The Laundry 1133 



Raw starch. — Collars, cuffs, shirt bosoms when an extra stiffness is desired; some 

 light curtains. 



The starch should be thoroughly worked into the cloth so as to distribute 

 it ev enly through the threads of the fabric . Such working insures a smooth , 

 even stiffness and prevents starch spots in ironing. All garments starched 

 with boiled starch should be dried thoroughly before being dampened. 

 They should be dampened several hours before being ironed. If articles 

 are to be raw-starched they should be thoroughly dried first. They are 

 then dipped into the raw starch and rubbed as for washing, squeezed dry, 

 and spread out on a clean sheet or cloth, but not one over the other. 

 They should cover only half the sheet. The other half of the sheet should 

 be folded over them. Then the sheet with its contents should be rolled 

 tightly and allowed to stand for two or three hours to insure even distri- 

 bution of moisture. 



10. Drying. — When possible the process of drying should accomplish 

 more than the mere removal of moistiire. Clothing should be hung 

 where it will be freely exposed to the action of fresh air and sunshine. 

 Such exposure purifies and bleaches at the same time. In many 

 commercial laundries a chemical bleach is used to whiten clothing that is 

 necessarily dried in steam closets, and consequently does not have the 

 beneficial bleaching action of sunshine. The home launderer does not 

 often have to consider the need for commercial bleaching agents. 



The laimderer should be provided with a clothespin bag or, better still, 

 with a clothespin apron having a deep wide pocket. 



When possible, lines should be taken down each week, but when they 

 cannot be they should be well wiped with a damp cloth before hanging 

 up clothes. The clothespins should be clean. Each article should be 

 turned wrong side out and hung with the threads of the material straight ; 

 the garment should be shaped as nearly as possible in its natural shape. 

 Avoid hanging pieces by comers, for thus hung they would be pulled out 

 of shape. Fasten garments by their bands when possible. Table linen, 

 bed linen, and towels should be well stretched and hung very straight; 

 the larger pieces should be pinned in at least four places, as it is nearly 

 impossible to iron properly a piece that was improperly hung. Careful 

 hanging greatly reduces the labor of ironing. When the clothes are brought 

 in from the line the clothespins should be put into the apron or basket 

 kept for that purpose and placed where they will be kept clean. 



Starched pieces should not be allowed to freeze and should be removed 

 from the line as soon as dry. Long hanging reduces their stiffness. If 

 flannel underwear is properly stretched and hung it may be folded and put 

 away without f\u-ther treatment. 



