Guide to Hotel HousekeepingPalmer, Mary E. (Mary Elizabeth)
General
Guide to Hotel Housekeeping
Palmer, Mary E. (Mary Elizabeth)
Home economics; Hotels
The laundryman should rise early and have the first washing from the
extractor before the laundrygirls make their appearance, which is
usually at seven o 'clock.
The table-linen should receive the first attention. It is the least
soiled, the most expensive, and it may be needed before the bed-linen.
The napkins and table-cloths should not remain long after they are
shaken out. They will have a finer gloss if they are mangled immediately
after being taken from the extractor.
One reason that linen gets that dirty brown color is because it has not
been properly rinsed before adding the blueing. The soap should be
thoroughly rinsed from the linen before the blueing is put in the
washer. How many hotel laundries send the linen to the linen-room damp
and steaming and smelling of soap? Is it any wonder that the linen is
soon full of holes and worn out?
Two tablespoonfuls of kerosene in a washing will greatly aid in
cleansing, though more soap must be used in this case.
In many laundries, there is not sufficient help. There should be at
least two girls employed to shake out and two at the mangles, in a
200-room house. Where there is bundle-washing it will require even more
help than this.
The kitchen-linen should be washed by hand on the board and not put in
the washer.
The housekeeper should be allowed plenty of help to properly do the
work.
_Bleaching Linens._
When clothes have become yellow by the use of impure water or any other
cause, the snowy whiteness must be restored by a bleaching process.
Chloride of lime and oxalic acid are powerful agents, and, if not
quickly removed from the fabric, they will corrode and do much injury to
the linen. Turpentine has some power as a bleacher as also has borax.
Blueing will aid in keeping the clothes white, but do not use too much.
There are a variety of blueings to be had. The indigo blue is the best.
Starch will greatly aid in keeping clothes clean. It is made mostly from
rice, wheat, corn, or potatoes. Only a little starch should be used with
delicate fabrics. They should be no stiffer than when they are new. The
starch should be completely dissolved in cold water before adding the
boiling water. Stir the starch constantly while the boiling water is
being poured in. A few things may be put in to give a gloss, and to make
the iron run smooth; among them are paraffine, lard, kerosene, and gum
arabic.
_How to Iron._
Before commencing to iron, have ready a bowl of water and a cloth for
smoothing wrinkles and rubbing away any soot or spots that may get on
the garment. Have a piece of paraffine tied in a cloth to rub over the
iron, and a knife for scraping any starch from the iron that may stick
to it in the process of ironing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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