March, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



107 



HELPS TO THE 

 HOUSEWIFE 



TABLE AND HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS OF INTER- 

 EST TO EVERY HOUSEKEEPER AND HOUSEWIFE 



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ELECTRICITY IN THE HOUSE 



By Elizabeth Atwood 



T seems to me that we are entering upon a 

 veritable crusade against the drudgery of 

 housework. The work of today is more 

 complicated than it was in the days of our 

 grandmothers, so it is really up to scientific 

 research to help us out of these complica- 

 tions. Now, that every one is conversant with the germ 

 theory, extra care is being taken of the home by the in- 

 telligent housewife, and this, of course, means extra work. 

 Electricity is coming to our rescue, not only in fighting 

 dust and dirt, but with an astonishing number of labor-sav- 

 ing devices for the cook and laundress, whether it be the 

 little mother valiantly struggling to be all in one, or whether 

 it be in the larger home, where each department has its 

 chief. 



Just think of what the vacuum cleaner has done for us, 

 and what its development has been. When those carts with 

 their apparatus first came to our doors, we thought, and it 

 did seem as though a veritable miracle had been performed. 

 Next came the home vacuum cleaner which could be run by 

 attaching to any lighting plug. I can well remember the 

 first time I saw one of these cleaners operated. I was 

 green with envy, for the price was nearly prohibitive, cer- 

 tainly so for me, for I had neither electricity in my home 

 nor money in my pocket. 



This is all changing. Vacuum cleaners can now be made 

 for a much smaller price, and many housekeepers can now 

 have them. I have known of neighbors combining and 

 making it possible to have a vacuum cleaner where it was 

 out of the question for any one of them to stand the expense 

 alone. 



Now comes the crowning joy of vacuum cleaning in the 

 installation of a stationary air-cleaning system. Air-clean- 

 ing, really, when you come to think of it, should be as 

 necessary to the comfort and healthfulness of your home as 

 heating, lighting and plumbing. This stationary motor 

 itself is easily installed in the cellar. Piping between the 

 studding or through a closet or obscure hall corner connects 

 it with each floor. To clean any part of the house, all you 

 have to do is to attach the hose with cleaning tool to the 

 opening of pipe on that particular floor, turn on the elec- 

 tricity and the cleaner is ready to begin work. 



No more dragging of a large machine from room to 

 room, and the hose with the largest tool attached weighs so 

 little that a small child can handle it without effort. Into 

 the cleaning tool is instantly drawn all the dirt and dust- 

 laden germ-infected air, then, down the pipe and into the 

 machine. The dirt drops to the bottom of the machine. 



There are more uses for one of these cleaners than is at 

 first thought. The cleaning of clothes and furs, bedding 



and tapestry becomes a simple thing. Tools for getting 

 under and around heavy furniture reduce house cleaning to 

 a minimum, and saves on wear and tear, and strain to such 

 furniture. Each year finds these electrical tools more 

 durable. 



What a wonderful work might be done in public schools 

 with vacuum cleaning, yet I know of only one where such 

 a system has been installed. We moved on a step in the right 

 direction when oil was introduced in the daily sweeping of 

 the dusty floors, with their germ-laden accumulations, but 

 how many mothers of girls have felt the consequences in 

 the soiled clothing resulting from these greasy floors. 



We find our real help along the line of electrical heating 

 and cooking devices. In the cooking we accomplish desired 

 results, without heat, while the same power produces heat 

 whereby we are made comfortable. A contradiction pro- 

 ducing comfort to the housewife. 



We are all compelled to eat three times a day, at least 

 most of us are, and on someone's shoulders falls the burden 

 of preparation. In these days of the help-problem, this 

 burden many times falls upon the housewife herself. She 

 it is, who will welcome the attractive electrical appliances. 

 They are pretty and compact, many times finished in 

 polished nickel and provided with four fiber heat insulating 

 legs which prevent any possibility of the surface on which 

 the toaster is resting being scorched or scratched. This 

 makes it possible to prepare much of the meal right at the 

 table upon which it is served. 



We know well the pleasure of watching processes, and 

 this way of preparing and serving food adds interest, and 

 eliminates the drudgery so often suffered alone. Think of 

 the fun one can have making toast at the breakfast table, 

 each one buttering the crisp fresh pieces as they come from 

 such a toaster, instead of getting red-faced and heated over 

 the stove or even a gas range. 



No matter how long in use the lower base is always cool 

 enough to handle. The bread retainers are on spring 

 tension so the bread is held flat and equidistant at all points 

 from the flat heating element. This insures evenly browned 

 toast. No more burned edges. This toaster may be placed 

 before one member of the family to manipulate while 

 another operates the disk heater. 



This disk heater is equipped with the same kind of good 

 legs as the toaster, which makes it possible to use on the 

 most highly polished table. On this may be fried bacon and 

 eggs, or even chops if the disk is made hot enough. One or 

 two quarts of water can be boiled quickly on the disk heater, 

 and it may be attached to a lamp socket. 



Then there is the percolator. With these percolators 

 all the fragrance of the coffee is confined inside the perco- 

 lator until the coffee is made and turned into the cups. A 

 snap of the switch turns on the heat and the percolating 

 starts within a minute after it is turned on. The body of 



