Cleaning Up Around the House

I've been sorting and cleaning the last two weeks, trying to make less clutter around our house. This isn't easy with two teenagers and a ten year old who all take after mom, and tend to keep papers and every book they've ever read. Going with the theme of cleaning I thought I'd share these household tips today from The Detroit Free Press Women's Department, published in sometime during the 1930's.

Removing Egg Stains: Soaking in cold water is good for egg-stained plates, but hot water will cook egg more firmly to the plate. Utensils used for cooking fish, onions or other foods or strong odor should be soaked five minutes in warm water to which a spoonful of vinegar has been added. They should be soaked in soapy water before the vinegar.

Silver Cleaner: When using an aluminum pan for cleansing silver, permit the silver to soak only a few seconds. Place the tarnished silverware in a clean aluminum saucepan , add boiling water enough to cover, and one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of baking soda for each quart of water. Cover the saucepan and let stand a few seconds , then remove silver, rinse well in clear, warm water and wipe with a soft towel.

Aluminum Cleaner: To remove discolorations from aluminum , add cool water and a spoonful of vinegar, let boil half an hour, then rinse well and dry at once.

Ink Stains: Lemon juice is very useful for ink stains. Rub the juice on the mark at once, leave for five or ten minutes, then wash off with milk. Hydrogen Peroxide used before laundering will take ink from white goods.

Blood Stains: Wash in cold water until stain is partly removed and then wash with warm water and soap. Or wash with cold water and salt. If material is heavy, apply a thick paste of raw starch and water. Leave this until dry and then brush off. Repeat if necessary.

For great tips on removing perspiration stains read this on OFL:

http://oldfashionedliving.com/stains3.html

~Brenda