The Laundry. • 687 



the heat causes the moisture to penetrate the granules and they swell 

 and burst, forming a thici:, sticky mass which we know as starch paste. 

 This paste has a greater or less power of penetrating the pores of a 

 fabric, according to the kind of starch used. On drying it gives a char- 

 acteristic stiffness. 



There is a two-fold reason for the use of starch in laundry opera- 

 tions: First, the glazed surface of the starched garment keeps clean 

 for a longer period of time; second, the increase in body of the starched 

 garment causes it to resist moisture longer and is considered more 

 attractive in appearance. In the commercial laundry and in those 

 industries in which the finishing of fabrics is a consideration, 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 more attractive 

 appearance of the nicely laundered new garment as it comes to us fresh 

 from the factory. Starching in the factory and in the commercial 

 laundry has been reduced to a science in which intelligent knowledge 

 and skill in the use of materials play an important part. 



The three kinds of starch chiefly used in the commercial laundry 

 are rice starch, wheat starch and corn starch. In Belgium and France, 

 as well as in other European countries where laundry work is of noted 

 excellence, rice starch is used almost exclusively. The finer quality of 

 the work done seems to justify the purchase of the higher priced rice 

 starch. 



Little rice starch is used in this country except in the textile industries 

 for finishing fine fabrics, such as lawns and organdies. This is due to 

 the cost of rice starch, to the greater convenience in using those starches 

 which are locally produced in large quantities, to the possibility of getting 

 very good and nearly similar results with wheat starch, and to the Amer- 

 ican preference for the greater body wheat and corn starch give. 



The American housekeeper uses, as a rule, only corn starch. This 

 is because of the cheapness of corn starch and a lack of knowledge of 

 the difference in characteristics between the various starches. It is 

 interesting to see how this exclusive household use of corn starch has 

 withdrawn any other variety from the shelves of the retail grocery 

 until it is practically impossible for the housekeeper to obtain wheat 

 starch unless she buys it from the big laundry supply companies 



The object of the launderer is to blend the starch with the fabric 

 in such a way as to make it seem a natural part of the cloth ; to give 

 any desired degree of stiffness and yet to keep the fabric pliable; to give 

 a body which is as enduring as possible and one which will resist moisture; 

 to give clearness and a good color and any desired finish, whether dull 



