Page:Newdressmakerwit00butt.djvu/162

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
158
THE NEW DRESSMAKER

chloroform. These solvents are highly inflammable, and must, therefore, never be used in the same room with an open light or flame.

Lay the material, right side down, on apiece of clean blotting-paper or brown wrapping-paper. Rub around and around the spot with a piece of the same material which has been dipped in the cleaning-fluid. Be careful to approach the spot gradually and keep rubbing around the edge of the spot which is damp with the cleaning-fluid so that no ring forms. If you do not approach the spot graduaUy, the grease will spread over a large surface.

Ether and chloroform are less liable to leave a ring than gasoline or naphtha.

A good mixture for removing grease-spots is made from equal parts of alcohol, benzin and ether.

Grease can also be removed from silk or woolen materials by spreading French chalk over the spot and allowing it to stand for some time. This absorbs the grease. Shake the chalk off the garment and if it leaves a mark dissolve the remaining particles with benzin or ether, being careful to rub around the edge of the spot which is damp with these fluids until they have completely evaporated, to prevent a ring from Forming.

POWDERED FRENCH CHALK OR FULLER'S EARTH may be used by placing the powder over the stain and holding over a heated iron. The heat will dissolve the grease, and the powder will absorb it. Grease can also be removed from most materials by placing the material, right side down, over a piece of brown wrapping-paper and pressing over the wrong side of the material with a hot iron. The heat of the iron drives the grease from the material into the paper, because grease has a tendency to go from a warm spot to a cooler one.

TO REMOVE GREASE FROM WHITE GOODS, wash with soap or alkaline lyes. Colored cottons or colored woolens may be washed with lukewarm soap lyes.

MACHINE-OIL STAINS may be removed in the following manner: Moisten borax and rub it on the stain from the outside toward the center, taking care not to spread it. Pour water through the material. Washing with cold water and a pure soap will remove most stains of machine-oil.

BLOOD-STAINS may be taken out by washing with soap and tepid water. They may also be removed by covering the spot with wet laundry starch and allowing it to stand. Afterward it should be washed.

TO REMOVE FRESH INK. Fresh ink can be removed from almost any material by stretching it tightly over a bowl or deep vessel and pouring boiling water through the spot with force from a height. Or, if still moist, rub either salt, meal flour or sugar, and wash in cold water.

In White Materials lemon-juice may be put o-er the spot and covered with salt. Then place the article in the sun for a while, and wash. The process may be repeated, if necessary, until the ink-spot is entirely removed.

Another method of removing ink-stains from white materials is to let the material soak in javelle water, made from one-half pound of sal soda, two ounces chlorid of lime and one quart of water. After soaking a few minutes, wash in clear water.

TO REMOVE COPY OR INDIA INK FROM WHITE MATERIALS. Make a strong solution of oxalic acid and cold water. Soak the spot for a few moments in the oxalic acid and then soak it in ammonia. If necessary, repeat until the stain disappears. Rinse thoroughly in cold water.

TO REMOVE IRON RUST FROM WHITE MATERIALS. Lay the article in the sun and apply oxalic acid to the spot with your fingers wet with water. When the spot is removed, rinse the garment thoroughly. Also wash your hands well after using the acid. It is practically impossible to remove iron rust from colored fabrics, as the acid used in removing the spot takes out the color so that the remedy is worse than the rust.