The Laundry 1135 



very shady or dark place, and should be taken in as soon as dry. Fading 

 is more often owing to careless drying than to any fault in washing. "Wash- 

 ing powders and strong alkalis should never be used with colored clothing. 

 If the water needs softening, use borax. If starch, bran, rice water, etc., 

 are substituted for soap, use the mixture as if it were soapsuds. 



In starching colored clothes, rub the starch in thoroughly and wipe 

 off any excess of it; no difhctdty will then be experienced with white 

 starch spots. 



To set color. — Sometimes a fabric shows a decided tendency to fade 

 even under the best washing conditions. It is always well if there is any 

 doubt about fading to test a small piece of the cloth before washing it. 

 If the color fades, then an attempt should be made to set it. With most 

 colors, the dyer uses chemical substances which cause a firmer union 

 between the color and the cloth. Such substances are called mordants. 

 The process of making a color fast may sometimes satisfactorily be used 

 by the housekeeper to strengthen weak colors. The household mordants 

 are brine, vinegar, sugar of lead, and alum, used in the following pro- 

 portions : 



To I gallon water add 

 3 cup mild vinegar, or 

 2 cups salt, or 

 I tablespoon alum, or 

 I tablespoon sugar of lead (poison) 



Vinegar is best for pinks". Small pieces of cloth should be tested in 

 each of the above solutions and a choice made after the test. The cloth 

 of which the color is to be made fast should be left in the mordant solution 

 over night and may be left in for several days with good results. It 

 should be thoroughly dried before being washed. Even with relatively 

 strong colors, soaking a fabric over night in a brine solution before washing 

 it for the first time may render it far less susceptible to fading influences 

 than it otherwise would be. The effect of brine, however, is said not to 

 be lasting. Colored goods are often rinsed in a dilute salt solution just 

 before drying them. 



Washing woolens 



The action of water and alkalis upon wool has already been explained 

 in describing the characteristics of the wool fiber. 



Strong soaps should never be used in washing woolens, nor should soap 

 be applied directly to the garment. The soap should be used in solution. 

 A great deal of stress is laid upon having the water used in washing flannels 

 not much more than lukewarm, for at a lukewarm temperature soap 

 and water have a less detrimental action on wool than at any other tem- 

 perature. It is even more important than the lukewarm water to have 



