In these days soap is much better made in the factory than it can be at home. In the factory the alkali is proportioned by weight, so that as little free alkali is left as possible. Such a soap is called “neutral.” Resin is added, in yellow laundry soaps, and is supposed to aid in forming suds. When there is an excess of resin, as in some cheap soaps, it is hard to rinse out and colors the clothes. Borax is sometimes added to soap, and is useful when the water is hard, but not necessary in soft water. Naphtha or some other petroleum oil in soap increases the cleansing property of soap, by dissolving fatty or greasy impurities. A _soap solution_ is essential for use in the boiler and in washing machines and is useful for rubbing on spots before washing. To make soap solution, cut up the soap and dissolve it in hot water, one pound soap to one gallon of water. It should be strong enough to jelly when cool, and may be kept in jars ready to use. Even more convenient are soap chips which come by the barrel, but may be bought at pound rates. =Bleaching and bluing agents.=——The sun, as it bleaches white fabrics, may be counted in this group. Chemical bleaches are used to whiten clothes, but should not be resorted to unless clothes are yellow from poor washing, as in the end they weaken the fabric. Commercial laundries sometimes use an excess of acid for this purpose. Cream of tartar is a harmless bleach. Javelle water is another household bleach, chloride of lime being the bleaching substance. This is also a good disinfectant. _To use cream of tartar._——Dissolve cream of tartar in hot water, 1 teaspoonful to each quart. After the yellowed fabrics have been thoroughly washed and rinsed, lay them overnight in a solution of this strength, rinse, blue, and dry in the morning. _Javelle water._——1/4 pound chloride of lime, 1 pound sal soda, 2 quarts of cold water. Dissolve the chloride in half the water cold, and the sal soda in the other half boiling. Stir together thoroughly, allow the mixture to stand several hours, pour off the clear water with care, and bottle it. Use a tablespoonful of the solution to a gallon of water, and heat the yellow fabric in this mixture after thorough washing, for half an hour, not allowing the temperature to rise above 100° F. Rinse very thoroughly before bluing and drying. =Bluing= is used to neutralize the slightly yellowish tint of the fabric, when it cannot be completely bleached. Ultramarine blue is sold in small balls and cakes. Aniline blue is a strong color, and in a very dilute solution gives a pleasing pearly tint to the fabric, especially when the violet tint is used. Mix an ounce of the blue with one gallon water, and bottle for use.