft, loosely-woven fabrics, absorb more bluing than others. The amount 

 of bluing to be used is a matter for experimentation by the launderer. 

 Clothes should not be allowed to stand in the bluing water, as they might 

 become streaked. 



If a ball bluing is used, tie it in a thick cloth, wet, and squeeze it into 

 a bowlful of hot water. Use a part of the resulting solution for bluing 

 the water. More of the bluing in the bowl should be added to the bluing 

 in the tub from time to time as the clothing takes it up. As some kinds 

 of bluing are in the form of minute particles, the bluing water should be 

 stirred each time before adding clothes to it. After they are wrung, 

 unstarched clothes will then be ready for drying. 



9. Starching. — Ivlake the starch according to directions previously given. 

 Starch those garments requiring thick starch first, as moisttue from the 

 clothing gradually thins the starch and a medium stiff, medium thin, and 

 thin starch gradually result. 



Stiff starch. — Collars, cuffs, shirt bosoms. 



Medium stiff starch. — Shirt waists, collars and cuflfs, coarse lace curtains. 

 Medium thin starch. — White petticoats, duck skirts, and some dresses. 

 Thin starch. — Skirts and dresses when a stiff finish is not desired; shirt waists. 

 Ciear starch. — Infants' dresses, fine laces, curtains, light-weight table linen 

 when it is desirable to give it some body. 



