The LauNdrv. - 68i 



To soften water. Water may be softened by any of the following 

 methods: 



1. For each gallon of water, use two tablespoonfuls of a solution 

 made by dissolving one pound of washing soda in one quart of boiling 

 water. This solution should be bottled and kept on hand as it is a useful 

 detergent (cleansing agent). 



2. For each gallon of water use one-fourth tablespoonful of caustic 

 soda (lye) dissolved in one cup of water. 



3. For each gallon of water use one tablespoonful of borax dissolved 

 in one cup of water. 



If water is very hard increase the amount of alkali used. 



To remove organic matter. For each gallon of water use one table- 

 spoonful of a mixture containing two-thirds borax and one-third alum. 

 If the water is rich in organic matter, use more than one tablespoonful 

 of this mixture. When water is very scarce, alum is sometimes used 

 to precipitate the dirt in soiled water and the water is then filtered and 

 used again. 



SOAP 



In the " good old days " when the home was the centre of larger 

 industrial activities, soap-making was conducted as a household process. 

 It was a familiar sight in the spring to see the winter supply of wood 

 ashes pounded down into a barrel and set on a platform ready for " leach- 

 ing." A hole was made in the compacted ashes, water was poured into 

 this, and it leached down through into little troughs in the platform 

 from which it was collected in kettles, ready to be used for making 

 soap. This liquid was the homemade lye of the housekeeper of old. 

 A kettle of melted fat hung near by on a big iron tripod, and to this the 

 housewife added the lye and boiled the two together, testing the mixture, 

 now with an egg, now with a feather to see if it was of the proper strength. 

 After two or three days of anxious effort the task was completed, and the 

 resulting mixture, called soft" soap, was put away in barrels for winter 

 use. Often we lament these good old days and complain of the poor 

 quality and inferiority of the things we have to use now, but I believe 

 if any of us were to test the soft soap of our mothers and grandmothers 

 we would return our patronage to the grocer. 



Alkalis. Among the alkalis familiar to the housekeeper are those 

 known as caustic alkalis or lye. Chemically, lye is a hydro xid of either 

 potassium or sodium, two closely related substances having similar 

 chemical characteristics and producing compounds of a similar nature. 

 The caustic alkalis have a corrosive action upon organic matter, caustic 

 potash being the stronger of the two. These alkalis possess as a charac- 



