Clothing and Health: An Elementary Textbook of Home MakingKinne, Helen
Science
Clothing and Health: An Elementary Textbook of Home Making
Kinne, Helen
Clothing and dress; Sewing
=Brushing clothes.= Many people who live in large cities do not have
gardens and yards where they can hang their clothes and brush them. Often
brushing and cleaning must be done on the roofs of houses. How glad we
should be for space and a chance to keep clean. The Pleasant Valley girls
have studied about this. Do you know that it costs to keep clean? It
takes time and energy and much thought. People who live in the country
can keep clean more easily than city people. This is a good way to air
and brush your cloth garments: Hang them on the line, and beat with a
clothes beater. Turn the cuffs or collars and pockets inside out if
possible. Brush with a whisk brush carefully all over. Shake free from
dust and let them hang in the sunshine. They will smell sweet and clean.
=Pressing suits and skirts.= A suit or skirt which is kept well pressed
has a neater appearance and keeps its shape for a longer time. Tailors
do this work; but one can learn to do it at home, if no tailor is near,
and can save the money, too, if one has the time. It is a good general
rule to press on the wrong side unless one is using the steaming process.
Then, one presses on the right side, over dampened cloth. Wring the
cloth, place over a portion of the garment, and press with hot irons
until nearly dry. After steaming the garment all over on the right side,
turn to the wrong side and press dry. Woolen goods will mark or shine if
pressed on the right side without a cloth. This pressing will add to the
life of a suit. Good press boards, tailors' cushions, and sleeve boards
help very much if one has them.
It is always wise to examine clothes before pressing and to remove any
spots which have accumulated. Grease, milk, oil, sugar are common spots
which girls are apt to get on their woolen clothing. The Pleasant Valley
girls studied how to remove these.
=Removing stains and spots.= Woolen goods which are soiled and badly
spotted can be cleaned by washing in warm water with soap solution or
soap bark. Here are some recipes for making soap solution or soap bark:
_Soap Solution._ Simmer (do not boil) one cake of white soap in
two or three quarts of water.
_Soap Bark._ 1 cup of soap bark or powder in three or four
quarts of water. Let it stand two hours. Strain and pour into
the lukewarm water in which the material is to be washed. Why is
lukewarm water used? Wash and rinse carefully. Always use water of
same temperature for rinsing. What would the shock of cold water
do? Bath temperature is about right.
All woolen garments should be washed and rinsed carefully in lukewarm
water only. Some day we shall try at school. Good pure white soap is best
for woolens. Why do woolens shrink in hot water? Why are they difficult
to cleanse?
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